The Western Piedmont Community College Computer Enhanced Mathematics Instruction Project

The Mathematics Department at Western Piedmont Community College requires extensive use of calculators in all transfer mathematics courses. College algebra students and calculus students are required to have graphing calculators while other students are required to have scientific calculators with linear regression capability. The integration of computer usage into the mathematics curriculum is the next logical step in the evolution of the College's mathematics program. To achieve this goal, the Western Piedmont Community College Computer Enhanced Mathematics Instruction Project (CEMIP) will enable the department to equip a multipurpose instructional computer laboratory by providing matching funds for the purchase of 21 microcomputers, four printers, a VGA liquid display panel with-an overhead projector, and site licenses for three commercial software packages DERIVE, MAPLE, and MINITAB. The lab will be used as a teaching classroom, an assigned computer usage lab, and limited-access lab open for selected mathematics students. Initially, the project will concentrate on incorporating computer usage into calculus and statistics instruction, with the ultimate goal of having computer usage integrated into the entire mathematics curriculum.