Digital Devices

Your New Lab Partner Might Be a Robot...

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 21:37:43 +0000

Your New Lab Partner Might Be a Robot... Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 08/24/2018 - 15:37

Tarah Dykeman

OIT is excited to offer a new service this semester: Kubi - Remote Presence Technology. Kubi is a robotic “neck” that holds a tablet and allows a remote user to control the tablet through a Zoom web conference meeting. From their own computer, the remote student can see, hear, and speak with their instructor and classmates using the tablet’s camera and microphone. The Kubi allows the remote student to take charge of their experience by moving the tablet 320 degrees side-to-side and 90 degrees up and down. This remote attendance tool removes barriers to classroom participation for students who are not physically able to attend face-to-face classes.

You may have heard of Kubi through the Academic Technology Design Team’s Kubi Innovation Grant Pilot. The pilot explored ways to help students who could not be physically present in the classroom due to extenuating circumstances. During the pilot, Kubi allowed students to keep up with their coursework and prevented them from being absent, falling behind, and possibly needing to withdraw. Read more about the Kubi pilot in the EDUCAUSE Review article “Using Telepresence Robots to Support Students Facing Adversity.” Based on the success of this pilot, OIT has transitioned to providing a Kubi Service.

The Kubi Service is now available to �� Boulder students for a variety of circumstances that would benefit from remote attendance. Visit the Kubi Service page for more information and to find out if Kubi could suit your needs.

PHOTO: Glenn Asakawa

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ASSETT's 3D Printer Could Come to Your Class

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 18:05:00 +0000

ASSETT's 3D Printer Could Come to Your Class Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/10/2015 - 12:05

ASSETT student staff investigated the uses of the ASSETT 3D printer that is available to �� Boulder College of Arts and Sciences courses for demonstration purposes.

What could you with the 3D printer? First, get ideas. Consider how you could use the ASSETT 3D printer to support students' learning. Some great ideas are at http://3dprint.com/27743/3d-printing-benefits-schools/. Make a 3D model of a polyhedron in math class. Create a three dimensional topographic map that shows variations in terrain. Print your own fossils to bring museum artifacts into your classroom. Create a cross section of the heart or a larger than life cellular organelle for Biology class. Imagine the possibilities in art class. ASSETT students decided to design something functional: enhanced ski goggles that feed information as you glide.

Now that you have your idea, write your design. Learn to draw in 3D for free with Sketchup.com, or take free online 3D printing tutorials at Shapeways.com. The ASSETT students pictured here designed plastic products in Blender software. Blender allows the user to design products on a virtual three dimensional coordinate plane. You can even write your design in Photoshop!

Third, purchase your materials. ASSETT is happy to share its 3D printer for educational purposes for College of Arts and Sciences classes. Next, you need to purchase filament to feed into the 3D printer. The ASSETT students purchased the colored filament that feeds into the printer at local hardware stores.

Learn more about how 3D Printers work.

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Women, Gender Studies Purchases Laptops, Software with ASSETT Development Award

Anonymous — Fri, 08 May 2015 06:00:00 +0000

Women, Gender Studies Purchases Laptops, Software with ASSETT Development Award Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/08/2015 - 00:00

�� Boulder Women and Gender Studies students tell women's stories with equipment purchased through ASSETT Development Awards. Associate Professor Celeste Montoya's Spring 2015 senior colloquium class created the Feminists of the Front Range project. Montoya's students recorded interviews with self-identified feminists in the Boulder area. Montoya said that students, "... used tape recorders and cameras from previous ASSETT awards the Women & Gender Studies Program has applied for." The students used Photoshop to format photographs and quotations from the people with whom they spoke onto posters.

The students posted the posters around campus. The students also created photo books that are on display at the Hazel Gates Woodruff Cottage. Many of the interviewees' profiles are included on the Colloquium's Facebook page, Feminists of the Front Range.

Montoya said that through the Feminists of the Front Range project, her students learned about, "... how to best represent people in an ethical way," considering how personal conversations about feminism can be. Montoya said the ASSETT Development Award was an, "... amazing resource for us to engage in more interactive teaching projects."

