Academic Resources

History of mathematics

Mary — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:08:08 +0000

Ancient Egyptian mathematical papyrus

Mathematics, as the result of the arithmetic is already known in the earliest cultures. For instance, in the Egypt, the well-known Rhind papyrus. TheBabylonians developed a sophisticated number system based on the number 60. Also they used algebraic formulas as ab = ((a + b) 2 – (a – b) 2 ) / 4 and tables with powers to perform calculations faster. Moreover, they already knew the Pythagorean theorem. Abstract mathematics and science was first practiced in ancient Greece. With the demise of Greek culture, the development of mathematics in the West a temporary halt.

In the Middle Ages through Arab mathematicians, the digit 0 was introduced from India to Europe. A boom period began with the work of al-Khwarizmi around 820. and with the translation of Greek texts. Al-Khwarizmi is the origin of algebra attributed. The word algorithm is derived from his name. In the Middle Ages, Europe’s leading role in Arab culture could take over.

Today without mathematics it is impossible to imagine everyday life in many ways. We apply it on almost everyday facts, and we are confronted with it at a young age .

The main areas of mathematics originally arose from the need to make business calculations, to understand the relationships between numbers, to measure land and to predict astronomical events.These four needs can be roughly linked to the broad subdivision of mathematics in the study of:

* quantities ( arithmetic )
* structures ( algebra )
* space ( geometry ) and
* changes (or analysis ).

There are also other areas that deal with the relationships between the core of mathematics and other fields, such as logic, the set theory, and applied mathematics .

The mathematics

Mary — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:32:42 +0000

The mathematics (from Lat. mathematica , gr. μαθηματικά derived from μάθημα, knowledge ) is a science that, starting from axioms and following logical reasoning, studying the properties and quantitative relationships between abstract entities (numbers , geometric figures, symbols). Using mathematics we know the quantities ,structures,space and change. The mathematicians look for patterns, April formulate new conjectures and attempt to reach the mathematical truth by rigorous deduction. This allows them to establish the axioms and definitions appropriate for purpose.
There is some debate about whether mathematical objects, like numbers and points, really exist or whether they come from human imagination. The mathematician Benjamin Peirce defined mathematics as “the science that points to the necessary conclusions.” On the other hand, Albert Einstein stated that “when the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not true, but when they are certain, they do not refer to reality “.
Through abstraction and the use of logic in reasoning, mathematics has evolved based on the accounts , the calculation and measurements ,along with the systematic study of the shape and movement of physical objects. Mathematics, from its inception, had a practical purpose. The explanations that relied on the logic first appeared with the Hellenic mathematics ,especially with the Elements of Euclid. Mathematics continued to develop, with constant interruptions, until the Renaissance mathematical innovations interacted with new scientific discoveries. As a result, there was an acceleration in research that continues today.
Today, mathematics is used worldwide as an essential tool in many fields, among which are the natural sciences, the engineering, the medical and social sciences and even disciplines that apparently are not linked to it, like the music (for example, in matters of harmonic resonance). The applied mathematics , a branch of mathematics aimed at the application of mathematical knowledge to other areas, inspire and make use of new mathematical discoveries and sometimes leads to the development of new disciplines. Mathematicians are also involved in pure mathematics, without taking into account the application of this science, although the practical applications of pure mathematics are often discovered over time.

Application Online

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 07:55:06 +0000

Campanile Court Nominated as Best Apartment in Berkeley for 2011!

Find Dissertation Writerswith experience and the guarantee of quality work.

From on-site study spaces and berkeley off campus housing, to a warm close-knit community of good friends and entertainment options, you’ll find Campanile Court to be more than just another apartment complex.

n 400 form – u.s. citizenship

Campanile Court Nominated as Best Apartment in Berkeley for 2011!

From on-site study spaces to a warm close-knit community of good friends and entertainment options, you’ll find Campanile Court to be more than just another apartment complex.

