Examples of Best Practice

	Math-Bridge
Long Title	Intelligent Adaptive Learning Environment for Mathematical Bridging Courses
Learning Function	Knowledge acquisition Practice and application Motivation Feedback and progess tracking
Digital Media	Hypertext Application Sharing Simulation CBT / WBT LMS / Learning Management Systems Others
Teaching Scenarios	Practice Exercises Support
Fields	Agriculture and Forestry Geoscience Informatics Engineering Natural Sciences and Mathematics Economics
Description	Math-Bridge is an e-learning platform for online bridging courses in mathematics. The goal is to bring the mathematical knowledge of those beginning their university studies up to the level necessary for respective subjects. The platform offers teachers and students thousands of learning resources in seven different languages. Many different learning resources are provided such as theorems, proofs, examples und interactive practice exercises. Math-Bridge users may choose among a selection of many pre-defined courses, create their own courses, or use the course planning tool. Fig. 1: Interaktive exercise in Math-Bridge
Internet Adress	http://www.math-bridge.org/
Institution responsible	You will find on the project page under „Partner“ the partners of Math-Bridge as well as the associated (partner) universities that use Math-Bridge.
Contact	Dr. Sergey Sosnovsky CeLTech - Centre for e-Learning Technology Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz (DFKI) GmbH Campus, Gebäude D3 2 66123 Saarbrücken Telefon: +49 (0)681 85775 5367 E-Mail: contact@math-bridge.org
Target Group	Students, especially first-year students in the areas of natural sciences, technical subjects, and mathematics having certain deficits in the area of mathematics, secondary school students, teachers, and lecturers.
Goals and Contents	The learning platform Math-Bridge is for all fields of study that require (basic) proficiency in mathematics. The platform aims mainly to close any gaps in one’s knowledge in preparation for university or college. According to what is required, teachers may put together or design a bridging course and offer it online to first-year students. The courses, self-paced and self-controlled, can also be chosen and used by the students themselves. The learning resources offered online make it possible for the students to prepare at home at their own pace.
Didactic Concept	Math-Bridge offers learners the opportunity to learn concepts and review the subject matter, practice solving problems, train skills, and take trial exams. The learning resources provided are geared towards the following teaching/learning goals: introduction, reasoning/proof/interpretation, use, typical mistakes, exercises, material for further advancement. Students may personally write notes or commentaries about each learning resource. Also they can read the public commentaries on the learning resources written by other users. Fig. 2: User Evaluation, Commentaries, and Notes on the Learning Resources With the button „Start Exercise“ results can be checked by means of interactive exercises. Answers can be entered directly and are then evaluated by the program. The student receives feedback directly. If there is a problem, the student has the possibility to ask for the correct answer to be shown or switch back to the learning material. To document learning progress, answers to each exercise are calculated in an individual learner’s model and shown on each page. With help of the learning model, the learner’s current level of progress is shown.
Curriculum Tie	The courses offered by Math-Bridge are designed for preparing for university studies. There is the possibility to take online tests (multiple choice, drop down, or fill in the blanks) that can be corrected automatically. Also the progress of the student can be tracked.
Results	The results of Math-Bridge project can be divided into three categories: Digital educational contents: With more than 10,000 learning resources, over 4,000 interactive exercises in seven European languages, Math-Bridge comprises the world’s largest collection of multilingual and multicultural data in the realm of bridging courses in mathematics. These are subdivided into learning resources, presented in shared user formats, annotated with the Math-Bridge-Ontology and other metadata. Platform for courses in mathematics: Math-Bridge is not just another e-learning platform, but rather a fully functional platform for the organization of bridging courses. For teachers, the system offers a complete set of tools to manage students, groups, and learning materials; for students, it offers a broadened access to mathematical contents by using various tools such as the personalized generating of courses, semantic and multilingual search for learning resources, or adaptive navigation support. Large scale evaluation of the usage of information and communication technology in mathematics: large scale evaluation of Math-Bridge was carried out at eight universities in six countries. Math-Bridge was used as a complementary tool in a traditional course, as an online component in a blended course, and as the main platform in a distance learning course. The overall results of the evaluation confirm the educational value of Math-Bridge. The students learn successfully with it, the feedback from students and teachers was for the most part positive. In all, Math-Bridge is an ambitious project that shows that the implementation of information and communication technologies is possible on a large scale and with it new elements can be introduced into the learning process. Math-Bridge is freely available at www.math-bridge.org
Timeframe	The project runs from May 2009 – January 2012
Funding	The project is being supported by eContentplus programs of the EU.
Cost	Use of the platform is free; certain services requiring a fee are available.
General Conditions	Usage is individual.
Involvement and Cooperation	Math-Bridge is a research project at the Centre for E-Learning Technology at the University of Saarland, the University of Applied Sciences in Saarland, and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. It was developed as a joint project among nine universities from seven countries. The following institutions are involved: DFKI Saarbrücken, University of Saarland, Universities of Kassel and of Paderborn, ERGOSIGN GmbH, Tampere University of Technology, Open University Netherlands, Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, University of Wien, Université Montpellier II, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Technology	Access: Various versions of Math-Bridge can be downloaded free. To be able to use all of the functions of the system and be able to customize Math-Bridge to meet individual needs, users must register – free of charge. Interested users may download a demo-version. Associated partners continue to have the opportunity to install the current version of Math-Bridge. Usage: Math-Bridge is web-based; the contents are sent in HTML format to the Browser. For the presentation of mathematical formulas, MathML is used if the browser supports it. Further, videos and simulations as Flash applications and Java-Applets are used. The courses in Math-Bridge are available in a book-like format which allows for free navigation by the user throughout the learning material. A dedicated print view is available in case users would like to print out course pages. The system has more than 5,000 interactive exercises at its disposal which give the users the opportunity to practice the subject matter. Further, various communication channels are available; users can comment publicly on each learning resource, add personal notes, or use the forum. Required Software: Math-Bridge requires a current browser in order to present the contents attractively. Firefox is recommended since it supports MathML. To be able to look at all of the contents, the current Flash and Java plugins should be installed. If you would like to operate your own Math-Bridge server, then you need Java SDK, Version 5 or better. Development: The underlying format of the system is OMDoc, a XML language for semantic representation of mathematical texts. For the production of contents, a framework based on the open editor jEdit is used. For the development of interactive exercises, the dedicated tool, Examat, is available.