Gradarius and Worldwide Center of Mathematics Launch Integrated Product and Service Offerings

New Partnership Offers Aligned Differential and Integral Calculus Learning Experiences

Columbus, OH – August 4, 2016 – Today Gradarius and the Worldwide Center of Mathematics launched the first two of a planned series of Calculus learning modules at MAA MathFest 2016. The two Gradarius Content Modules are based on the Center’s Worldwide Differential Calculus and Worldwide Integral Calculusdigital and print textbooks, and will be available later this month.

Gradarius is the world’s first stepwise Calculus Learning Platform™. Gradarius provides students with engaging online learning experiences that teach and reinforce logical step-by-step problem solving methods. Students are encouraged to “show their work,” in a similar manner to solving Calculus problems on paper, and can receive meaningful feedback and guidance during each step of the problem-solving process.

“We are incredibly excited to be collaborating with the Gradarius team,” said Dr. David Massey, Founder and Director of the Worldwide Center for Mathematics. “The innovation of the Gradarius platform brings a whole new dimension of student engagement to the Worldwide Calculus series. For the first time, a student can get detailed feedback about each step of a solution while solving a problem any time of the day or night. Instructors can immediately see the details about how every student enrolled in their Calculus classes are solving each step of a problem.”

The Worldwide Center of Mathematics provides a comprehensive set of high quality instructional videos along with textbooks in digital and print formats that are designed to be more affordable than conventional textbooks. In addition to Differential and Integral Calculus the Center’s Calculus offerings include Pre-Calculus, Multivariate Calculus, Differential Equations with Linear Algebra, and Calculus resources designed specifically for high school students.

“We are impressed by the mission of the Worldwide Center of Mathematics, the quality of its instructional resources, and the dedication of its team,” said Dr. Alexei Miasnikov, Founder of Gradarius and Director of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the Stevens Institute of Technology. “We believe that students using Gradarius with Center resources, will obtain an even deeper understanding of Calculus concepts and topics. Additionally, instructors will gain significantly better insights into their students’ strengths, areas for improvement, and overall achievements.”

MAA MathFest participants are invited to preview the modules and review the textbooks by visiting Gradarius in booth #7 and the Worldwide Center of Mathematics in booth #40. 

About the Worldwide Center of MathematicsThe Worldwide Center of Mathematics (centerofmath.org) was founded in 2008 by Dr. David B. Massey, a career mathematician and educator of more than 30 years. Its mission is to engage and nurture the local and global mathematics communities. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and focused solely on mathematics, the Center of Math publishes research and other academic resources. Leveraging today’s technology, the Center of Math produces primarily digital resources, including textbooks, videos, research and more.

About GradariusGradarius (www.gradarius.com) is the world’s first stepwise Calculus Learning Platform™. With Calculus as the principal gateway to STEM education and careers, Gradarius provides students with engaging online learning experiences that teach and reinforce logical step-by-step problem solving methods. Encouraging students to “show their work,” in a similar manner to solving Calculus problems on paper, Gradarius provides feedback and guidance to students during every step of the problem-solving process to help students achieve concept mastery and understanding. Combining data analytics with patent-pending adaptive-learning algorithmic techniques, Gradarius helps instructors save time and gain efficiencies by readily identifying areas of strength and weakness for every student. With Gradarius, universities, colleges, and high schools can realize measurable learning outcomes, increased student retention, and higher student satisfaction.

http://www.gradarius.com/gradarius-centerofmath-partnership/ 

Our Reaction to the Textbook Market

Image: commons.wikimedia.org

As college students ourselves, we (the interns at the Center) worry about the price of textbooks at the beginning of each semester.

Would you rather have this?

Why spend $1,200 on textbooks in a calendar year if you simply don’t need to? For less than $200 ($169.23 before taxes, to be precise) students or professors could purchase a digital copy of every textbook, electronic study guide, and iPhone/Android app we offer, plus a sweet Center of Math t-shirt. Our prices provide an opportunity for college students to deviate from the doldrums of the dining hall to …*gasp*…edible food!

New SAT, New Questions, New Issues

image: kirkcrady.files.wordpress.com

In recent weeks, The College Board has made national headlines over their decision to revamp the SAT, the score that is perhaps the most important number on a college application besides the hallowed Grade Point Average. The College Board has lowered the top possible score to 1600, down from 2400, heavily revising what the old three sections contained...