Montoya also received an ASSETT Development Award last year with which she purchased laptops and NVivo qualitative research software. Montoya said that her students can train in research methods and learn how to code interview data with the software.

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ASSETT Development Grant Adds Tech to Philosophy Department's Library

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 07:00:00 +0000

ASSETT Development Grant Adds Tech to Philosophy Department's Library Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/05/2015 - 00:00

The Philosophy Department received an ASSETT Development Award in 2014 to install a technical upgrade to their Reading Room. The Morris Reading Room is the �� Boulder Philosophy Department's library and is located upstairs in Hellems.

With the purchases made with ASSETT Development Award funds, the Reading Room now offers many features that �� Boulder classrooms do and more. The department purchased a 70 inch screen TV with a mount that offers 36 vertical inches of mobility. The TV has an HDMI set up plus other auxiliary devices, including a blue ray player and a Mac mini. This set up replaces the projectors and pull down screens that used to hang from the Morris Reading Room Wall. Now, instructors can quickly project their PowerPoints or play films from USB drives or laptops on the TV. On Monday nights, the undergraduate Philosophy Club hosts speakers in the Morris Reading Room.

Lastly, the Philosophy Department installed an OIT clicker station. This way, the Reading Room offers similar capabilities as do other campus classrooms! Considering the ongoing renovation of the Ketchum building, holding classes in the Morris Reading in Hellems is a huge help to department space requirements.

Pictured here are Sheralee Brindell's Philosophy 2260 Philosophy and Food students watching a PowerPoint in the Morris Reading Room. Brindell said that she loves having the screen above her as she teaches.

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Kan Archives Language Sound Bites with ASSETT Development Award

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 06:00:00 +0000

Kan Archives Language Sound Bites with ASSETT Development Award Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/14/2014 - 00:00

Research team from left: Wes Song, Dr. Pui Fong Kan, Allina Robertson, Shirley Cheung, and Fan Yin Cheng

Last year, �� Boulder Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Center Assistant Professor Pui Fong Kan received an ASSETT Development Award to create web based resources for pathologists who treat patients who are multilingual and are having trouble communicating in English. Pui Fong explains that having a go-to database to learn more about a patient's primary language can provide helpful insights about the reasons patients may exhibit difficulty communicating in English.

The Idea

Pui Fong said that student input has made this project possible: "This project started in class. I was talking about how the resources available to bilingual speech and language pathologists are limited." Allina Roberts, a Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences graduate student, came up to Pui Fong after class that day and said, "We can do this!" Roberts introduced Pui Fong to Wes Song, an aspiring programmer, who happened to be looking for a goodwill project. Song volunteered to develop the website as his class project for a Refactoru.com web development class. Roberts now conducts research for the project.

Pui Fong would like the website to offer comprehensive sound bites of different languages' syllables, consonants, and dipthongs. The team will invite peer institutions to contribute their expertise about the languages of the world. Pui Fong and her team explained how time consuming and overwhelming it can be for a clinician when trying to research and learn about a client's first language. Pui Fong's team envisions that with access to their website, speech therapists will be able to more quickly learn about clients' languages. Such knowledge will help therapists determine how to help different speech clients communicate in English. Pui Fong explained, "We are working with a diverse population ... Sometimes [speech patients] make errors in the second language, but they are just in the process of learning two languages; they don't have a problem ..." The team would also like the website to offer some, "... resources about bilingual children." The team's goals are to finish the website and invite other speech therapy clinicians, researchers, and linguists to contribute to it.

Right now, the team is working on the first phase of the website, and Song is rushing to complete the rest. He is setting up the website so that approved users would be able to add new languages and tables of consonant or vowel sounds. Song said that he is incorporating Web 2.0 to make the site more responsive and easier to use: he is using Javascript, CSS, and HTML to code different parts of the site.

