Working under an Undergraduate Teaching and Research Assistantship (UTRA), Margalit has designed a highly interactive web page that appears to extend learning and strengthen communications.
If you believe an effective web page will increase communications in your classroom, then Dan Margalit '98 wants to speak with you.
Working with Professor Thomas Banchoff under an Undergraduate Teaching and Research Assistantship (UTRA) sponsored by the Hughes Foundation, Margalit has designed a highly interactive web page which a trial run in Math 35 and Physics 21 shows can extend learning and strengthen communications.
On Dec. 11 at noon, Margalit will display the web page and discuss its features in the Swig Boardroom of the CIT.
Margalit does not want to interfere with University web policy or step on the toes of any technology committees or computer support offices. He just wants to share his creation.
"Everyone who sees it likes it and says they want it in their classes," Margalit said. "If students like it, the technology improves learning, and saves paper, why not?
A test drive of the page reveals that it allows students to ask and respond to questions while receiving input from peers, professors and TAs at any hour. Students may also submit papers for classmates to read and respond to rapidly and easily, as well as refer to each other's work. The web page could make a class completely paperless.
Banchoff said that the Math 35 web page has sparked collaborative thinking and provided opportunities for students to generate ideas based on those of their classmates.
According to Dean David Targan, who co-teaches Physics 21 this semester, Margalit and Banchoff have advanced web page technology by making much greater use of the web's interactive capability.
"By making your time outside the classroom more interactive, your time together in it becomes more interactive and effective," Targan said. "Use of the web page enhances communication within the classroom and increases understanding of the subject matter."
Although this particular web page has not been put into practice in a class with more than 50 students, the design has the potential to eliminate the paper management hassles inherent in the daily operations of a large class, Targan said.
Margalit and Banchoff are one of several faculty-student collaborators experimenting with interactive web pages in their classrooms. The Dec. 11 meeting is basically an UTRA "report" by Margalit to interested faculty, said Targan, who with Banchoff and physics Professor David Cutts will attend to answer questions about the web page.
"Brown students, by and large, are very enterprising," Targan said. "That's their nature. Many significant changes in the curriculum have been brought about by interactions between students and faculty. But no one at the gathering on Dec. 11 will be there to say 'I have this product, here it is, do you want to use it?' Every individual faculty member is unique in their needs, approaches and what they see as useful. Although the web page works well, it's too soon for anyone to call for the page's adoption across campus."
As the semester winds down, Margalit is visiting academic departments across campus to demonstrate the technology for interested faculty. During winter break, a computer science major will reprogram and sharpen the technology, he said.
Word of the unique interface has already spread off campus. Representatives from IBM and from the publisher Springer-Verlag recently visited campus to learn more about the technology.
For specifics about the project, contact Margalit.