The Journal of Singularities - Volume 11: January '15 - December '15

The Journal of Singularities

Volume 11

January '15 - December '15

Article 1:

On real anti-bicanonical curves with one double point on the 4th real Hirzebruch surface

GO TO JOURNAL OF SING

go to www.journalofsing.org to read this and all preceding volumes

Friedrich Hirzebruch

Center of Math NEWs: Greg Moore - Physical Mathematics and the Future

Center of Math NEWs brings you fun and interesting new mathematics news from around the world.

Topics: Physical mathematics, string theory, infinite-dimensional Lie algebras, geometry, analytic number theory, topology,  quantum gravity, string theory, supersymmetry

Physical Mathematics and the Future - Gregory W. Moore: paper (PDF)

Show slides: here 

 Runtime 16:02

Strings 2014: go

Want to Know the Secret of Life? It's Math!

Ever wonder what distinguishes life from death? According to physicist, Max Tegmark, math is what defines everything. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor argues that consciousness consists of nothing more than mathematical patterns and that nothing but changes in atom arrangement differentiate life from death. You can watch it right here!

This video was recorded during his talk at TEDxCambridge last month. Check out the other speakers and performers here!

Can Math Predict the Future... Of the World Cup?

Today is the first game of the World Cup Semi-finals! Unfortunately, this time around we don't have Paul the Octopus to help us know who the victors will be, but Microsoft has us covered! Cortana, the intelligent personal assistant for Windows devices, has used Microsoft's Bing search engine to correctly predict the outcome of every elimination round match of this year's World Cup. Using algorithms and machine learning models, Bing has correctly predicted not only World Cup games but also picked contestants of voting shows. Here's more information on what it is and how it was designed.

Want to see the predictions for the Semi-finals? Let's see if Master Chief was right in going with Cortana over an octopus. Check it out here!

#textbooksareexpensive

Today the United States Senate voted-down Sen. Elizabeth Warren's proposed student debt refinancing bill (read article here). The defeat means millions of Americans will not be made eligible to refinance their existing student loans at today's lower rates.

Unfortunately, education expenses are aggressive and the consequences of student borrowing is bleeding from one generation to the next. This Instagram post by user jwelsh95 illustrates how the cost of required textbooks can fuel the debt-fire.
At the Center of Math, we publish ONLY high-quality, accessible and affordable math resources.

Upcoming Events

     In the upcoming weeks, there are a number of interesting edtech, mathematical, and STEM conferences and events taking place. We have put together a list so that you can keep up with the events and see the latest happenings in the math and education world!

NISOD 2014

NISOD’s International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence attracts educators from around the world and is the definitive gathering of community and technical college faculty, administrators, and staff seeking to engage in deep conversations about best and promising practices designed to improve student achievement.

     NISOD 2014, which takes place in Austin, Texas this year, is the place to be for community and technical college faculty who wish to promote practices to improve academic success for students. The conference will feature an exhibit hall with a variety of exhibits, as well as daily sessions and lectures given by motivating national speakers. Want to keep up with the event on twitter? The official hashtag is: #NISOD2014, @NISOD.

Conference Website

Canadian Mathematical Society 2014 Summer Meeting

The Canadian Mathematical Society promotes the advancement, discovery, learning and application of mathematics in Canada.

     The Canadian Mathematical Society is hosting their annual summer meeting in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The conference will have sessions on a variety of mathematical subjects hosted by faculty from Canadian and U.S universities. Students will be able to attend a variety of workshops and events specifically for students. Finally, there will be an exhibit hall featuring companies and textbook publishers. The official twitter handle for the CMS is: @canmathsociety.

Conference Website

State of the Union EdTech

Thursday May 29th, 2014. Cambridge, MA

     LearnLaunch is hosting a conference right in our backyard, Cambridge, MA. A panel of education innovators will lead a discussion on how technology is being integrated into education, what those products are, and any problems that prevent them from furthering student academic achievement. The official hashtag is: #StateOfEd14.

Event Webpage

Bridging the Workforce Gap: In-Demand STEM Occupations in the Metro North Region

Friday May 30th, 2014. Cambridge, MA

     The Metro North Regional Employment Board (REB) is hosting an event in Cambridge to outline career paths in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The focus will be on five career paths: Information Technology, Life Sciences, Healthcare, Advanced Manufacturing, and Engineering. The event is designed around people who wish to encourage youths to pursue STEM careers in the future.

Event Webpage