Interactive Calculus in a Virtual Learning Environment*

The teaching of higher level mathematics for technical students in a virtual learning environment poses some difficulties, but also opportunities, now specific to that virtuality. On the other hand, resources and ways to do now manly available in VLEs might soon extend to all kinds of environments. In this short presentation we will discuss an experience carried at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) involving (an on line university), first, the translation of LaTeX written existent materials to a web based format (specifically, a combination of XHTML and MathML), and then the integration of a symbolic calculator software (WIRIS) running as a Java applet embedded in the materials, intending to achieve an evolution from memorising concepts and repetitive algorithms to understanding and experiment concepts and the use of those algorithms. 1