Web delivery of Math content to visually impaired

I came across numerous articles and programs about using Web to delivery Math content. But this article about using techniques to aid in web based math learning for visually impaired caught my attention. Design Science's MathPlayer™ enables Microsoft Internet Explorer to display mathematical notation in web pages for general public. The 2.0 version of the MathPlayer enables text-to-speech function of IE 6.0, is compatible with screen reader software and has better formatting.
This is an important aspect that we a the Math lab or for that any member of the teaching community need to look at before shifting to newer technologies. We should make sure the latest technology has enough support to guarantee the same level instruction quality to all the students. I think that's what the makers of MathPlayer realized after the first release which they included in the second release. I would from now on keep this article in mind before switching over to a Web based methodology without prior research into it!

Podcasting

Since I was in a comic mood today, I decided to hunt for some funny videos about podcasting. I told you guys I would be posting something about podcasting in the future blogs, well instead of something boring I'm posting an interesting take on podcasting for viewers above the age of 12 : Podcasting - Ninja Style!
Enjoy!! :-)

Web Based Math Ed

I was browsing through the web to find more about the recent advancements in teaching technologies and math when I came across this website Web-Based Mathematics Education. I have been looking for ways to create a web based tutoring service for the Math Lab. I found this whole concept a bit interesting. The basic idea behind the WME is that it provides each school with a website that is content manageable. This is different than what WebCT offers to UF students. The content is adapted to suit the school and the course needs by experts. Then the teachers who teach the class select and modify the modules which will be used on the website. The site can have varied levels of user accounts each with different privileges. The fact that WME can be used independently or within a general e-education infrastructure makes it even more adaptable and a viable option. The option of MathChat encourages student participation in topic discussions and simulates classroom teacher-student interactions. Another option included is MathBoard which encourages student-student interactions and generally facilitates communication among all in the class.
I also found this example of MathEdit built within the WME architecture. The ease of use and the compatibility with most browsers makes this a great candidate for online delivery of math!

Web 2.0 and Mathematics!

Yes, we are finally getting there.. the whole concept of Web 2.0 being applied to Mathematics and e-learning. I was looking for how Web 2.0 has affected mathematics and tutoring in general when I came across this article (you may need to sign up to view the whole article, sorry :-( )
Web 2.0 and Math by Birgit Loch and Christine McDonald. The article talks about how we teachers or tutors can use "Electronic Ink" function with the freely available MSN Messenger. This client offers the function once Windows Journal Viewer is installed. The teachers and students can participate in synchronous chat and can type or use their mouse/stylus to write mathematical formulae. I found this an interesting point : "While some functions of this client are available in the current version of the Blackboard course management system, this study may be useful for institutions that do not employ the system or for instructors who otherwise need a convenient, practical methodology because of the constraints they face in their own online learning environments."
Since our lab does not have enough resources to implement WebCT or Blackboard, using tutors sign onto PC's on MSN while they tutor students online was a great idea. The initial financial burden would be minimal since our lab has most of the PCs we will need. The article goes on to describe the studies they conducted and the positive results they got back.

Web 2.0 and mutual learning

I came across this website called AnswerU while surfing for some answers to my class assignment. The basic idea behind the website is simple - when someone posts a question to be answered, the question is not sent to the whole mailing list or user list. Instead it is sent to students whose profile matches the profile of the person who asked the question (e.g the campus, the location, the major, etc). This way the questions get answered more quickly and the answers are more relative. This got me thinking on how much useful this might be in a college level tutoring setting. Our Math Lab can have tutors fill out a list of subjects they are most comfortable with. Then students whose questions match the profile of tutors will get their questions forwarded to a particular set of tutors. Then anyone in that pool can answer the question. This will save time and create a more friendly and responsive online learning environment.
This technique can also be applied to schools where peers can help each other in assignments or topics covered in class while the teachers can monitor the postings. The teachers can rank the responses and so can the other peers.
AnswerU

Some weekend fun with Web 2.0!

Since I have been talking about the basics of Web 2.0 and such in the past few posts, I decided to show some good examples of Web 2.0. This site http://www.dapper.net/ shows some examples of good uses of data and information for normal as well as advanced users. As per the FAQ on the website : "Dapper is a service that allows you to extract and use information from any website on the Internet. For those familiar with web services, you can think of Dapper as an API maker. For the rest of you, Dapper allows you to build web applications and mashups using data from any website without any programming." This is just a great way to get someone started on some cool ideas about Web 2.0!! The most interesting example I thought that was realtive to this week's posts was this application called Blotter: http://www.dapper.net/dapplications/Blotter
Blotter automatically tracks any blog after the first time it is requested using the Dapper web service as the base. It keeps a track of various statistics like rank of the blog according to Technorati as well as number of links to the blog. Even though it is a simple application, it serves the purpose of showing how things are shaping up for the future of Web 2.0. Just try it out! I am in this post :-)

They have conferences/summits about Web 2.0!!!

