A computer laboratory designed specifically for teaching mathematics courses was completed in Morton Hall during the summer. The new lab has thirty-two Gateway 2000 computers, each with sixteen megabytes of RAM, a 133-megahertz CPU, a 2.1-gigabyte hard drive, plus networking capabilities. The new lab, which is used mainly to teach mathematics education students, features functional tables, comfortable seating, and a high-speed laser printer. Funding for the laboratory, which cost more than $75,000, came from the College of Arts and Sciences and House Bill 748.
Klaus Eldridge, associate professor of mathematics, designed the laboratory
layout. Specialty software includes graphing packages for plane geometry,
Geometer's Sketchpad, and for non-Euclidean geometry, NonEuclid. Students are
able to create geometric drawings, using lines, circles, triangles, in the
plane and geometrical shapes on a sphere. Other packages are MATLAB, Maple
IV, and MINITAB. Word processing and a spreadsheet are also available. Everything
runs under Windows 95, Dr. Eldridge said.
Barbara Grover and Jeffery Connor, both associate professors of mathematics, utilize the lab to train elementary- and secondary-teacher students in geometry and in using technology, while James Schultz, professor of mathematics education, holds advanced courses in the lab. Larry Snyder, professor of mathematics, instructs fourth-year and graduate students in mathematical statistics. Surender Jain, professor of mathematics, is using the lab to develop materials for a new method of teaching linear algebra. Also teaching geometry in the lab are student instructors Ken Ferrell, Norma Noguera, and Hala Alshawa.
Dr. Grover said that in one of her classes students can use the computer program to draw figures and test whether their conjectures or theorems are valid. "The computer program allows them to measure angles, so they can check whether the exterior angle of a triangle is bigger than each of the opposite interior angles," she said. The lab also features a state-of-the-art projection system which can be hooked to a video cassette recorder, can show slides and other media, and can be connected to a computer.
Dr. Eldridge said there are challenges in setting up a computer lab in an older building. "We have to plan for enough electrical power and install special cables for networking," he explained. "We do a lot of poking through cinder blocks and use the false ceilings. By daisy-chaining computers to a single outlet, the room has a clean look, uncluttered by wires on the floor. If the room needed to be returned to traditional classroom use, the computers could simply be unplugged and no excess wiring would need to be cut." Dr. Eldridge said several miles of wiring were strung throughout the building.
Students get more individualized practice when they use computers for mathematical tasks. "It also simplifies the effort of doing drawings," Dr. Eldridge pointed out. "Computers take less desk space than is needed for hand drawing. In addition, students get used to using technology. Students will be able to save their work to the computer, floppies, and/or transmit it to an instructor's computer."