Today we are excited to announce the availability of MathDisk in Edmodo store. Edmodo the top learning environment, with its 32 million strong user community can now access MathDisk worksheet portal directly from its platform.
Edmodo Teachers can post their worksheets to their respective student groups right from MathDisk builder itself through a single click.
Application of progressive discovery as a teaching aid using MathDisk - Presented by Dr Ajit Kumar (ICT,India ) and Sharfudeen Ashraf (Founder MathDisk) at Asian Mathematical Conference South Korea
Abstract
The pedagogical benefits of using computer aided dynamic geometry software in classrooms are well understood among educators. MathDisk, the latest entrant into this foray, has all the essential aspects one could expect from interactive mathematical software. MathDisk goes beyond the conventional feature set which defines this class of software and implements proven learning techniques found in other disciplines. One such technique in MathDisk called “Progressive Discovery” is a concept found extensively in user interface design to improve the readability and usability of software.
Progressive discovery (or disclosure) is an information presentation pattern, where the focus of the audience is centered on one point at a time eliminating wordiness or overwhelming and distracting information. MathDisk provides a simple and systematic approach for applying this concept into mathematical presentations. Using this principle, a certain part of given Mathematical model is displayed or animated before revealing the entire model. This approach of progressively disclosing the model not only demystifies complex concepts, but by highlighting basic constructs it also reinforces that the underlying concepts behind many advanced topics are essentially the interplay of the same fundamental mathematical operations.
In this paper we have illustrated this concept using couple of examples in 2D and 3D. The paper also provides a brief overview of the tools available within MathDisk to achieve progressive discovery and how to effectively apply this as a teaching aid.
..When it comes to engaging students,format plays far more of an important role than the content according to a research conducted by the leading US textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.A growing number of researchers are uncovering evidence that students are better able to remember what they read in printed textbooks…MathDisk could play a vital role in bridging this divide as it brings the format of traditional textbook like appearance on worksheet using its equation editor, multi-graph sheet and free form layout capabilities…
..The equal emphasis to both the symbolic and visual representations of Mathematics makes MathDisk an ideal tool to create online interactive textbook for teaching mathematics…
Where does MathDisk stand among the numerous graphing tools available today? What is that MathDisk has that you can’t get somewhere else ? If you are wondering about these two questions,then please keep in mind it is not so much about, what MathDisk can do that others can’t do; rather it is more about the how it is done and the effectiveness surround it.
Natural Math Notation
If you have prior experience with any other Mathematical tool ,then trying to do anything beyond graphing a 2D function would require you to write code using that tool own syntax and call their product specific functions. This not only steepens the learning curve of the user who creates the worksheet,but also makes it difficult to students who wants to correlate the Math used in the worksheet with that of his own math textbook.
Trying to wrap the native math symbols and operators using computer programming almost redefines the underlying Math and introduces a high barrier entry in adopting the tool. MathDisk removes this artificial layer between native math expressions and programming constructs by allowing teachers to express simple and complex equations as they see it in their textbooks, be it is Vector,Matrix, algebraic expressions,differential symbols etc.
Have a look at two sample worksheets which uses Natural Math
A cursory glance will reveal,these worksheet looks almost exactly like any textbook with the right emphasis on both the symbolic and visual aspect of the underlying Mathematics at the same time remaining highly interactive.
Instant Visualization
MathDisk allows users to instantly visualize the result of the expressions as they type.In fact it would appear as though MathDisk guides the user, when he writes those snippets of Expressions.There are many popular tools which produces gives such instant feedback and visualization when it comes to 2D graphing, but to do the same for a complete Mathematical program in 2D as well as in 3D is a different phenomena…and MathDisk excels at it.
Well,we haven’t even started talking about the spectacular 2D/3D graphics support MathDisk offers but still it is the Natural Math Notation and Instant Visualization which forms the core what makes MathDisk stand out from the crowd.
