• Instructional technology:  any tool used to facilitate a learning process; for example, physical equipment or examples, graphical displays, simulations, computations, interactive modules, calculators, computers and computer software, the web, etc.

• Demonstration:  a description or explanation of an idea, concept, or process, illustrated with some form of instructional technology.

The time we spend in our classes is extremely short compared to the mass of mathematical information our students need to learn. This makes the time we use for any demonstrations all the more precious, especially if we take the extra step to incorporate some form of technology into the lesson. The availability of technology alone does not guarantee increased student understanding. Thus, choosing topics for which we can develop effective demonstrations and determining how to efficiently incorporate them into our presentations is particularly important.

With this in mind we have undertaken a project to identify Demos with Positive Impact. While we cannot address all aspects of constructing, delivering, and assessing the impact of demonstrations, we hope that with your help we can construct a resource that provides guidance on successful demos that provide insight, visual models of concepts, or other positive learning experiences for students.

We invite you to submit your own demos and to give us feedback on demos that you have tried.

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Acknowledgements

We also gratefully acknowledge support for Demos with Positive Impact by the following:

• Temple University
• Georgia Southern University
• Georgia College and State University
• MathSoft, Inc.
• The MathWorks, Inc.
• Texas Instruments Incorporated.
• Key Curriculum Press

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