At accredited online university every student has different goals, priorities, motivations and timetables for advancing their education.

Spanish law education in 1990 (LOGSE) Incorporates the concept of SEN ( special needs education). It is a term that dates from the 60s but that was popularized in the ’80s by the Warnock Report , prepared by the Ministry of Education of the United Kingdom in 1978. The novelty of this concept is intended to emphasize the support and aid the student needs more than a supposedly distinct character of Special Education.

Definition A pupil has special educational needs when it presents greater difficulties than the rest of their peers to access learning determining the curriculum that corresponds to their age and need to offset these difficulties , adjustments to access and / or curricular adaptations significant in several areas of the curriculum.The education law in force LOE 2 / 2006 May 3 , Title II addresses the ACNEAE (Students with special needs educational support ) , ie presenting the students ‘special educational needs , specific learning difficulties for their high intellectual capacities , having been incorporated into the education system later , or personal or school history … ” (Article 71.2)

The pupils with SEN is “one that requires , for a period of schooling or throughout it, some support and educational attention arising from disability or severe behavioral disorders . ” (Article 73)

Cases of high abilities intellectually (Gifted) Are also considered as persons with special needs educational support , as in this case, the curriculum often be easy or even boring for the students which has more capacity . It is therefore proposed as solutions:

* Acceleration: The student is advanced one year to compensate for their higher capacity. Sometimes you need more than an acceleration.

* Curriculum AdaptationThe student working on programs to supplement their regular studies

Curriculum adaptation : modifications are performed in the regular curriculum , required to meet the learning needs of each student.

What ever the problem with the student is, in every educational system he should be supervised by teachers with masters in special education.

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Art education

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 06:19:31 +0000

Learn more from Christian University & Christian Colleges

Art Education Degrees from Academy of Art University combine theory and practice to create a one-of-a-kind program.

An Art Education degree offers the most comprehensive and versatile education in the visual arts that art education schools can provide by:

Refining perceptual, problem solving and aesthetic valuing skills
Connecting communication and visual literacy skills
Expanding cultural and historical perspective
Extending and applying the visual arts across other disciplines and real world experience

Through the Art Education curriculum students learn to reflect on their learning process and apply these insights to future teaching in a variety of venues. Students from the Art Education school will graduate with a Visual Arts Portfolio and a Presentation Journal of Reflective Practice and Lesson Plans.

Innovative three-dimensional technology

admin — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:01:39 +0000

Innovative three-dimensional technology used in motion pictures such as Avatar will be employed by secondary science teachers following the launch of a new 3D online and CD resource for chemistry and biology this month (March).

The Primary Industry Centre for Science Education’s (PICSE) The Organic Chemistry Teaching Resource and MoleculeVisualiser provide classroom-ready activities that engage students and teachers, with the focus on Australian science.

However, it is not just these that make this resource unique; new 3D rotational technology will allow students to see molecules in a whole new light.

PICSE USQ Science Education Officer Kay Lembo said up until recently, the technology used in MoleculeVisualiser had only been used by working research scientists and PhD students.

‘We are proud to now have the transformed technology in a suitable format for secondary school students and teachers,” Ms Lembo said. The resources are free and available from http://mv.picse.net/

With this program, students simply enter the name of a molecule and hit submit. The program will bring up the molecules physical properties, its 2D and 3D image, which is fully rotational, plus practical information on how this molecule is relevant and used in the primary industries sector.

PICSE USQ Education Officer, Lisa Haller, said students would be amazed at the science and technology.

‘Industry are also excited we are promoting new, relevant science,’ Mrs Haller said.

‘The resources allow users to investigate derivative chemicals in poppies and their implications for human health, alkaloid chemicals in almonds, cheese making, fermentation in beer, and pesticides used in the cotton sector.’

The PICSE team worked closely with scientists and industry representatives to ensure the resource included the latest research and information. They also worked with teachers to ensure the activities link with the curriculum and provides practical, easy to understand teaching activities.

