WME FAQ

Q:  What is the difference between WME and other existing web-based
    math education approaches.

A:  The importance of using the Web to aid math education is not new.
    And it is a very good idea indeed.  There are many approaches
    ranging from applet-based virtual manipulatives
    and Interactive Math Tools by the NCTM Illuminations Project,
    the Mathforum at Drexel University, to the WIMS (by Xiao Gang
    in France) which uses a case-oriented approach by providing a 
    new CGI program for each new type of educational content page
    written in regular HTML.  These existing approaches are ad hoc
    compared with WME.

    WME is a framework consisting of:

    * A XML-defined language, MeML, to markup math edu pages.
      The design of this language is key to the many claims
      we make about WME.

    * A browser plug-in, woodpecker

    * A protocol to supply and access remote WME services

    * A way to organize and distribute on-Web math edu materials 
      that are relocatable, interoperable, customizable, and
      configurable.

    WME  establishes a systematic way of creating and
    supporting mathematics education on the Web in an open 
    and scalable manner.

Q: What is the WME vision?

A:   WME provides an authoring language (MeML),
    works with regular browsers, makes page creation simple and easy,
    allows systematic access to supporting WME services,
    and enables these independently developed components
    to interoperate seamlessly.
    In short, we hope the WME framework will help create a
    Web for Mathematics Education, that is,
    an environment in which mathematics education content,
    including both static and dynamic content,
    can all be built independently, maintained independently,
    placed on any Web server, delivered to any Web browser,
    and still interoperate and take advantage of one another
    on a global scale.

Q: What advantages does WME have?

A: Here is the top-10 advantages of WME.

Q: How easy is it for a school to adopt WME for teaching mathematics?

A: Very easy.  Simply set up the WME website and provide Web access
   for the class.  A WME model site can be downloaded and configured
   for a particlular school through the Web.  Lessons and topic modules
   are easily tailored and customized to fit any particular school.

   WME topic modules, lessons, and manipulatives are interchangible
   for maximum flexibility.

Q: Can a teacher control access to lessons?

A: Yes,  a number of ways are privided for control of student
   access.

Q: Can student answer questions and send answers to the teacher.

A: Yes.

Q: Can a teacher review student replies and provide comments for
   students.

A: Definitely, tools are also provided to help the teacher manage
   answers from students.

Q: Will students and teacher be able to have interactions among
   themselves through the WME pages?

A: A MathChat tool is provided for instructor-controled chat.

Q: Does WME provide any help with homeworks or exams?

A: WME provides a distributed assessment database to supply 
   teacher-contributed assessment questions for all to use.
   This WME subsystem can make assessment much easier.

Q: Will teachers be able to revise and modify lessons and modules
   supplied on the WME site?

A: Yes, and simply.   While teaching, a teacher can also hide parts 
   of a lesson to better focus students on tasks.

Q: If I have a good idea about teaching a certain topic or a manipulative
   for student interaction, how easy is it for me to contribute to
   WME?

A: WME is designed for interoperability.  Topic modules, lessons,
   manipulatives, front-end and back-end services can become
   plug-and-play components.

Q: What is the Content Type and filename extension for MathML?

A: application/mathml+xml and .mml (being standardized).