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S.O.S Mathematics - A Mathematics Help Site on the Internet – - A Mathematics Help Site on the Internet –
Helmut KnaustNancy Marcus
Math Medics, LLC P.O. Box 12395 El Paso TX � �79913
January 8, 2002 El Paso TX
Contents An Overview of the Web Site Itself Philosophy & Design The Building Blocks A Short Visit The “SOS CyberBoard”
A Brief History of Sosmath.com From www.math.utep.edu/sosmath … to www.sosmath.com
Resources and Technology Us How to put Mathematics on the Web? Publishing on a Commercial Server What Else Do You Need to Get Started?
The Users of Sosmath.com Usage and User Statistics
PhilosophyPhilosophy
SOSMath is the website at UTEP,
where you can work with material
to help you:
Do your homework Prepare for a test Get ready for class
To Help Students Successfully Master their Mathematical Transition from High School to College
VisionVision
High School Students in their Junior and Senior Year
University Freshmen and Sophomores
Target AudienceTarget Audience
Design ChoicesDesign Choices
SOSMath started in 1996 - Netscape 2.02 had just been released!
Make the browsing experience as easy for the users as possible: No frames, no plug-ins Maximal browser compatibility Easy navigation Uniform look of the pages Keep bandwidth requirements low Allow for user feedback
Subjects on Our SiteSubjects on Our Site
1 – High School MathematicsAlgebra
Trigonometry
2 – College MathematicsCalculus
Matrix Algebra
Differential Equations
3 – Miscellaneous Add-Ons“CyberExams” (Practice Tests)
Tables and Formulas
“SOS CyberBoard” (Bulletin Board)
A Short Visit toA Short Visit to sosmath.com
Homepage Algebra
Reducing fractions Solving equations with radicals Solving polynomial inequalities
Calculus Concavity and points of inflection The Intermediate Value Theorem
Differential Equations Orthogonal trajectories
The “SOS CyberBoard”The “SOS CyberBoard”
Provides a valuable service to our users Helps us interact with our users Helps us to improve our site by
accommodating user suggestions Requires a considerable time commitment Current bulletin board technology is not
well-suited for mathematical notation.
Visit the SOS CyberBoard
A Brief History IA Brief History I
Summer 1996 Planning
First pages written
August 21, 1996 Launch of www.math.utep.edu/sosmath
Summer 1997
Summer 1998
Production of a large chunk of the material on SOSMath
A Brief History IIA Brief History II
Spring 1999 Negotiations with UTEP to start SOSMath as a commercial enterprise.
May 14, 1999 Launch of www.sosmath.com on a shared web server.
July 5, 1999 Start of the S.O.S. CyberBoard.
October 5, 2001 www.sosmath.com moves to a dedicated web server.
To Get Started…To Get Started…
A prudent design A sensible plan Time, More time, …And more time! A wonderful team! Some knowledge – not too much – of technology
“This is the point, where you should mention me!”
[From our team member Mohamed Khamsi,Currently on leave at Kuwait University]
SupportSupport
From 1996-1998 we obtained generous support from the following sources:
Network Resources Training Site (NASA) grant at UTEP Model Institution for Excellence (NSF) grant at UTEP College of Science Department of Mathematical Sciences
How We Produce a How We Produce a SOSMathSOSMath Web Page I Web Page I
Step 1:
We write the content using LaTeX.
How We Produce a How We Produce a SOSMathSOSMath Web Page II Web Page II
Step 1:Writing the content using LaTeX
Step 2:
Converting to htmlMath formulas become images
How We Produce a How We Produce a SOSMathSOSMath Web Page III Web Page III
Step 3:
By now we have produced the raw html web file.
How We Produce a How We Produce a SOSMathSOSMath Web Page IV Web Page IV
Step 4:
We use Mathematica to produce graphics.
How We Produce a How We Produce a SOSMathSOSMath Web Page V Web Page V
Step 5:
After some editing by hand, the page is ready to be put on our web site.