Pui Fong views the project as a team effort, and says, "We want students to be able to participate and contribute." Indeed, also working on the project are: Fan Yin Cheng, a visiting Research Assistant in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, and Shirley Cheung, an Honors �� Boulder Senior in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Pui Fong appreciates the input that she receives from her team, "As this project continues I realize that [Song] has some interesting ideas, like mobile devices." The team would like to offer the website on tablets and iPads for their portability. Pui Fong says that she would like to include even more students in the project this year.

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Students Nominate Ed Rivers for ASSETT Teaching with Technology Award

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 06:00:00 +0000

Students Nominate Ed Rivers for ASSETT Teaching with Technology Award Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/08/2014 - 00:00

�� Boulder English Professor Dr. Ed Rivers says that he has not assigned his students to purchase textbooks in 15 years. Instead, Rivers is doing all he can to teach with technology. "I think they appreciate that," he remarks. Indeed, students nominated Rivers for a 2013 ASSETT Teaching with Technology Award for his course English 4060 Modern Short Stories. Rivers has enjoyed access to classrooms in ATLAS, where he can also provide laptops to all students during class. "It's not only a monetary advantage, but I think it's an intellectual advantage because the laptop gives them access to the whole world."

Rivers says that with all students on computers, "Among other things, they work on research questions right there in class." He explains that if students are reading a piece of literature that makes reference to a painting or piece of music, or even a particular musical performance, then, with a computer in front of them, they can look up the painting or the musical performance immediately:

YouTube, in my opinion, is the greatest teaching resource that's ever been invented ... With computers, [students] can find out instantly what the music sounds like or what the painting looks like ... Then, once it's found, they can find out why [the reference] is there and why it's mentioned ... That couldn't have been done in the old days ... It breaks down that rigid classroom structure ... stimulates discussion and stimulates thinking.

Rivers also uses the computers in class to demonstrate best strategies in how to conduct scholarly research so that when reading a piece of literature, students can go, "... past the point of what you think it means, and then read what other people have said." Rivers expresses gratitude for the access to the computers that students can use in class: "I think it's a real privilege to be able to use that kind of technology," he explains. "I feel lucky to be able to." However, Rivers also says he wishes such resources could be available in all �� Boulder classes: "It's a characteristic that should be available in every classroom here ... It would be great if every class here could have that ... I think we should have them in every room," he says.

In addition to using technology in their learning, Rivers encourages students to create creative responses with original YouTube videos or podcasts. Students also spend class time working together in groups to write their own short stories. Every student having a laptop makes this process easier: "Instant revision--everyone can have a copy." Also, with everyone on computers, Rivers doesn't overlook the potential of online audience. He encourages students to submit their short stories for online publication. And they do get published--Rivers shares links to published students' stories with the entire class even the semester has finished.

Rivers has ventured out of the traditional English course realm even further, creating the courses English 3856-001 Multimedia Composition and English 4116-001 Multimedia: Sound. With access to ATLAS resources, students learn to put writing to music and/or video.

Rivers says that he first became inspired to teach with technology by a �� Boulder Faculty Teaching Excellence Program's Teaching with Technology summer seminar workshop in 2001. The workshop was under the direction of the current Faculty Teaching Excellence Program Director Mary Ann Shea. "That was a life changing event. It all started there," he says. Rivers explains that the summer workshop changed how he thought about teaching and how he shaped his career: "The seminar planted the seeds ... It gave my career a whole new direction--a whole new jolt of energy." Shortly after, Rivers also enjoyed an ASSETT Teaching with Technology Seminar. He says that he enjoyed the opportunity to learn alongside other colleagues.

Ultimately, Rivers wants his students to, "Look where other people don't look," and also to teach students how to be their own teachers:

My main goal as a teacher is teaching them how to do without me as a teacher ... I think the main goal of teaching is just a disappearing act ... like the Chesire Cat--to disappear gradually so that they are their own teachers.

Rivers plans to teach with the new �� Boulder College of Media, Communication, and Information.

"At this point, I don't think I'd teach any other way ... There's no end to it really."

