Bill Casselman - Linear algebra with a Java-based programmable calculator

For a course in linear algebra taught in the Spring of 1999 to engineering students at UBC, I developed labs and coursework using a a Java-based programmable calculator, somewhat reminiscent of one of the high end HP graphing calculators. The calculator uses its own RPN language. It runs inside an Internet browser. It includes a fairly complete programming environment and a pop-up graphics window. Documentation, the calculator itself, and related course material can all be seen at sites referred to on the page

http://gamba.math.ubc.ca/coursedoc/math152/index.html

It was an interesting experiment. Success with students depended very much on how closely an instructor integrated the calculator into general course material, but the potential seems to be enormous. Among other things, it is very simple to extend the calculator's capabilities with a very small amount of Java program coding.