PICSE is a national program delivered in regional and metropolitan centres and universities throughout Australia. The program is working to attract talented students to study science, an area which is suffering from major skills shortages.

http://forensicsp.org/ is a forensic psychology web site and useful resource for that field.
Contact Details:
Madeleine Tiller, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1163, 0400 025 429

Will Facebook profiles replace govt web sites?

admin — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:01:11 +0000

Social learning theory, the most influential theory of learning and development, assumes that social learning is derived from close observation and often emulating the behavior of others within a social learning environment.

By Robin Hicks | 19 March 2010

It’s all the rage for ministries and agencies to have a Facebook or even MySpace page these days. Governments are going where their citizens are. So why bother having a web site at all? The idea may seem farfetched. But as officials from Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Netherlands reveal in interviews with FutureGov, government web sites could disappear into the ‘social cloud’ sooner than we think.

“We can’t do community outreach programmes sitting inside Parliament House. The same applies online,” Craig Thomler (pictured), the Online Communications Director for the Australian Department of Health & Ageing, said at the FutureGov Forum Hong Kong this month. “If Facebook is where the audience is, we need to be there too. It’s about engaging sensitively in the right avenues.”

Government operates too many web sites, and most are difficult and expensive to maintain. Consolidating them makes sense, Thomler said. “You need to think carefully about what you’re trying to achieve with a web site, and how you’re trying to engage. There are lots of incidences where you need to engage community with community, and it is difficult for a web site to do this.”

Datuk Arpah bt Abdul Razak is the Director General of Local Government in Malaysia, where Facebook is the most popular social network. “Will Facebook pages replace our web sites? Nothing is impossible,” she told FutureGov. “Our leaders are blogging and using Facebook heavily, gaining friends and supporters. The more social media is used, the more likely it is to replace the traditional means with which government communicates online.”

But government web sites will not disappear altogether, reckons Mark Medwecki, the Superintendent of the Hong Kong Police Force. While popular social platforms (Facebook ranks top in Hong Kong too) are useful for quickly disseminating information on crimes and giving relevant advice for citizens, Hong Kong police has given no consideration to replacing the structured web sites which give access to crime information online. “The use of social media is more likely to be a supplementary online activity, not a replacement,” he said.

The Netherlands is one of Europe’s largest consumers of social media, and the government has been a particularly active user. Matt Poelmans, the Director of Citizenlink at the Dutch Ministry of the Interior, told FutureGov that a new engagement model is emerging which raises new challenges for government.

“The mixed model [using social media pages and official web sites] raises debate on a compelling issue: how to reconcile the requirements of accessibility with the innovative use of social media. Government web sites are strictly regulated. Private websites are not. Should one allow freer access to public information than the other?”

Another big issue concerning what observers are calling the ‘social cloud’ is information security. Security emerged as the overwhelming concern among Hong Kong government officials at the FutureGov Forum, and Sophos research released in February gives officials good reason to worry. Spam and malware on social networking sites increased by 70 per cent in 2009, with Facebook the worst effected site.

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Academic Resources

admin — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:00:24 +0000

Summer 2010

A national curriculum: looking forward

Peter Hill offers leadership during a time of significant change in the learning landscape for Australian education. In this article, he outlines the development, conceptualisation and structure, use and accessibility, and support for an Australian curriculum in preparation.

Similar site: http://latis.net.au/

Over the next few years, teachers and school leaders will be engrossed in realising a significant milestone in our nation’s educational history–the development and implementation of a world-class Australian curriculum that will prepare young people for life in the 21st century.

Curriculum is always complicated and stirs the passions. Leading international education expert Joseph P. McDonald, professor of Teaching and Learning in the School of Education at New York University, wryly observed how he would sometimes leave a room rather than get caught in a conversation about curriculum. Most of the people who stayed in the room thought curriculum was the thing teachers taught to students, whereas McDonald and others heading for the door of course thought that this was a delusion. Ted Sizer (1999) said of curriculum that ‘…only matters of student discipline bring out equivalent controversy, confrontation, self-righteousness, angry voices and quivering lower lips.’

