Don

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Dont Wait ! / Why Wait ? Two Approaches to
Keeping High School Students Actively Involved
in Mathematics
Gene Abrams and Jeremy Haefner University of
Colorado at Colorado Springs Colorado Council of
Teachers of Mathematics 1999 Annual Conference

• Dont Wait ! Students at the Algebra 3/4
  level should continue to take math courses, but
  dont.
• Why Wait? Students who complete a year of
  calculus as juniors often have no mathematics
  options as seniors.

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Why should the university care?

• Under-prepared students
• Rusty students
• Students with limited options

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Dont Wait ! The pitch (delivered in
person)

1. How many to college? What majors?
2. Why now? Time spent in class No
math downtime SAT / ACT prep
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But my grades will suffer !!!
Here are the facts What are universities
looking for? Chronicle of Higher Ed, Newsweek
articles What are businesses looking for? PC
Week article
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Why Wait? The pitch (delivered any way
we can)
The Department of Mathematics at the University
of Colorado at Colorado Springs offers
MathOnline University-level Courses for High
School Students http//mathweb.uccs.edu/mathonlin
e/ Get a head start on your
university-level mathematics courses, without
leaving high school !
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How the system works
Students in the classroom hear the instructors
voice directly watch projected image of
electronic whiteboard from instructors
computer station (picture) Students outside
the classroom hear instructors voice via Real
Audio see the image of the electronic whiteboard
on their screen.
The audio and whiteboard feeds are archived for
playback at later time
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• Students can participate in the course from any
  location they have Internet access (high school,
  home, )
• Students earn standard university credit which
  can be transferred to universities throughout the
  country.
• Theres no need to hassle with transportation,
  traffic, parking, weather,
• Just like their in-class counterparts,
  off-campus students can ask questions real-time.
• The archive / playback feature of this delivery
  system allows the student to experience the
  lecture at his / her convenience.

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• Homework can be submitted electronically (as a
  file attachment), or by fax.
• Students can network with others, both in their
  own high school as well as students from across
  the country.
• Students can ask the instructor questions via
  email.

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• The Pitch (again )
• We reiterate Off-campus students get the REAL
  DEAL.
• They get the SAME course as if they were sitting
  in the
• on-campus classroom.
• Courses taught during Spring Semester 2000
• Discrete Math
• Differential Equations
• Linear Algebra

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More info at the website
http//mathweb.uccs.edu/mathonline Send
inquiries to mathon_at_math.uccs.edu
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Issues? No calculus offered through this
system. (Yet?) Funding through Post Secondary
Options Program? Role of Coordinating Math
Teacher? Senior-itis Mathematical support for
HS students