Teaching Mathematics in a Streaming IPOD RFD VOIP

Teaching Mathematics in a Streaming, IPOD, RFD, VOIP, Virtual Age Jeff Morgan Chair, Department of Mathematics Director, Center for Academic Support and Assessment University of Houston http: //www. math. uh. edu/~jmorgan

A Word From My Sponsors… The Department of Mathematics The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics The University of Houston The Houston Area Calculus Teachers Association http: //www. Houston. ACT. org

Thoughts from previous talks… There are two types of students in mathematics courses: “The Few” – Less than 1/10 of 1% achieve understanding. “The Masses” – 99. 9% try to achieve numerical competency.

Differences “The Few” advance the sciences. “The Masses” run and maintain all aspects of society. They are our laborers, our managers, our CEO’s, our university chancellors, and our politicians.

Remark: Mathematics does not come by birthright. A mathematician can be born of any set of parents.

Challenges “The Few” are hiding among “The Masses”. (we don’t know them ahead of time) “The Masses” must have a successful and pleasant final mathematical experience. Otherwise, they will discourage their children, and they will not support our science.

Our Youth Are Growing In An Online Mass Media Environment http, https, html, xml, xslt, javascript, j#, pearl, php, asp, mathml, java, flash, quicktime, mp 3, mp 4, pdf, jpeg mpeg, … l Email, chat, blogs, im, podcasts, personal urls, cell phones, picture phones, vcast, palm, blackberry, streaming audio/video, downloadable audio/video, voip, ipod, rfd, online discussion boards, … l Satellite radio, virtual gaming, pc gaming, xbox, ps 2, mp 3 players, ebay, myspace. com, ebooks, online banking-shopping-news-educationgambling-dating-everything, … l

Times Have Changed According to Marketing. Vox. com: “Online users are now spending about 14 hours a week, on average - the same amount of time that they spend watching TV. ” l According to 2006 Trendswatch: “While some may write many … (virtual) worlds off as 'kid-stuff‘, 40 million habbos can’t be ignored. If nothing else, I think the popularity of avatar-based online social experiences will continue to grow in 2006. " l

In Case You Haven’t Noticed… l l The young generation is always on and always connected. They want everything now. They get everything now! Higher Education is big business. Online Education is growing rapidly (375, 000 hits on google. com). Asynchronous classes will replace traditional offering (take a close look at the highly profitable University of Phoenix).

An Interesting News Item… Jan. 15, 2006 (AP newswire) - At Arizona State, 11, 000 students take fully online courses and 40, 000 use the online course management system, which is used by many "traditional" classes. Administrators say the distinction between online and traditional is now so meaningless it may not even be reflected in next fall's course catalogue.

How Did I Get Into This? l 1958 l 1969 – 1972… a complete blur l 1973 – 1979… blurred clarity l 1980 – 1986 l 1986 - 1991… teaching with technology l 1992 – 2001… massive exploration l 2002 – present… e-learning obsession

Chief Motivators – Good and Bad l l l l l Bob Collings – HS Teacher, Friend History and Political Science Professors Plenty of Crummy Jobs John Hardy – Friend, Mentor Texas A&M University UH – College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Textbook publishers Blackboard, Web. CT and Others Mathematics Department Needs

The Truth All Mathematics Students Need Plenty of Work And Plenty of Feedback Mathematics is not a spectator sport!

The University of Houston l… is a commuter campus. l … is a large state university which attracts “the masses”. l … teaches first and second year mathematics courses in very large sections. Question: How can we provide sufficient work and feedback for our students?

UH Mathematics Department Solutions l Online Weekly Homework, daily “poppers”, and daily written work for 8, 000 students in freshmen and sophomore level Mathematics courses. l Online discussion and chat… l Online E-Tutoring… l Online E-Teaching… l Streaming capabilities. l Complete control of course content.

What Types of Teaching Give Rise To These Needs? l Traditional Courses. l Hibrid Courses. l Online Low Level Undergraduate Courses. l Online Graduate Level Courses (like many schools, UH offers an online Masters in Mathematics). l The same types of teaching done by every department on the UH campus (and the world).

Undergraduate Mathematics at UH l Math 1 xxx – Fundamentals of Mathematics, College Algebra, Finite Mathematics, Business Calculus, Pre. Calculus, Calculus I and Calculus II. l Math 2311 – Introductory Statistics. l Everything else.

Breakdown… l Math 1 xxx – 14, 000 students per year. l Math 2311 – 1, 500 students per year. l The rest – much smaller.

Focus – Math 1 xxx and 2311 l Online Courses l Traditional Courses

Modern Similarities of Traditional and Online Courses l Online syllabi, handouts, assignments, course calendars, etc… l Email, online chat and online discussion board help. l Online textbooks. l Online streaming lectures. l Online tutoring and teaching (combining electronic whiteboard, chat and VOIP). l Online quizzes.

Tools of the Trade… l Course Management Software – Web. CT, Balckboard, Moodle, and many more, including home-grown varieties (cf. University of Texas, University of Nebraska, South Carolina State University, University of Houston, …) l Online meeting software – Macromedia Breeze, Horizon Wimba, Marratech, Elluminate, and many more, including home-grown varieties. l Radio Frequency Devices – Quizdom, etc…

Online Mathematics Courses at UH l College Algebra, Finite Mathematics, Business Calculus and Basic Statistics. l 1400 students per year and growing! l Weekly online quizzes. l Proctored midterm and final exam. l Online discussion board help. l Online texts. l Streaming mini lectures.

Traditional First and Second Year Courses at UH l l l l l Large sections. Prerequisite testing. Attendance poppers. Written homework. Weekly online quizzes. Secure testing. Online texts. Streaming mini lectures. Online live tutoring (in beta).

Performance Virtually Identical (although online instruction is not for everyone)

Online Components World Viewable Learning Materials (home grown) Some of these can be seed at http: //online. math. uh. edu. l Secure Materials (grades, discussion boards, scheduler, quizzes, tests, publisher owned texts) http: //casa. uh. edu. l Online live tutoring and teaching (currently using Estudy – developed at UH). I will host an online live session TOMORROW morning from Beijing with my students at UH. l

Shameless Self Exploitation… (recall that I am the director of CASA) What is CASA? How did CASA evolve? What is the mission of CASA?

CASA Center for Academic Support and Assessment at the University of Houston (A center for learning support and e-learning software development. )

The Evolution of CASA (it’s a long story that is easier said than written)

What Is The Current Mission Of CASA? CASA’s Mission is to Facilitate Improved Teaching and Learning in a Rapidly Evolving Environment.

Components of CASA l Face-to-Face Mathematics Tutoring l Secure Testing l Online Electronic Homework l Online Tutoring l E-Learning Software Development (Course. Ware)

CASA Inside And Out Bricks and Mortar Virtual Bricks and Mortar

Bricks And Mortar

Virtual Bricks And Mortar l l l l Online Homework Onsite and Remote Secure Testing Discussion and Chat Live E-Tutoring Live E-Instruction Electronic Textbooks Streaming Instruction (With independence from externally supplied software and learning/e-learning materials. )

Time Table For Electronic Evolution…

Recent Quote on CNN "Historically, higher education has taken a one-size-fits-all mentality: That if you want to get a degree, you must leave town, stop working, live in a dorm. But we are way past that. We have to be engaged in lifelong learning, especially if our society is to compete globally. " - University of Phoenix President Laura Palmer Noone UH has never fit the historical model. Your university either doesn’t fit the historical model, or it won’t fit it in the future.

For More Information… Send email to jmorgan@math. uh. edu