A Distributed Education Environment Based on Mathematica

Wolfgang Schreiner
Wolfgang.Schreiner@risc.uni-linz.ac.at
http://www.risc.uni-linz.ac.at/people/schreine

Research Institute for Symbolic Computation (RISC-Linz)
Johannes Kepler University, A-4040 Linz, Austria

Abstract

This paper presents the concept of an environment for distributed mathematical education based on the computer algebra system Mathematica^©. Mathematica is a "system for doing mathematics by computer" which combines a computational engine with powerful presentation and visualization facilities based on the concept of notebooks (multimedia hypertext documents). The system has gained large popularity in various scientific and technical fields and is also heavily used in education. We have designed a Mathematica-based distributed environment that supports classroom scenarios such as the lecturer presenting a notebook to an audience or the students exercising independently on personal notebook copies. This design demonstrates various aspects of the adaption of commercial software to distributed applications, in particular compromises that arise from the limitations of external control facilities. A prototype of this environment is being implemented in the frame of a diploma thesis.