Interactive Business Calculus

商科微积分因不被经济学和商学专业的学生所理解而臭名昭著，他们认为商科微积分刻板且无关紧要。即使是准备充分的学生也很难从离散领域过渡到微积分固有的连续领域。这个项目的目的是通过创建真正的交互式软件来解决这些问题，该软件强调可视化、应用程序、数据和曲线拟合。该项目包括设计一套20-25幅交互式计算机插图(工具)和一本探索练习册。用户将通过指向并点击的界面和链接到插图的滑块与工具交互。软件设计师是麻省理工学院的休伯特·霍恩，他是一个类似的项目--交互式微分方程式的软件设计师。加州理工州立大学、圣路易斯·奥比斯波和费城圣约瑟夫大学的数学家将指导该项目，撰写探索报告，并与霍恩合作开发工具。此程序包可用作实时交互教室中的演示、远程学习环境中的演示，或演播室教室、计算机实验室或家中的分配作业。它将被设计用于任何商业微积分教科书，并将加强商业微积分的标准课程或改革课程。

Business calculus is notorious for being unappreciated by economics and business majors who see it as rigid and irrelevant. Even well prepared students have trouble making the transition from the discrete to the continuous domain that is inherent in calculus. The purpose of this project is to address these problems by creating truly interactive software that emphasizes visualization, applications, data and curve fitting. The project consists of designing a set of 20-25 interactive computer illustrations (tools) and a workbook of explorations. The user will interact with the tools by means of a point-and-click interface and sliders that are linked to illustrations. The software designer is Hubert Hohn of the Massachusetts College of Art, who is the software designer on Interactive Differential Equations, a similar project. Mathematicians at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia will direct the project, write the explorations and collaborate with Hohn on tool development. This package will be useful as a demonstration in a classroom with real-time interaction, in a distance learning situation or as assigned work in a studio classroom, computer laboratory or at home. It will be designed to be used with any business calculus textbook and will enhance either a standard or reform course in business calculus.