Leading provider of Learning Mathematics and Skills Enhancement tools http://technomath2000.com.au/

What is curriculum? Using Rogers’ discussion (1999) of the sources of authority for curriculum decisions as a basis, I would divide curriculum into four parts:

the core curriculum, comprising those general capabilities that all people need, use and develop throughout their life and the big issues of the day that all need to know about
the formal curriculum, based on disciplinary rules, understandings and methods
the chosen curriculum, that individual students and teachers create through the choices they make
the meta-curriculum, comprising those activities, events and traditions that all good schools arrange to promote personal development, character and a community of learners.

So the first point to make is that the Australian curriculum is by no means the whole curriculum. It seeks to define for all students in Australian schools the core curriculum and the formal curriculum, but leaves to schools, teachers, parents and students critical decisions about the chosen and meta-curriculum.

And what about 21st century learning? Here again, there is no shortage of controversy and fuzziness to contend with. Let me suggest four characteristics:

It does not always imply new learning, but learning that is relevant to life and ongoing learning in the 21st century. By definition, what is relevant is subject to ongoing change.
It assumes competence in and increasing reliance on new information technologies for accessing, processing and sharing information.
It is about learning in the service of a better world, and about promoting human potential to solve problems, be productive, creative, think deeply about issues and care for others.
It is for all and is founded on the notion that all can achieve high standards given sufficient time and support.

So how will the development of the Australian curriculum ensure a world-class curriculum in promoting 21st century learning? I would suggest the answer is again in four parts:

how it is being developed
how it is being conceptualised and structured
how teachers and schools will be able to access and use it
how they will be supported.

Let’s take these one at a time, starting with the development process. Undoubtedly the starting point has been full support of all Australian governments for creating a world-class national curriculum and for setting up the governance structures and allocating the resources to get the job done.

Ministers of education have all signed off on the ‘Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians’, which provides clear directions about the priorities to be addressed in a national curriculum.

The best talent across the nation, both in academia and in the school education sector has been called upon to develop content and achievement standards and to scope and sequence the new curriculum. There is ongoing and detailed benchmarking of the new curriculum with that of leading overseas nations.

An extended consultation process has begun which includes a significant online consultation component to ensure that schools, teachers and the broader community can contribute to the refinement of and ensure satisfaction with the final product.

Second, there is the way in which the Australian curriculum is being conceptualised and structured.

It will make explicit the content that has to be taught, and the depth of understanding, the extent of the knowledge and the sophistication of skills expected of students (i.e. achievement standards).

Every effort is being made to ensure that challenging standards are set, but that the curriculum does not become overloaded, that there is time for going deep, and that there are opportunities for including local and topical content. While the traditional structure of scope and sequence within discrete learning areas is retained (the formal curriculum), the Australian curriculum gives explicit attention to ten general capabilities (literacy, numeracy, information and communication technology (ICT), thinking skills, creativity, self-management, teamwork, intercultural understanding, ethical behaviour and social competence) and to three cross-curricular themes–one national, one regional and one global–namely, Indigenous perspectives, Asia and sustainability.

Each of these is being given close attention by expert groups and is being scoped and sequenced alongside work for each of the learning areas. In other words, this is a curriculum that places primary importance on the general capabilities that all people need, use and develop throughout their life and the big issues of the day that all need to know about, while also providing for foundational knowledge, skills and understanding in the agreed discipline areas.

Third, there is the way in which teachers and schools will be able to access and use the Australian curriculum.

In the past, curriculum has been published in hard copy form, typically with separate booklets for each learning area. This has tended to reinforce notions of a static, two-dimensional subject-centred curriculum.

The Australian curriculum will be delivered online, and hence will be dynamic and easily updated. Online delivery will provide users with the capacity to interrogate its multidimensional structure and manipulate it according to their particular needs.