I was amazed to find that they have conferences about Web 2.0 on a huge scale every year (and growing in strength) while I was researching more about Web 2.0! I will be talking a bit about the summit they had last year from November 7-9. 2006 in San Francisco, CA. More information about the conference can be found here : http://www.web2con.com/pub/w/49/overview.html
Also there is a new conference this year from 17-19 October,2007 in San Francisco, CA. More information about that conference can be found here : http://www.web2summit.com/
As per the summary by Richard MacManus, this last conference was a whole lot different than the previous one - with more people from media and business world attending than the normal developers/code junkies/geeks like me :-) (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/web_20_summit_wrap-up.php) .
This fact alone lets us know how quickly this whole Web 2.0 term has caught the attention of normal people who use the Internet more than the developers - a clear indication of the change in outlook towards the web has grabbed attention at the grass root level! New companies and industries have jumped on board or are interested in doing so. Field of education is no stranger to this either! There were talks by speakers highlighting how important the young generation's thoughts are to the solid development of Internet in the future and also how video and audio will be a big part of our life on the web. We already have started video streaming of classes on the web (UF's EDGE - Electronic Delivery of Graduate Education), online content delivery (COE's online course offerings), etc in field of education. I therefore feel that Web 2.0 is and will be a thing to watch out for if we plan on keeping the new young generation enthusiastic about learning! The online course offerings and video streaming mentioned before are a great step towards this goal!

Some In-depth introduction and background

So, as per the comments I have decided to narrow down my blog to the applications of Web 2.0 to education with a special emphasis on online tutoring and higher math-ed. Before I go deep into the intricate details about that, I thought it would be better to give a brief overview of what Web 2.0 is all about. I will be focusing on the basics and some few applications of Web 2.o during this week. Starting from next week, I will be exploring the more specialized applications to education, so hang on tight :-)
Coming back to the whole purpose of this week : what exactly is Web 2.0 and how did it start?
As per the O'Reilly website (www.oreillynet.com) : "The concept of "Web 2.0" began with a conference brainstorming session between O'Reilly and MediaLive International." The fall out of the dot-com bubble resulted in a new perspective towards the web and it's applications - make the web be more service oriented as well make it more user friendly, intuitive and more of a social phenomenon. In other terms make the web more like a desktop application - faster, easier on the eyes and more user friendly. As per the referenced article, some of the initial examples of the first brainstorming session were as follows : Double Click vs. Google Ad sense, OFoto vs. Flickr, Britannica Online vs. Wikipedia.
Let's analyse a few comparisons here and see how this all ties into the whole web 2.0 paradigm. Google Ad Sense works with the consumers in mind - in the end it's those consumers who buy the products. You might have seen an example of this when you serach for anything on google.com. The ads (on the right hand corner with a light blue background) are related to the phrase/word you just searched for. Say you search for "Honda Civic Air Filter" (my filter is getting old and I need to change it :-) ), the ads you notice on the side will be related to the search phrase like links to Honda civic parts store, air filter stores or even some repair garages. As opposed to that DoubleClick just used static ads - they didn't change with what the user was looking for. This shift made the search and ads a bit more intuitive. Making use of customer's searches to display results which might generate more interest in services you are selling or advertising. Google Ad Sense has generated billions of dollars in income since its inception which is a true Web 2.0 success story.
Similar success story is the concept behind Wikipedia - harnessing collective intelligence which is more understandable than concrete explanations in books. All of us have used wikipedia or at least heard about it some point or the other. It is an online community where users can create, edit and search for everything from definitions, concepts or even processes and algorithms. The content is managed by users and is free for anyone to update. But then there is always the question of authenticity - who monitors all the content. There is some monitoring by site administrators but the huge user base also helps keep the content accurate and up to date. The explanations are more easy to understand since they are written by fellow web users. The amount of information shared in this way is huge and is much easier to understand than Britannica Online.
As per the few examples, the question about the basis of Web 2.0 is becoming more clear. It's not just a set of rules, rather a set of universally accepted guidelines which make the web a more social and user friendly place. Companies have had great success as well as huge failures trying to adopt to these guidelines. In the next few postings, I will try to give more detailed examples of this new paradigm shift and gear them towards online education and its applications.

Link to the O'Riley article : http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

Intorduction

Most of you must have come across this term (if not yet, you will soon enough!) - "Web 2.0". I have been quite interested in this topic ever since I read about it online. Though at first I thought it was just something related to a new coding practice but I was proved wrong. The more I read about it, the true power of this paradigm shift became apparent. It has applications not just in field of computer science, it stretches across to education, finance and even affects social aspect.
As explained on Wikipedia - "Web 2.0, a phrase coined by O'Reilly Media in 2004, refers to a perceived second-generation of Web-based services—such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies—that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users."
I hope to explore more about this new paradigm and try to uncover the "magic" behind this. I believe my exploration will help me use the knowledge I gain to move the Math Lab I manage into a new direction (since most math classes on UF campus are going online and are using more technology than before).

Please refer to the following wikipedia article to get a much thorough insight into the world of Web 2.0.