Well, Wolfram|Alpha is live, and mathematics instruction is going to have to change. Like, now. At the next school year, at the latest.
The attached screen shot is a real Wolfram|Alpha solution to a random equation that I typed into the website. Already some schools are talking about blocking it… BLOCKING IT?? Good grief, people, are you daft?
Blocking content on the Internet is tantamount to admitting that your school can’t do better than what your students find there on the ‘Net. It’s proof that your institution can’t deal with change. It’s a demonstration that your teachers and administrators are unable to cope with new knowledge or new means of accessing knowledge.
Guess what? I think our job descriptions just changed. I just wish I could figure out what the new description is.
(Originally posted at Gravity’s Grace, my other weblog.)