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Dr. George Rivera's Students' Art Crossed Borders with ASSETT Development Award Funding

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 06:00:00 +0000

Dr. George Rivera's Students' Art Crossed Borders with ASSETT Development Award Funding Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 06/19/2014 - 00:00

Does art belong in a combat zone? Dr. George Rivera of the �� Boulder Art Department believes it does. With only a portable printer, Rivera collaborated with university students in Boulder and in Bethlehem, Palestine to create an international art exhibit. He received an ASSETT Development Award last year to purchase the portable photographic printer and photographic paper that were necessary to create the bare bones exhibit. "[The ASSETT Development Award funding] resulted in an exhibition entitled HOME/LAND, which consisted of 40 art pieces of Image and Text presented in the Visual Arts Department of Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts & Culture in Bethlehem, Palestine ..." says Rivera, who collaborated with Professor Johny Andonia at the Dar al-Kalima University College in Bethlehem, Palestine. The portable printer enabled the exhibit to take place, "without the expensive shipping," that an overseas exhibit would normally require, Rivera explains. He points out that a photo printer may not normally be easily available in Palestine, and, "Without the equipment, you can't do this ... I think that's what these awards are meant for."

Rivera took pictures of students at both universities and invited them to respond in eight words or fewer what home, land, or homeland meant to them. Their responses included:

"2 towns 2 axis the center home"
Home is where I want to raise a family.
Home is where I'm accepted
Home where I Feel safe
Where there is good food
Home Is A Place I'm Looking for

Rivera explains that the process of coupling an explanation with a photograph of someone is an extension of the Conceptual Art Movement that matured in the 1960s and 1970s, in which, "It's the idea that drives something, rather than the image," he says.

Why Palestine?

Through the exhibit, Rivera aimed to illustrate the universality that exists in all people, despite our differences of nationality, ethnicity, and religion. He says that participating in the exhibit was an, "Opportunity to know others in the world better ... [and] to help students think internationally and globally." He says the exhibit was intended:

"To remind people that they have something in common with other human beings--to remind them that they are not as isolated as they think they are. That makes us one ... We get caught up too much in categories. Underneath all of those categories are human beings like you and me."

When asked about the decision to exhibit in a combat zone, Rivera responds, "Students have to learn how to deal with change and diversity ... [These are] universal issues no matter where we live that we all have in common." Rivera says that he believes that art can "transcend" the boundaries and politics of this world that more often divides us: "Art is life, and life is art. There is not a separation ... I believe we can change the world with our presence." He quoted the late German philosopher Herbert Marcuse in The Aesthetic Dimension in saying, "'Art cannot change the world, but it can contribute to changing the consciousness and drives the men and women who could change the world.'"

Rivera also explained that the opportunity for students to present at an international venue is exceptional:

"... ASSETT funds enabled students in our Art Department to have international exhibitions and allowed us to print the art of image and text of students from other universities as an exchange between our university and an international venue. Thank you for the ASSETT Award, as it benefited our art students by obtaining international exhibits for them."

Portable printer, laptop, and camera in tow, Rivera says that the HOME/LAND exhibit is only the beginning of a greater and longer international partnership. He would like to continue to collaborate with Professor John Andonia at Dar al-Kalima University College in Palestine and exhibit on an annual basis there and on an even bigger scale, renting out advertisement space at bus stations in Bethlehem. Since the exhibit culminates in eight-by-eleven photographs, "I can leave it behind," says Rivera.

Next, Rivera plans to ask students to answer the question, "What is art?"

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Applying Natural Science Concepts to Calculus Programming in Eric Stade's Math 1310 Course

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 06:00:00 +0000

Applying Natural Science Concepts to Calculus Programming in Eric Stade's Math 1310 Course Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/03/2014 - 00:00

Want to model the progress of a disease over a month's time? Sure, just write a calculus equation that would model the statistics of the disease's progression for one hour at a time. Got that done? Now, just solve the problem over and over again until...Did you fall asleep yet? Oops. I forgot to tell you that you could write a computer program to solve it for you. You just need calculus, statistics, and some life science knowledge. In Dr. Eric Stade's Math 1310 Calculus, Systems, and Modeling course, that's just what you'll need. Math 1310 is designed for life science students to learn to apply calculus concepts to natural or earth science phenomena like RNA sequencing or the spread of the disease over time. Stade says that calculus is important for creating the mathematical models that study of the life sciences require.

