Preface

Computer-aided instruction, in some form, has been around for a few decades. As digital hardware and software have advanced, so has the potential for computer-aided instruction.

In the last few years, these advances have reached a point where very rich computer-aided instruction can be conveniently available to almost everyone. The technologies that make this possible include:

• Sufficiently high computer processor speeds to make intensive computations found in computer graphics and simulations possible on personal computers.
• Low cost and availability of personal computers.
• The portability of personal computers which now approaches that of printed books.
• High speed access to the Internet and all of its resources.
• Advances in modern computer programming languages.

In other words, now is the time to push computer-aided instruction to a new level. That is what Eureka! Learning System is attempting. The success at our effort remains to be determined but here are a few points that we think are important:

• Eureka is highly interactive and engages the student more directly than what one gets by reading a book or attending a lecture.
• Exercises and questions are posed directly after a concept is discussed. The student is encouraged to work through these problems immediately before continuing. Thus any lack of understanding is corrected on the spot instead of being delayed to the end of a chapter.
• Exercises and examination questions are evaluated and graded immediately, eliminating the day or so delay found in classroom situations.
• A student can jump into a chapter at any time and, if certain prerequisite concepts are not understood, the student can jump to an explanation in a previous chapter for clarification and then return back.
• Eureka does not assume that the student knows nothing of the material being presented. Students usually know, for example, how to do basic arithmetic and have some idea of geometry. The goal of Eureka is to extend insight and understanding of the subjects presented.
• The pace of learning is strictly up to the student. Unlike a lecture, where one must keep up with the delivered presentation, using Eureka is more like studying from a book, but with student interaction with the material.
• The presentation style of the material is quite informal. We depart from the formal technical style in many ways. We us the second person narrative style, which we feel is more engaging than the traditional third person style. Bullet items and text coloring are used frequently for emphasis but sparingly enough not to give the appearance of clutter. The font used is an informal cursive style.

We recognize four different levels of instruction to match a student's learning sophistication:

• Highly guided instruction, where a teacher talks about a topic and helps students to work exercises. This is typical in elementary school instruction. Books are seldom used alone as a learning device.
• Lecture based instruction, where a teacher talks about a topic and the students maintain a relatively passive role until homework is assigned. A student's homework is then graded and the instruction moves on. This is typical in secondary school instruction. Books are provided as support material, but the primary delivery mode of knowledge is the lecture.
• Lecture and book instruction, where the course book is an indispensable part of the learning process. A student may take notes during the lecture but the book is necessary for out-of-classroom studying. This typical in undergraduate college instruction.
• Independent study, where the student directly gains knowledge from written material on the subject. A teacher, if involved at all, acts as a consultant to the student. This is typical in graduate college instruction.

Eureka addresses the last three instruction types. In other words, the system should be useful to high school students and beyond.

Eureka development is an ongoing activity. Interactive graphics and simulation are implemented in Java Applets, using an extensive proprietary set of libraries including three-dimensional graphics, symbolic math, rational and complex numbers, linear algebra, an object dependency network management library and others.

We request your feedback, problem reports, and suggestions via jackg@clayandpark.com.

Jack Gjovaag 6/23/2012