What Happens When Math Software is
Truly Easy to Use?
Highlights:
- Explore a historical overview of CAS tools in academia
- A case study example of how Maple was implemented at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
- An overview of how best to implement "computer-based" curricula at all levels of mathematics education
This article examines the rise, decline, and resurgence of the use of computer algebra systems (CAS) in the mathematics classroom. From the excitement surrounding the technology's potential to revolutionize the teaching of mathematics, it explores the difficulties that prevented this vision from being fully realized, and then introduces a fundamental advancement in the CAS world that finally puts the dream of modern, effective mathematics education within our grasp.
Dr. Robert J. Lopez, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA, is an award winning educator in mathematics and is the author of several books. For over three decades, Dr. Lopez has also been a visionary figure in the introduction of math technology into undergraduate education and has received numerous awards for outstanding scholarship and teaching.