Bob Jafffe has told me informally that you are chairing a committee
to consider the use of hypertext in education at MIT, among other things.
I am using Mosaic for the first time this term
to put up various animations for 8.07, Electromagnetism II, and
am enthusiastic about the potential of hypertext.
I think it is invaluable for certain aspects of understanding fields.
It is not just an add-on. I have been teaching E&M in one form or another
for a long time, and being able to animate field lines represents
a qualitative advance in getting students to understand how fields work.
I think that in 10 years, using field line animations
in some form will be a standard way to teach this subject.
I have some animations up now on the 8.07 home page. Before I got into
doing this I would have been very skeptical of its utility. For one thing
it seems too trendy. But having had this experience, I am a convert, at
least for some things. At some point, I will give you a more thoughtful
account of this, with some student reaction, but that is probably better
done after the term is over.
Directions to the 8.07 home page are below. This stuff is neat!
John Belcher
Academic Officer, Physics
Directions to the 8.07 home page:
Once in the MIT home page (below), scroll down to "Academics" and click on
that, once there scroll down to "Academic Departments"
and click on that, then to "Course VIII--Physics"
and click on that, then to "Undergraduate Courses", then
to "8.07--Electromagnetism II". You are now in the 8.07
home page.
Or you can go skip all of the above and go directly
to the 8.07 home page with the "Open URL" option in MOSAIC,
as above, using the URL
http://web.mit.edu/afs/athena/course/8/8.07/www/8.07.html
To the MIT home page:
From Athena by pulling down the "Communications" menu,
selecting "World Web Web", and then "MOSAIC--MIT home page"
It will take a minute or so to come up, and then you have
to position it on the screen by clicking.
Or go directly to the MIT home page if you have MOSAIC up:
Go to the "File" pull down menu in MOSAIC and select
"Open URL" and then type the following URL in the dialog box:
http://web.mit.edu/