For example, a primary school could sort content and/or achievement standards by years of schooling without regard for learning areas, thus facilitating the construction of a school curriculum characterised by high levels of cross-curriculum integration. Or conversely, it might focus in on curriculum content relevant to Indigenous, Asian and sustainability perspectives by year level to ensure that students were gaining a coherent understanding of relevant issues and knowledge.

A year 9 secondary teacher of science may wish to restrict attention to all relevant science outcomes for year 9 and the two adjacent year levels to better cater for the range of achievement levels within her class.

All of this will be possible with the click or two of a button. Online delivery and online tools for linking curriculum to instruction will assist schools and teachers in planning and delivering a curriculum that gives due regard rather than lip service to those core curriculum general capabilities and cross-curricular perspectives that make it a 21st century curriculum.

Fourth, there is the way in which schools and teachers will be supported to implement the Australian curriculum.

In recent years, much has been learnt about change management and effective professional learning for teachers and it can be confidently anticipated that this learning will be reflected in how systems and sectors with the support of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) approach implementation by and within schools.

At the national level, the newly established Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) can be expected to have a key role alongside the various professional and subject associations and other agencies in supporting implementation of the Australian curriculum.

At a local level, we can expect extensive use of local and site-based professional learning, supported by targeted online professional development.

World-class 21st century learning is a vital aspiration for our nation and one that is widely recognised and supported. The new Australian curriculum cannot guarantee it, but it can give schools and teachers better plans and better tools to work with.

Curriculum work is never done and certainly never done perfectly; it is always work in progress. However, right now we have a unique window of opportunity to make giant strides forward. Let’s seize the moment!

References

McDonald, JP (1999). ‘Redesigning curriculum: New conceptions and tools’, Peabody Journal of Education, 74 (1), 12-28.

Rogers, B (1999). ‘Conflicting approaches to curriculum: Recognizing how fundamental beliefs can sustain or sustain school reform’, Peabody Journal of Education, 74 (1), 29-67.

Sizer, TR (1999). ‘That elusive “curriculum”‘, Peabody Journal of Education, 74 (1), 161-5.

Web references

Teaching Australia–Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership www.teachingaustralia.edu.au/ta/go/home/

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians www.mceetya.edu.au/verve/_resources/

National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) www.acara.edu.au/default.asp/

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au

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Collaborative distance-education project launched at UNE

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:44:49 +0000

A collaborative research project that is paving the way for 21^st century developments in distance education, both within Australia and abroad, has been officially launched at the University of New England.

The project – led by UNE and named “DEHub: Innovation in Distance Learning” – involves UNE, Charles Sturt University, CQUniversity, the University of Southern Queensland, and New Zealand’s Massey University. Together, these universities form a “hub” of research-based expertise on new developments in distance education practice. Work on the project began last year with Commonwealth Government funding of $3.5 million.

The Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Jim Barber, who officially launched the project during the ceremony at the end of last month, said the “Hub” was a “research-and-development engine” behind a global educational movement towards distance education. He said he was very pleased that UNE was “part of a consortium at the forefront of this development”.

Professor Barber said that the reality of education today was that people could be “separated by space and time and nevertheless be part of the same learning network”. “It is now possible, through technology, for students to do all of the social networking – and for academics and educators to exert all of the personal influence – that they have traditionally engaged in,” he said. “We can talk, we can interact, and we can do it in real time.” (for more information on this topic go to Christian University)

The guest speaker at the launch was Professor Asha Kanwar, Vice-President of the Commonwealth of Learning – an international organisation that, by encouraging the development and sharing of open learning / distance education knowledge, resources and technologies, aims to improve access to education and training in developing nations.

“Distance education at every level – even non-formal education – is a major tool in the development of these nations,” Professor Kanwar said. “We need high-quality distance education – with research to support it. This is where DEHub comes in; I’m very glad that Australia has taken a leadership role in this respect.”

