Erica Johnson
St. John Fisher College
The Joy of Numbers, Inquiry, and Wikis
Course management systems like Blackboard support several electronic platforms that can be used to post class notes and facilitate a student-driven editing process as well as an electronic conversation. In particular, the Blog, Wiki, and Discussion Board features of Blackboard can all be harnessed to promote mathematical communication.
This presentation will describe the creation and implementation of an inquiry-based number theory course for future high school mathematics teachers in which the class used Blackboard features to complement and supplement course dialogue.
In particular, students used the Wiki feature in Blackboard to create a set of class notes and produce solutions to selected homework exercises, thereby placing the onus of organizing and presenting the material on the students themselves. By involving the students in the revision process, they had to carefully read, reflect upon, and interact with the material. Furthermore, using this electronic medium allowed students to continue the conversation outside of the confines of class time and to work together to create a truly collaborative set of course notes and record of class events. A discussion of the results will be included.