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Abstracts for Session 7
Saturday, 9:00-9:45am

John Soptick, Charyl Link, and Michele Bach, Mediated Learning: A Solution, Room 125
This presentation will provide an orientation to the mediated learning approach to instruction in mathematics. Interactive Mathematics is for faculty who are committed to helping student learn mathematics. These college-level, interactive multimedia course materials provide mathematics instruction in a stimulating and challenging environment. Faculty can provide a diverse population of students with a more individualized learning experience. Math faculty from Kansas City Kansas Community College began using this approach Fall 1998 and will share their experiences using this in the classroom and online.
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John Koelzer, Anita Salem, and Paula Shorter, Calculus-based Interdisciplinary Student Projects Continued: You Saw the Plan, Now It's In Action!, Room 203 (Workshop - lasts till 10:45am)
At lasts year’s Math EXPO, a presentation was made on plans to develop a series of Interdisciplinary Student Projects involving real-world scientific applications. This development was made possible through a Curriculum and Course Development Grant funded by NSF. The workshop presented this year will give the participants the opportunity to experiment with some of the projects that have been developed under the grant. The projects will include a study of the ozone layer, application of calculus to the detection of edges in a computer image, and concepts of calculus applied to genetics. Also included in the workshop will be presentations and discussions on the rationale for including interdisciplinary projects in mathematics courses. Participants will be encouraged to try out the materials and evaluate their suitability for instructional use.
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Atul Roy and James Ellis, Using Excel to Teach Elementary Statistics and Probability Courses, Room 205 (Workshop - lasts till 10:45am)
The use of EXCEL in the teaching of an elementary statistics course makes good sense because most of the students have access to EXCEL or a similar spreadsheet even after finishing the course. We shall demonstrate, simulating random data, doing bivariate calculations, testing hypotheses, and doing probability calculations that are taught in statistics and probability courses.
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Frank Wattenberg, Mathematical Modeling with Computers and Nonstandard Analysis, Room 302
Nonstandard analysis allows us to apply mathematics to real world problems in a concrete and tangible way. Besides being intuitive, the models we construct using nonstandard analysis are amenable to computer-based simulation and the theory behind these models often provides a better representation of both reality and simulation. For example, the usual heat equation implies that heat applied at one point is felt immediately elsewhere, whereas the nonstandard model implies an infinitesimal time lag. The time lag is observed in reality and in computer-based simulations.
This talk will begin with a brief and entertaining introduction to nonstandard analysis, discuss some models constructed using nonstandard analysis, and show how the perspectives of nonstandard analysis can help realize the potential of computers and other technology for teaching and learning mathematics.
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Elizabeth Yanik, How Calculators Evaluate Trig Functions Using Coordinate Rotations (TI-83), Room 306
This talk will describe how calculators evaluate special functions, in particular, trigonometric functions. The CORDIC, Coordinate Rotation Digital Computer, method is an efficient method for calculator computations since it only involves three elementary operations: shifts, comparisons, and additions. This algorithm can also be modified for use in calculating logarithms, exponentials, square roots, and even the elementary operations of floating point multiplication and division.
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