Preface
Computer-aided instruction, in some form, has been around for a few decades. As
digital hardware and software have advanced, so has the potential for computer-aided
instruction.
In the last few years, these advances have reached a point where very rich computer-aided
instruction can be conveniently available to almost everyone. The technologies that
make this possible include:
-
Sufficiently high computer processor speeds to make intensive computations found
in computer graphics and simulations
possible on
personal computers.
-
Low cost and availability of personal computers.
-
The portability of personal computers which now approaches that of printed books.
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High speed access to the Internet and all of its resources.
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Advances in modern computer programming languages.
In other words, now is the time to push computer-aided instruction to a new level.
That is what Eureka! Learning System is attempting.
The success at our effort remains to be determined but here are a few points
that we think are important:
-
Eureka is highly interactive and engages the student
more directly than what one gets by reading a book or attending a lecture.
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Exercises and questions are posed directly after a concept is discussed. The student
is encouraged to work through these problems immediately before continuing. Thus any
lack of understanding is corrected on the spot instead of being delayed to the end
of a chapter.
-
Exercises and examination questions are evaluated and graded immediately, eliminating
the day or so delay found in classroom situations.
-
A student can jump into a chapter at any time and, if certain prerequisite concepts
are not understood, the student can jump to an explanation in a previous chapter for
clarification and then return back.
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Eureka does not assume that the student knows nothing
of the material being presented. Students usually know, for example, how to do
basic arithmetic and have some idea of geometry. The goal of Eureka
is to extend insight and understanding of the subjects presented.
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The pace of learning is strictly up to the student. Unlike a lecture, where one must
keep up with the delivered presentation, using Eureka
is more like studying from a book, but with student interaction with the material.
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The presentation style of the material is quite informal. We depart from the
formal technical style in many ways. We us the second person narrative style, which we
feel is more engaging than the traditional third person style. Bullet items and
text coloring are used frequently for emphasis but sparingly enough not to
give the appearance of clutter. The font used is an informal cursive style.
We recognize four different levels of instruction to match a student's learning sophistication:
-
Highly guided instruction, where a teacher talks about a topic and helps students
to work exercises. This is typical in elementary school instruction.
Books are seldom used alone as a learning device.
-
Lecture based instruction, where a teacher talks about a topic and the students
maintain a relatively passive role until homework is assigned. A student's homework
is then graded and the instruction moves on. This is typical
in secondary school instruction. Books are provided as support material, but
the primary delivery mode of knowledge is the lecture.
-
Lecture and book instruction, where the course book is an indispensable part of
the learning process. A student may take notes during the lecture but the book
is necessary for out-of-classroom studying. This typical in
undergraduate college instruction.
-
Independent study, where the student directly gains knowledge from written material
on the subject. A teacher, if involved at all, acts as a consultant to the student.
This is typical in graduate college instruction.
Eureka addresses the last three instruction types. In other words,
the system should be useful to high school students and beyond.
Eureka development is an ongoing activity. Interactive graphics
and simulation are implemented in Java Applets, using an extensive proprietary set of libraries
including three-dimensional graphics, symbolic math, rational and complex numbers,
linear algebra, an object dependency network management library and others.
We request your feedback, problem reports, and suggestions via jackg@clayandpark.com.
Jack Gjovaag 6/23/2012