Alternative Technologies to Put Alternative Technologies to Put Mathematical Typesetting on the Web IMathematical Typesetting on the Web I
Math Type/Equation Editor Used with Microsoft Word Easy to use Used to have problems to properly align formulas URL: http://www.mathtype.com/
IBM TechExplorer Uses a plug-in users have to download Very good looking! URL: http://www-3.ibm.com/software/network/techexplorer/
Alternative Technologies to Put Alternative Technologies to Put Mathematical Typesetting on the Web IIMathematical Typesetting on the Web II
Math Markup Language - MathML Similar to html, ASCII text, embeds into html-page Current browsers cannot display MathML, With the exception being “Mozilla” at URL:
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/mathml/ TechExplorer can interpret MathML.
Interactive Mathematics on the WebInteractive Mathematics on the Web LiveMath
Uses a plug-in. Great for 3D-animations. Symbolic Mathematics capabilities are still somewhat limited. URL: http://www.livemath.com/
WebMathematica Uses Java servlets. Mathematica is used as an authoring tool. Very versatile, but technically complicated URL: http://wri.com/products/webmathematica/ Also available combined with web hosting at
URL: http://hostsrv.com/
Web HostingWeb Hosting
Remote Web Host:•Usually on a PC with Linux-OS•May host 100s of web sites
Local Computer:•Preferably a PC with Windows-OS•Fast internet connection
File Upload and Host Management:•FTP protocol, using WSftp etc.•Telnet protocol
To Get Started on a Shoe String BudgetTo Get Started on a Shoe String Budget
Web Hosting Service, $10-30 per month for a shared host Domain Name, $35 per year Software
FTP client, $45 Computer algebra system?, $200-1500 Graphics editing software, $70-500 Back-Up capability, $0-100
Page Hits Per WeekPage Hits Per Week(html hits)
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
Apr-97 Oct-97 Apr-98 Oct-98 Apr-99 Oct-99 Apr-00 Oct-00 Apr-01 Oct-01
Page Hits and Users Per WeekPage Hits and Users Per Week
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
5/16/99 11/16/99 5/16/00 11/16/00 5/16/01 11/16/01
0
25,000
50,000
75,000
100,000
HTML Hits 12-week Average Users
Popularity of Subject AreasPopularity of Subject Areas
Subject
Algebra
Calculus
Differential Equations
CyberExam
Tables/Formulas
Trigonometry
Matrix Algebra
% of Total Usage
44.72%
14.02%
9.13%
8.75%
6.13%
5.94%
4.65%
Data Source: Logfile Analysis, November 26 - December 2, 2001
Age Distribution of UsersAge Distribution of Users
Under 144%
14-1722%
18-2420%
25-3420%
35-4420%
45-5410%
55+4%
Data Source: Survey November 2000, 352 participants
Occupation of Our UsersOccupation of Our Users
4%
23%
28%12%
23%
2%2%6%
Pupil (Grade K-8) Student (Grade 9-12) College Student
Teacher Other Professional Full-Time Parent
Retired Other
Data Source: Survey November 2000, 352 participants
More User InformationMore User Information
Have you bookmarked “SOSMath”?
Gender
Yes 63% Female 50%
No 37% Male 48%
Data Source: Survey November 2000, 352 participants
Country of OriginCountry of Origin
Country
USA
Canada
United Kingdom
Australia
Spain
Hong Kong
Israel
India
Belgium
Sweden
Portugal
Other
Views
53.64%
12.36%
5.00%
2.82%
2.60%
2.50%
2.22%
1.46%
1.38%
1.12%
1.06%
13.84%Data Source: BurstMedia, December 7, 2001 – January 4, 2002
How to contact us:
Mohamed A. [email protected]
Helmut Knaust [email protected]
Nancy Marcus [email protected]
Math Medics, LLC P.O. Box 12395 El Paso TX 79913� �
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