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Mathematica and Wolfram|Alpha Are Revolutionizing Education

Mathematica and Wolfram|Alpha are revolutionizing education. Teachers and students are pretty pumped and starting to envision the possibilities. That was the chatter at our Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) 2010 booth in San Francisco this month, as we listened to Mathematica enthusiasts voice their opinions on technology and education.

The Wolfram Research Booth at JMM

One key theme is how educators are getting more creative in their classrooms through using interactive examples of the concepts they are teaching. A key resource educators often leverage is the Wolfram Demonstrations Project. I lost count of the number of professors who told me they have been posting Demonstrations within their courseware management systems or using them within Mathematica‘s slide-show feature and requiring students to explore them. And the students love them, which is awesome! Instead of just listening to a lecture or looking at an example in a textbook, they can use Demonstrations for interactive learning that challenges their minds.

As you can imagine, with nearly 6,000 interactive Demonstrations to choose from and more being published all the time, there’s no limit to what teachers can do with them and how interactive learning can change education forever.

Another new trend generating buzz is how students are proactively using Wolfram|Alpha to further their learning. It’s a somewhat controversial notion among academics, but, as Conrad Wolfram, our Director of Strategic Development, argued at the TEDx Brussels conference, it would be cheating not to use Wolfram|Alpha in the classroom. By making math more practical and conceptual, Wolfram|Alpha has become a revolutionary resource that inspires and engages students in ways they never before imagined.

Proof of this was evident, according to MathWorld creator Eric Weisstein. He said that almost everyone he talked with at JMM had used Wolfram|Alpha and was positive about its game-changing effect on education. Eric said that several people talked about writing education-specific guides to Wolfram|Alpha!

Wolfram|Alpha was also featured in a session by Pierce College’s Bruce Yoshiwara called “Life after Wolfram|Alpha (Apocalypse Now?).” Attendees packed into a crowded room for Bruce’s one-hour presentation, which provided a nice look at the dynamics surrounding the early adoption of new classroom technology. Bruce described his experiences using Wolfram|Alpha, including examples of its computational abilities and the puncturing of myths surrounding the engine, and led a thought-provoking Q&A period.

The word is defintely out on how Mathematica and Wolfram|Alpha are revolutionizing education. What are your thoughts? Is the academic community ready for such a revolution? Take part in the discussion by leaving a comment below. We’re always interested in learning what you think.

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12 comments

  1. Yes, of course, I agree with you, Wolfram Alpha is a better tool to teach and to learn Mathematics in the clasroom

    Reply
  2. The way we teach math and sciences has been behind technology development for years. With Wolfram Alpha, many traditional educators and even parents will protest, as if the students were not learning. However, I believe the education system is chasing after the Wolfram Alpha style. Just because a website can find complete background information on a math function, it does not mean there is nothing left to teach. Educators need to become more creative and education itself needs to become more in-depth.

    Reply
  3. Mathematica 7 is most intuitive math package and the demonstrations are awesome.. Wolfram alpha is amazing..

    Reply
  4. Wolfram alpha will be bad for _traditional_ calculation based approaches to math teaching. Students will be tempted to use it for homework problems, then not have the experience to pass the exams. Thus, WA will force a different, and hopefully better, approach to teaching math. (of course these comments only apply to high school and undergrad courses, where calculation is dominant)

    Reply
  5. Didactics researchers claim for years that explorative, constructive learning is the better way …. Learn to understanding the language of mathematics and its operational semantics by doing.
    Mathematica is the (only!) adequate technology, W/A its transformation into a most-easy-to-use everyware?

