Digital texts are moving beyond simply putting pages on a computer screen.
In Kentucky, a small pilot study is demonstrating the benefits of this textbook technology for students with different learning styles. Instead of re-creating a complex math problem as a static image file, digital texts that use math markup language, or MathML, are able to speak words and equations while highlighting corresponding elements on a computer screen.
MathML-enabled digital texts helped the study's very small cohort of students struggling with printed text outperform peers who used traditional print texts. Many students said that before MathML, they'd see a problem but not know how to say it. Hearing the formula and how to say it was a big help to these students.
You can also read the referenced article from the news feed on the Kentucky School Boards Association website:
http://www.ksba.org/news/article/math-study-evaluates-digital-aids
By the way...we have submitted a proposal to fund a second phase study with a much larger sample of students. I think the results we have already seen point to substantial learning supports that MathML content within digital texts can provide.
Steve Noble
steve.noble@louisville.edu
502-969-3088
Posted by: Steve Noble | October 28, 2008 at 09:38 AM