Stade recognizes what a transferable skill programming is, and he teaches students how to write their own code using programming software like Math Studio or Sage Open Mathematics Software to solve problems. Stade says that this technology is helpful to complete dull repetitive equations. He encourages students to break down a question into smaller questions, like in the case of the spread of a disease over time. "We try to teach [programming] in a user-friendly environment," he says. The process of writing a program requires, "Quite a bit of planning, thought, and logical reasoning," he says. "Often, students are resistant at the outset of the course...Students are intimidated by programming," Stade says. That's why, "In this course, we ease them into it," he says, first providing a completed program for students to use to solve a problem. Then, Stade teaches students to write a program to solve a problem, step-by-step. "From there, students get more confidence and familiarity with programming," he says. Ultimately, students in his class learn to write their own programs.

Graphic of the evolution of a disease over time, Contributed by Dr. Eric Stade

Stade says that he must constantly educate himself in the natural sciences to keep course material relevant for life science majors. "I spend a lot of time preparing for class," he says, and he collaborates with Professor David Webb in the School of Education and Professors Mike Klymkowsky and Robin Dowell of the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program. Stade's commitment is evident, and students nominated him for a Spring 2013 ASSETT Teaching with Technology Award. One student wrote:

Through this technology, we were able to use existing models to learn real-life applications of calculus, and by the end [of the course] were able to create our own models for phenomena using math studio coding and class-taught calculus. This was extremely useful, not only in helping us better learn the material, but also in seeing the ways the material will be ... useful in our future careers as medical and science professionals.

Additionally, Stade uses a tablet device to write and project lecture notes and to do demonstrations in class. He is interested in how students learn, and he wants to continue to create a more interactive classroom. "The math department is moving toward an active learning model, which would be more participatory," Stade says. Stade is working on pre-designed lessons in which he would create skeletal lecture notes written out before class. Stade would project the notes onto the board, and students would help him fill in the blanks during class. "Students could talk in small groups, and we would fill in notes on the iPad...In the end, there can be a complete set of notes that can be posted on the web for reference," he says.

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Faculty Learn from Teaching with Technology Seminar

Anonymous — Tue, 20 May 2014 06:00:00 +0000

Faculty Learn from Teaching with Technology Seminar Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/20/2014 - 00:00

Faculty members Giorgio Corda, Dave Rickels, Holly Gayley, Janet Casagrand, Elena Kostoglodova, and Jen Lewon participated in both the Teaching with Technology Faculty Seminar and the Hybrid and Online Course Design Seminars this past 2013-2014 academic year. These faculty presented at the Second Annual ASSETT Teaching with Technology Symposium at the UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom in May. Audience members at the Symposium were invited to browse their demonstrations of use of technology in teaching.

Giorgio Corda of the Italian Language Department presented his hybrid and online foreign language course models. He said that he feels that teaching online provides a more fulfilling language learning experience than just in-the-classroom. Corda ascribes to a cooperative learning pedagogy and uses VoiceThread and other programs so that students can comment throughout a video while they watch it. Students' comments on videos are visible to the entire class so that students can help each other. Corda stressed the flexibility that online learning provides makes a more equitable playing field for more students with outside responsibilities to participate. He provides a weekly fifteen minute one-on-one session with students to assess their progress and allow time to answer questions.

Dave Rickels, PhD, uses the Coach's Eye Tablet app that is traditionally used in sports coaching to coach future music teachers with synchronized video feedback. With the app, he can record his own voice over a video of a student giving a sample lesson. He said, "It's very real to the students because they have to watch themselves."

Janet Casagrand, PhD, of the Integrated Physiology Department presented her use of "Screencasts for Student Review."

