Schedule

From Better Practices

Jump to: navigation, search

Monday, July 16.

Morning Session (9:00 am)

  • Logistics and introductions (10 minutes)
  • Using the wiki - a brief introduction by Frank Wattenberg (30 minutes)
  • Metapost graphics, conducted by Troy Henderson. (105 - 120 minutes plus break)
    The following are notes from Troy.
    For those that would like to see MetaPost in action now, you can visit MetaPost Previewer Once you’re there, try the following code:
    draw fullcircle scaled (2*36);
fill fullcircle scaled (2*2);
fill fullcircle scaled (2*2) shifted (21*cosd(45),21*sind(45));
fill fullcircle scaled (2*2) shifted (21*cosd(135),21*sind(135));
draw halfcircle scaled (2*21) rotated 180;

    After you click "Preview Output", you will see the image (in PNG) and have the option of saving the output graphic as EPS or PDF. If you would like to convert this graphic to SVG, save the PDF, and convert the PDF using Troy's PDF to SVG Converter


Afternoon Session (1:00 pm)

  • MathML and Other Standards, conducted by Kyle Siegrist. (105 - 120 minutes)
    I will start with an overview of the well-mannered web-based mathematics document: one with XHTML as the basic expository glue, styled with CSS, with math in MathML and graphics in SVG, and perhaps with a dash of JavaScript for extra interactivity. Next we will discuss MathML in more detail: Presentation MathML versus Content MathML, authoring tools, resources, and what's new in MathML 3.0. Our next topic will be the new native support and input language for math in Word 2007. If time permits, we may discuss a bit of SVG as well.
  • Break
  • 3-D Interactive Graphics, conducted by Bob Palais. <105-120 minutes)
    The following are notes provided by Bob: We will take a tour of an interactive 3D `Virtual Math Museum' on the web. In the process, we will learn how to explore, modify, and create exhibits covering areas such as plane and space curves, surfaces, polyhedra, conformal maps, ODEs, PDEs, Fractals, etc. on our own computers. Anaglyph (red-blue) and parallel view glasses will provided for the participants to use during and after the session. Here is a page with links to some of the programs. Will also describe our philosophy and experience of incorporating into the design of undergraduate mathematics courses which has been successfully implemented in a variety of experimental courses taught in the US and abroad. These include having students implement constructive mathematical existence theorems that they learn to create their own visualizations, and using the algorithms involved in our programs to motivate topics in linear algebra, geometry, topology, and throughout the undergraduate math curriculum. After this, we will survey some other 3D visualization sites and demonstrate some software tools for creating and including 3D visualization in our own web materials.
  • A Report from the Trenches, conducted by Frank Wattenberg: At the United States Military Academy (USMA) we have been using preliminary versions of the MAA Online Book -- Modeling and Simulation for a Real and Complex World -- for several years. This report will focus primarily on the interplay between printed and online materials. As originally conceived, the book was to be entirely online, but the after action reviews produced overwhelming demands from both students and faculty for printed materials. This is consistent with the experience of other online books projects and has forced substantial compromises because printed materials cannot take full advantage of the potential of online materials. Most of this session will be hands-on with everyone playing with our latest paper/online strategy. Our latest strategy divides the online book into two components. The first component is called "paper-based" and is written in LaTeX with pdf output. This part can be read on a computer or in a paper version. It contains the narrative flow of the course and acts like an orchestra conductor, orchestrating students' work. The second component is called "computer-based" and can only be read on a computer. It contains images, rich multimedia, Mathematica notebooks, spreadsheets and all manner of interactive materials. Students are expected to use these two components together. Open this link to see some of the elements of the interactive component and download this pdf file for a short example of the paper-based component. Both of these are works-in-progress for the new format.

Tuesday, July 17. (9:00 am)

Most of the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday will be spent working individually and in groups on projects. We will take time out to discuss the nuts and bolts of a number of issues including accessibility and reusability.

Wednesday, July 18 Project development. See notes for Tuesday.

  • 9:00 AM Discussion of some of the products produced and questions that arose during the afternoon on Tuesday.
  • 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM Continue working individually and in groups -- not necessarily the same groups as Tuesday afternoon.
  • 4:00 PM Discussion of some of the products produced and questions that arose during the day.

Thursday, July 19.

9:00 AM Discussion of Better Practices Issues

Issues for Discussion on 7/19/07

  1. What are impediments to using open source software, and how might they be removed?
  2. Once content and presentation have been separated using a CSS, how should the CSS be modified to facilitate printing? for overhead projection? for other devices?
    • HTML syntax for using different style sheets for different media.
  3. What are best practices for various types of page navigation -- new tabs, new windows, popups, mouseovers, etc.
  4. What is the proper balance between developer control and user flexibility?
  5. How can an individual find the proper balance between implementing best practices and additional development?


10:00 AM-4:00 PM Project development. See notes for Tuesday.

11:30 - 12:00 SketchUp and 3D Room A

4:00 PM Next Steps

  • Wiki development
  • Participants reports
  • Online conference before Thanksgiving
  • Meet in San Diego?
  • Another workshop?

Friday, July 20. Presentation and discussion of projects, Before and After (the workshop) versions

Web Site Development. We hope to develop this wiki site into one devoted to best practices in the presentation of mathematics on the Web. The materials and documents produced during the week will provide a beginning for this as well as a continuing forum for best practices issues. In addition we expect to write an article for JOMA on the workshop.

Retrieved from "http://mathonweb.org/wiki/index.php/Schedule"
Personal tools