Maplesoft and the University of Waterloo today announced a partnership that will combine Maplesoft’s online courseware platform, Möbius, together with Waterloo-developed content in math and other STEM subjects.
Möbius will be available along with courses and online Waterloo material to provide institutions and professors with a rich online learning solution that allows learning by doing, using technology that keeps students actively engaged through interactive applications, visualizations and immediate feedback.
The University of Waterloo is one of the largest institutions in the world for STEM education. With 17,000 students in Math and Engineering and another 6000 in Science, the university is uniquely positioned to offer a wide array of specialized courses. The Faculty of Mathematics alone offers close to 600 courses in mathematics, statistics, and computer science. About 50 such complete courses are currently being offered online using Möbius.
Maplesoft has successfully developed technology solutions and tools used in STEM education for nearly 30 years and its technology is now used by 8000 educational institutions, research labs, and companies, in over 90 countries.
A combined offering by these two partners aims to transform online education and help students develop a deeper understanding of complex problems and concepts in STEM topics. Through this new partnership, students and educators around the world can get access to a variety of online undergraduate courses covering a wide array of subjects.
‘The University of Waterloo has a long history of high-quality distance education and substantial experience in online courses and degrees. We eagerly embrace advances in technology to give all our students the most effective learning experience. Möbius allows both on-campus and online students to learn at their own pace and at their own time,’ said Stephen Watt, dean of the University of Waterloo, Faculty of Mathematics. ‘Rather than learning by watching, students can learn by doing. We are delighted to see Waterloo-developed material made widely available through Möbius.’
‘The blending of highly effective technology infrastructure with top quality content is critical to the advancement of online education,’ said Jim Cooper, president and CEO of Maplesoft. ‘It provides a complete solution that enables institutions to move courses online and make full use of the opportunities that the application of technology to education can provide. The University of Waterloo has a strong reputation in the STEM education community and the top quality university-level content developed using Möbius will offer opportunities for more effective education. We are excited about this initiative that will empower educators to succeed in a new teaching environment with a solution designed to meet the particular needs of STEM education.’
The initial offerings will be available beginning spring 2017, with a larger suite of courses coming in fall 2017.
Maplesoft and the University of Waterloo previously partnered to create the Secondary School Courseware Project, a free online education initiative that encourages and promotes the study of mathematics amongst high school students. The project, developed using Möbius, supports high school teachers in precalculus and calculus courses and better prepares students for STEM courses at the post-secondary level. This new agreement is the next step in building on the success of that initiative.
For further information on Möbius and online education as a whole, please view the following white paper: ‘The Evolution and Revolution of Online Education.’
