June Lester - Curriculum Vitae - Home
Recent Electronic Activities
These are activities from 1999 and later. |
| Math Design Projects |
For the past several years, I've been experimenting with designing onscreen mathematics - the language and grammar of communicating with visualization and interactivity, mainly in the context of designing onscreen educational materials, but also for mathematical communication in general, particularly for forms of non-symbolic communication of mathematics. The main source of information on my activities in this area is the Math Design section of my website; the opening essay Math Design: the what and the why of it explains my basic philosophy of designing onscreen mathematics. Other related links and designs are listed below. |
Learning Objects for Linear Algebra. A BCcampus OPDF project, September 2005 - August 2006 |
Elementary Linear Algebra. An online supplement for a course, incorporating interactive Flash widgets and numerous diagrams. Also, a sampler of the widgets. The widgets were designed to build intuition and visualization and to clarify basic concepts and processes. |
The Lester Circle. An interactive demo (using Geometer's Sketchpad applets) to explain the circle and give some idea of how it was discovered. |
Bike Race Strategy. An website designed as a supplement to a high school calculus textbook. Uses an Analyzer widget (Flash) and various other pedagogical techniques to enhance learning. |
Designing Interactive Mathematics. Asian Technology Conference in Mathematics, Chiang Mai, Thailand, December 2000. (The paper was refereed and published in the conference proceedings) |
Calculus lesson demo. This demo illustrates how to use voiceovers in an online/onscreen calculus course. The principle behind the instructional design is part of John Sweller's cognitive load theory: since aural and visual working memory are largely separate, using both simultaneously increases the total capacity of working memory and thereby facilitates learning. The demo is annotated and supplemented to explain the application of this and other principles, and is meant both as a preliminary experiment to judge the effectiveness of this approach and a sample/illustration of what is possible. |
| Presentations |
| Interactive widgets for linear algebra. SFU Teaching, Learning, and Research Showcase, September 22, 2004. Presentation pages. |
| Math with Widgets: a blended course in elementary linear algebra Blending Classroom and eLearning Practice conference, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada, May 14, 2004. |
| Designing Onscreen Mathematics - Pedagogy and Technology, a presentation for the Connections 2001 Conference, Whistler, Canada, May 2001. |
| Dynamic geometry: new math from old? Multimedia Tools for Communicating Mathematics (conference), Lisbon, November 2000 |
| NAWEB 2000 (conference), University of New Brunswick, October 2000. I did a demo/poster on the calculus lesson described above. Abstract. |
| What fascinates me about this online math stuff ... . Live Collaborative Mathematics on the Net Conference, Simon Fraser University, June 19, 2000. |
| Teaching Science and Mathematics Online: Technologies and Techniques. Symposium on Innovative Teaching, Simon Fraser University, May 17, 2000. |
| Communicating with Interactivity. Future of Mathematical Communication Conference, MSRI, Berkeley, Dec. 1999. Conference proceedings |
| Issues for Mathematics on the Web. Telelearning '99 panel discussion, Montréal, Nov. 1999. |
| Mathematics on the Web. Centre for Experimental and Constructive Mathematics, Simon Fraser University, Sept. 1999. |
| Other Activities |
| Weblogs for Mentoring. I co-moderated and posted to this ETUG discussion, October, 2003 |
CMESG2002 Conference (Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group) Kingston, Ontario, Canada, May 24-28, 2002 |
Diagrams 2002 (conference) Callaway Gardens, Georgia, USA |
MathML and Technologies for Math on the Web (conference) Chicago, June 28 - 30, 2002 |
MathML and Math on the Web (conference), University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), October 20 - 22 2000 |
Applet review week at the Math Forum, Swarthmore University, August 21 -25, 2000. Meeting to review initial mathlets (small mathematical online learning objects) for the forthcoming MAA Journal of Online Mathematics and its Applications, and to develop criteria for future refereeing/reviewing. (JOMA went online on Jan. 10, 2001). |
Teacher workshops. I conducted two 90-min. workshops on the interactive geometry software package Cinderella at the conference Changing the Culture 2000 - Visualizing Mathematics, April 28th, 2000, Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre. I also co-organized a workshop on Creating Interactive Geometry With Cinderella, featuring one of Cinderella's authors, Ulli Kortenkamp, June 16, 2000, at the Centre for Educational Technology, Simon Fraser University. |
Conference on Technology in Mathematics Education at the Secondary and Tertiary Levels, Brock University, May 1999. I presented my Poincaré project using my BinderBabies project as an interface. |