The Web is evolving quickly.  HTML as the language for Web pages has been standardized just a few years ago.  Now the new HTML5 standard is emerging.   HTML5 will make the Web more dynamic and Web pages more functional and well structured.   Among the new features is the incorporation of MathML into HTML5.

MathML is a standard to represent mathematical formulas using XML notations. MathML Presentation Code specifies the display rendering of mathematical formulas. MathML Content Code encodes the semantics, or meaning, of mathematical formulas. Any browser that supports HTML5 will also support displaying MathML encoded formulas. This makes the door wide open for more advanced mathematical teaching and learning materials on the Web that involve displaying and manipulation of mathematical formulas.

At Kent State University, the Institute for Computational Mathematics is collaborating with LanZhou University in China on
a tool called MathEdit which is an interactive mathematical formula editor.

MathEdit is fully Web-based and implemented in JavaScript and MathML. MathEdit will support MathML Content and MathML Presentation encoding, infix notation, LaTeX, and OpenMath. MathEdit is customizable to support mathematics formulas at different levels in secondary and higher mathematics education. And it can be customized for different mathematics disciplines.

An example application of MathEdit is in this equation plot page where a user can enter an equation using
MathEdit and see its plot as a curve.

For those interested, you can visit the draft MathEdit site for much more information and try the tool to see how you like it. Your feedback will be most welcome

With the introduction of devices such as the Apple iPad, getting on the Web is made easier and easier all the time. It is my view that we must look into how to use the Web to better teach and learn.

This is especially true for mathematics education, I believe. If we can use interactive, inquiry-based, engaging, mathematics lessons to enhance interest and encourage exploration effectively, we might improve mathematics teaching and learning greatly.

Our Web-based Mathematics Education (WME) group is looking at a set of related Web technologies and educational pedagogy for middle school mathematics education. Pilot projects conducted at a local middle school showed that the approach is well-received by teachers and students.

To be sure, there are barriers to implementing the WME approach: availability of equipment, familiarity by teachers of the technologies, lack of experience with on-Web teaching, and school restrictions on Internet/Web access,  just to name a few. But these can all be overcome.

The advantages of the WME approach are many. Here is a top-10 list.

Top-ten Advantages of WME

1. Classroom readiness and accessibility
2. Adaptable and customizable
3. Teacher support, convenience, and control
4. Open, portable and interoperable
5. Integrated, dynamic, and interactive
6. Instant assessment and feedback
7. Concepts not steps
8. Sharing of expertise and educational methods
9. Aiding parents and at-home students
10. Hands-on and self-paced

Hopefully, through this blog, we can get more people involved in considering, discussing, and moving toward ideas and solutions that can bring easier and more effective mathematics teaching and learning to all.