    Reply
  6. A nice intro into and discussion of W|A impact on the math education could be found on Walpha Wiki site:
    http://walphawiki.wikidot.com/

    Reply
  7. in the first i find best site like wolfram but,the inconvienient points for this site is u can’t thaught as the solution every instant was finding ,all thanks

    Reply
  8. hello, i have honor to writing for you my article that explaine my new basic(inequality),and all thanks for ur encourage of publisher mathematicien
    this

    is my article ( new inequality)

    In the first I search for true hypothese to solved this
    Probleme, we have for n=1,we have x+y=z
    For x,y,z€R POSITIF, and
    x≤z and,y≤z quel que soit x and y positive number reel
    so we can get |x|≤|z|,and |y|≤|z |
    so -|z|≤ x≤|z|……1
    -|z|≤ y≤|z|…….2
    I add the too i thus get
    -2α≤x+y≤2α that α=|z| so α≥0…..3
    In this cas x+y mayb will 2α-k that k≥0
    Or 2α+k , k≤0 ,so
    {x+y=2α-k if k≥0 or
    {x+y=2α+k if k≤0
    So -2α≤2α-k≤2α, so we can get
    -3α≤α-k≤α but we have α=|z| ,and z≤ |z| ,z≥0
    So z=α-k ,k≥0 , now we find x+y,and z, so
    y=α+k
    now I find the only hypothese to solve the fermat equation,
    for n=1,I put x=α,y= α+k, z= α-k i remplaced with this value in the equation we find ; α-2k=0, so α=2k, and x,y,z after substitution we can find , x=2k,y=k,z=3k , this solution of x+y=z
    and now I solve the equation for n=2, so it must be to solved this equation pythagorthien
    x²+y²=z²
    so I put x=α,y =α+k,and z= α-k after substitution in the equation of second degree we find, α=4k,so
    x=4k,y=3k,z=5k, k€R
    now I solve the equation with n=3,but its equation 3 degre it diffuclt
    to solved,in this cas it must be used the perception
    -whene we compare with precident solution for n=1,n=2, we find good idea, the defference of the solution for n=1,and n=2 is constant and equal 2k so,I can find the result and solution for n=3
    So x=6k,y=5k,z=7k, but this solution verified by 0 yet,and whene we put k=1,so 6^3+5^3 not equal 7^3, the defference between tow is 2,so 2k, in this cas I propose opened sphere ,such with r=1/n, n defferent for 0, and 1/n € ]0,1[ this interval ouvert belong in v, the voisinage of sphere , and we can doing the subdivision of ]0,1[, in lot area
    Such; it was find r’=j*1/n, but with observation I look the number
    0.1 verified the equation x^3+y^3=z^3 and whene we substate in the general solution for n=3, we find 0.6^3+0.5^3=0.7 ^3
    And its equal 0.34 in the tow tom of equation,in add to i chose
    k= r’=j*1=0.1/n.
    -for n=4 we find x=8k,y=7k,z=9k,so for n we can obtien the general
    Relation, so for n ≥4, we find the solution like this
    X=2nk,y=2nk-k,z=2nk+k,k belong in R number
    So the solution of probleme fermat like this
    And x^n+y^n=z^n it equivalent for this equation or solution
    (0.2)^n+[(0.2) -(0.1/n)] ^n ≤ (0.2) +(0.1/n)] ^n
    For n≥4, but 0.1 is it solution for n=3, so this is a last my solution
    this is general basic
    quel que soit n≥1
    a, b ;reel number no nul and
    a €]0,1[ b=a/2n
    a^n+(a-b)^n ≤ (a+b)^n ……(1)
    this is last general basic(1)
    tel/00213697213515
    all thanks,

    Reply
  9. Wolfram is great… Where can I go to get someone to explain in more detail on some of the Demos like uniform continuity. Where is a Blog or something most of the Math instructors can ont explain how the demos work but yet them teach the subject of Real I and Real II ect…Anyone can email me with an answer

    Reply
  10. Dear Sir
    I would appreciate very much if you can
    help me with the below question.
    Thanks very much
    Lawrence
    n! = 3 to the power of 2007 find n

    My e-mail is smsltd@starhub.net.sg

    Reply
  11. Yes, of course, I agree with you, Wolfram Alpha is a better tool to teach and to learn Mathematics in the clasroom

    Posted by Jorge Gamaliel Frade Chávez

    Reply
  12. Thus, WA will force a different, and hopefully better, approach to teaching math.

    Reply