Some Solutions for Representing Mathematics on the Internet
Matti Lehmuskero and Martti E. Pesonen
University of Joensuu
Material offered to students
Text material
as HTML hypertext to be read on-line
in PDF document format for printing
Exercises
Answers returned by e-mail to the tutor
Exercises done in the browser, the answers checked on-line
Active Components
Java-applets
a concrete (geometric) representation of an abstract definition
complex addition, multiplication
exponential function, Moebius transformation
Animations for illustration
How a function maps an area to another
Discussion board
Helping students
Discussion board
E-mail to the tutor
Technical aspects
No standards for representing mathematics on the Internet
HTML: images, fonts
PlugIn and helper programs
MathML, OpenMath
Compatibility
Cross-platform
Operating systems: MS Windows, Mac, UNIX
Browsers: Netscape, IE
Works also with little older systems
Can be extended easily
Not too tied to some programs
Components can be changed without too much additional work
Maths presented using HTML can be easily replaced with MathML code
Technical requirements
Internet connection, e-mail address
Java- / JavaScript-enabled browser
Printer for paper copies