Using Multi-Monitor Technology to Construct a Simultaneous Authoring and Synchronized Mathematical Teaching Aided System

Abstract

The progress of computer technology has enabled an explosion in the visual ways of teaching presentation. In mathematical teaching, chalkboards are the most widely used medium in the instructional presentations in the classroom. In recent years, most educators present their instructional materials by using projector primarily rather than chalkboard. When teaching the geometric interpretations, educators how to help learners to build referential connections by using the algebra expressions including equations. Multimedia instructional presentation is the best approach for learners to construct meaningful knowledge and build referential connections of mental representation. However, most teaching presentations today bind with single monitor system, and it!|s difficult to present multiple documents or multimedia formats simultaneously if necessary. Another problem is that most authoring software and presenting software supports multiple monitors poorly. Besides, the synchronization of multiple documents among multiple monitors in teaching presentation is worthy to be concerned. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to use multiple monitor technology to construct a teaching aided system that supports and controls existing authoring software applications such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Acrobat, etc. Basing on the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, this aided system is implemented to combine and support verbal form and pictorial form in multimedia presentation. Such a scenario of teaching mathematics, educators can easily dispose the geometric interpretation and the algebraic expressions to help learner make the thinking transfer on two different monitors by using this aided system. The geometric interpretation displayed on one monitor means the verbal form, and the algebra expressions displayed on the other monitor means the pictorial form. In addition, during multiple monitor presentation, this teaching aided system is designed to be an event controller and provides a synchronized control mechanism, such events as "Go to Next Pageぴ, ぴGo to Previous Pageぴ and etc. The system can trigger directly most events.