Frequently Asked Questions

All modules are to be completed within 16 weeks after you enroll. Additionally, CTER students must observe traditional semester deadlines and complete their course by the end of the final examination week.

We began offering course modules in 1997. At that time, we had only three course modules to offer: They were earlier versions of the following current MTL modules:

Module 1 -Calculus&Mathematica for Mathematics Teachers.

Module 2 -Using Internet Resources for High School Mathematics Teaching.

Module 3 -Using Mathematica in the Mathematics Classroom.

I had developed the initial versions of these three modules to provide professional development for teachers in rural Illinois high schools where the Calculus&Mathematica course was being offered for U of I credit through a local area network based on 800-number line connection between the participating high schools and the Calculus&Mathematica lab at the U of I.

We currently offer 17 different course modules for U of I graduate credit or (since about 1999) for Continuing Education Units - non credit).

Since 1997 over 500 teachers have taken at least one Math Teacher Link module for graduate or continuing education credit. Over 100 of these teachers have taken three or more course modules through MTL. We take that as an indication that the participating teachers have bee generally quite satisfied with the courses. We do not require the participating teachers to complete a standard course module evaluation.

The content of the original and updated versions of these course modules was developed by several faculty members at the U of I and at other Illinois colleges including Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University and Lincoln Land Community College. You can trace the authorship of the modules by going to the home page for each module. The developmental history of each module is given at the end of the Catalog Description on the home page for that module.

The development of new modules and the revision of existing modules has been supported through grants from the following sources:

• The UI OnLine Program funded by the Sloan Foundation through the U of I Vice President for Academic Affairs Office.
• A Higher Education Cooperation Grant (HECCA) with ISU and EIU.
• A National Science Foundation Grant.
• A developmental contract between the U of I and The Illinois State Board of Education for Professional Development courses for the Illinois Virtual High School.Most of these grants listed me and the other two current MTL Co-Directors, Tom Anderson and Debra Woods, as the grant co-directors. Tom Anderson and Debra Woods have played a strong and ever-increasing role in the development of MTL Courses and the maintenance and operation of MTL.

The Department of Mathematics has provide space in Altgeld Hall to operate the program but has not otherwise contributed to the development or delivery of the course modules.

The operation of Math Teacher Link is supported in part by tuition income, in part by income from grants or professional development contracts with high school and community college districts and in part from income produced by my on-line course, Math 388: Mathematical Methods In Science and Engineering, which is offered through the Office of Continuing Engineering Education.