Elena Kostoglodova, PhD, of the German and Slavic Languages and Literatures presented, "Integrated Camtasian and Voicethreads Tutorials for the Hybrid Language Classroom."

Jen Lewon of the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Department presented how she encouraged a student community through social media.

Holly Gayley, PhD of the Religious Studies Department presented, "Documentary Storytelling in the Humanities."

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Silva Chang Uses Technology to Illustrate Mathematics Concepts

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 07:00:00 +0000

Silva Chang Uses Technology to Illustrate Mathematics Concepts Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/05/2014 - 00:00

Silva Chang projects her lessons from an iPad onto the board in Calculus classes. She works out problems in different colors, asks students questions to predict next steps, and lets them volunteer answers. Chang believes that seeing problems unfold live helps students better understand proper solving procedures.

Chang says that now, "Students expect technology," and that attitude earned her a 2013 ASSETT Outstanding Teaching with Technology Award. She says that she switched from using chalk and dry erase boards to projecting her iPad onto the board about two to three years ago and now has "So much flexibility." For example, when Chang uses her iPad in class to work out problems, she can actually face her students while teaching (instead of turning her back while she writes on a dry erase board). Also, using an iPad "certainly saves time," Chang says, as she does not need to erase her work to make room for the next problem. Instead, Chang can write out the text for word problems on her iPad before class, and then use in class time to read aloud problems and work them out with her students. Using iPad apps such as Software Garden Note Taker HD, she can quickly bring up an x and y coordinate plane, and use her Stylus pen to drag a straight line to its intersecting point on a parabola. After each class, Chang posts all of these PDFs of her in class lessons to D2L for her students to review. This record enables her, too, to recall exactly which problems she had taught her students in class so that she can better write original exam questions for them. To prevent the chance of any malfunctioning technology, Chang arrives just five minutes early for each class to make sure all technology is ready to go.

Writing Code to Illustrate Calculus Concepts

Chang writes code in Wolfram Mathematica to demonstrate more complicated surface area concepts in Calculus courses, including the use of rectangles to approximate area under a curve (Riemann Sum). As illustrated in these images above that Chang coded in Mathematica, the user can move the cursor from left to right to increase the number of rectangles that could fit under the curve. According to the Riemann Sum concept, the more rectangles that fit under the curve, the more accurately one can estimate the area under the curve. Instantaneously maneuvering illustrations in Mathematica can much more effectively demonstrate a concept than would be taking the time to manually draw and erase images on a dry erase or chalkboard.

In addition to incorporating iPad apps and Mathematica images into lessons, Chang also encourages her students to use technology in their homework. Specifically, Chang assigns her students Webassign textbooks. These books have associated online homework problems that are slightly different for each student. Webassign grades homework problems immediately so that Chang can more quickly see her students' results. Additionally, Chang teaches students how to write a function in Microsoft Excel so that they can use spreadsheets to plug in different variables to a more complicated formula like Newton's Method. She also encourages students to use the Desmos free graphing calculator website.

At the end of the week’s lessons, Chang may invite the students to to use their clickers to answer a sample question to assess their understanding of what they have learned. This way, she can immediately anonymously display the students' results to a question, and everyone in the class can see how many students understood the associated concept. If a significant number of students answered a question incorrectly, then Chang knows she should spend more time explaining the correct method.

Chang says that she hopes to one day become completely wireless so that she could actually walk around the room while teaching and even sit amongst students as she projects the problems that she is working out on her iPad. Chang finds inspiration in the Khan Academy's methods of using videos with different colors for different steps to explain math problem solving methods. Eventually, depending on the results of ongoing trials at other schools, such as at Harvey Mudd College, she may consider using the teaching concept of a flipped classroom, in which students would spend their homework time watching videos that demonstrate new methods. Then, in class, students would practice working out problems themselves, this time with the professor present.

Ultimately, Chang strives to teach her students to understand larger mathematical concepts, more than just finding the correct numerical answer for a test question.

Written by: Moira McCormick

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