MATHLAND: AN INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA EXPLORATION OF THE CONCEPTS & APPLICATIONS OF MATHEMATICS

THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO DESCRIBE A METHODOLOGY FOR DEVELOPING AN INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA ENVIRONMENT THAT MOTIVATES YOUNG STUDENTS TO PURSUE PATHS OF LEARNING IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS. A VARIED ASSORTMENT OF TECHNOLOGIES AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES WILL BE EMPLOYED TO CREATE AN ENGAGING LEARNING ENVIRONMENT THAT INTUITIVELY ILLUSTRATES THE MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF COMPLEX SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES AND MATHEMATICAL RELATIONSHIPS. A MICROWORLD WILL BE CREATED ALLOWING A STUDENT TO WANDER THROUGH A SERIES OF SITUATIONS WHERE SHE WILL LEARN THE MATHEMATICAL BASIS FOR CERTAIN NATURAL PHENOMENA AND APPLY THAT KNOWLEDGE IN ENGAGING PROBLEM SOLVING. MATHLAND WILL UTILIZE VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNIQUES, HYPERMEDIA, COMPUTER GRAPHICS, ANIMATIONS, SOUND, VIDEO, AND TEXT TO CREATE A CURRICULUM COMPONENT THATIS COMPELLING, PARTICIPATORY, AND INDIVIDUALLY-PACED. NON-LINEAR PATHWAYS WILL BE PROVIDED FOR NAVIGATION THROUGH THE MATERIAL SO THAT EACH SESSION OFFERS MANY POSSIBLE JOURNEYS AND INTERACTIONS. AN EMPHASIS WILL BE PLACED ON CONSTRUCTING AN ENVIRONMENT THAT IS SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUPS IN THE SCIENCES. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY INCORPORATINGETHNIC AND CULTURAL DATA IN THE FORM OF ICONS, CONTEXTUAL SETTINGS, AND ROLE MODELS INTO THE SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE TO MOTIVATE AND ENCOURAGE YOUNG STUDENTS FROM THESE COMMUNITIES.