Professor Kanwar, who is based in Canada, said that the project was particularly exciting because of its collaborative nature – something relatively new for higher education institutions.

UNE’s Professor Belinda Tynan, the Director of DEHub, said that she and her colleagues were hoping to be able to work with the Commonwealth of Learning in helping to provide access to education for “a whole range of people”.

Professor Tynan (pictured here) confirmed that the DEHub project was a true collaboration, with the participating institutions “leading it together”.

The representatives of those participating organisations who attended the launch were Professor Phil Candy, the University of Southern Queensland’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Learning), Professor Mike Keppell, the Director of the Flexible Learning Institute at Charles Sturt University, Dr Leone Hinton, Director of Strategy, Quality and Review at CQUniversity, and Associate Professor Mark Brown, Director of Blended and Distance Education at Massey University (NZ).

Other special guests included representatives of the Cunningham Library (Australia’s most comprehensive educational research library), Victoria University, and AARNet (Australia’s Academic and Research Network).

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Professor Belinda Tynan speaking at the launch of the DEHub project. Clicking on this image reveals a photograph of Professor Tynan with (from left) Professor Jim Barber, Professor Graham Webb (UNE’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor), and Professor Asha Kanwar.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 11:22 am and is filed under News, Research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

3Com upgrades NT education network

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:44:49 +0000

Network vendor 3Com announced today that it had scored a three-year multimillion-dollar contract with the Northern Territory’s Department of Education and Training. Angela Hughes (Credit: 3Com)3Com will upgrade the department’s network for the territory’s 187 schools, which house 43,000 students and 5000 staff.

The vendor will supply products from its H3C network family including switches, schools in a box (router, voice, wireless, 3G and data connectivity in one device), wireless controllers and access points as well as an intelligent management centre to oversee network infrastructure.

The contract also includes maintenance for each of the schools and training of staff at Alice Springs, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Darwin.

“3Com has gained a reputation among education and government institutions for offering the most high-performing, resilient and secure networking infrastructures in the business at the best possible value,” Angela Hughes, country manager for 3Com Australia and New Zealand said in a statement.

Digital world of young children

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:44:48 +0000

In an effort to better understand the ways in which young people’s learning and expression are being shaped by mobile and digital technologies, the Pearson Foundation released “The Digital World of Young Children: Emergent Literacy,” a research white paper on the effects of digital media on young children’s learning at the 2010 Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) International Symposium, in Washington, DC.

Authored by early childhood education experts, Arizona State University’s Jay Blanchard and Terry Moore, the white paper examines the latest research on the ways in which young children make use of increasingly personalized and mobile media – including cell phones, television, video games, smart devices, and computers. The report focuses on the impact of these new ways of learning and also highlights the degree to which these emergent literacies are rooted in young people’s use of common-place mobile devices – especially in developing and least-developed nations.

Post by http://waroadsafetyforum2008.com.au/

Blanchard’s and Moore’s research finds that developmental milestones are changing as a new generation of young children approach learning and literacy in ways not thought possible in the past. According to this new report, digital media is already transforming the language and cultural practices that enable early literacy development, making possible a new kind of personal and global interconnectedness.

The research reveals that:

Opportunities to engage with digital media increasingly prevail through the use of mobile devices – and in developing countries access to mobile devices is more commonplace than access to other technologies
Developmental milestones are changing as young people’s access to mobile and digital technology grows.
Digital media positively impacts children’s opinion of learning, providing engagement opportunities not always seen with print materials.

This study also confirms the need to continue delivering educational programs to teachers and children who otherwise would not have access to these kinds of educational opportunities.

“The Digital World of Young Children: Emergent Literacy” is the second Pearson Foundation funded study of the effects of mobile and digital technologies on young people. The first, “Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children’s Learning”, was released in 2009 by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. The report, by Center Industry Fellow, Carly Shuler, draws on interviews with mobile learning experts and offers a review of scientific literature and industry trends to illustrate how mobile devices might be more broadly used for learning.