Design experiments which will help faculty evaluate the use of technology in calculus. Like most disciplines mathematics is being flooded with new technology aimed at doing or teaching. It is nearly impossible to keep-up with large numbers of sites that change weekly. New computer algebra tools, calculators and web engines are constantly evolving. At most colleges, calculus remains a problem course.
Many students find it difficult to learn calculus.
Even many who receive good grades say they didn't understand much of what they were doing or why they were doing it. The basic calculus curriculum is very old and the methods that students use to work problems are still primarily pencil and paper methods. If no tool is used to aid symbolic computation, students spend the vast majority of their calculus learning time doing algebra. Many mathematics instructors believe that visualization helps students learn certain concepts. Technology has long been used in calculus to perform certain computational tasks and to aid visualization of mathematical concepts.