An interactive text is a computer document within which symbolic, numerical, and graphic tools can be used. All computations can then be pasted into the document so that each learner has an individual record of his or her investigations and discoveries. Students can work through many examples because they can be created immediately with new numbers or new mathematical functions. Students can design their own graphic and calculational investigations with graphs and calculations showing when the student wants them. Students are using an electronic notebook in which they can ask the software for help as needed.
Interactive texts can consist of a single module or an entire course in the form of a handbook.
Interactive Texts Engage Students Students are required to explore mathematical ideas. The computer eliminates the boring labor necessitated by hand computations. Students working with an interactive text cannot be passive learners. They must master the concepts through their own efforts. Students gain ownership of a concept or relationship.