Download Slide 1 - Math Forum

Welcome to the Virtual Math Teams pilot
of the Math Forum @ Drexel University
In this program students from different schools around the country will be collaborating in teams to explore and solve
mathematical problems. This is not a competition. Collaboration will happen online through an Internet environment that
combines a chat program and a shared whiteboard. This guide will give you an idea of how to use the environment.
When?
You will participate in four 1-hour sessions from 8
pm to 9 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), on the
following days: Tuesday 5/10, Thursday 5/12,
Tuesday 5/17, and Thursday 5/19.
How to login:
You will receive a different URL from your
teacher, for each of the four sessions that we
will have. Use that URL in a browser to start the
chat application. The login screen will look like
the image on the left.
Room Name
First, enter a screen name or “nickname” for you.
Make sure that this screen name is not your real
name. For privacy reasons, we're asking that you
don't share any personal information about
yourself during the chats, such as your name,
age, or where you live. Also, make sure that you
use the same nickname for all four sessions.
This chat environment uses Java Web Start to run. Java and Java Web Start might be included in many computers already.
However, If you need to install additional support for Java for the computer that you will be using, you can get download
instructions at: http://java.sun.com/products/javawebstart/download.jsp
The first time you run our chat environment, you'll see a dialog box with a security warning. It is safe to allow the application
to run on your computer.
This is what the chat environment looks like.
In addition to the regular chat you also have a
drawing program that is shared by everyone
who is in a chat room.
To chat, type your message in the text field on
the bottom right corner. When you press Enter
your message is sent to everyone and appears
on the chat window.
You can make the chat area bigger or smaller
by sliding this horizontal bar left or right.
To draw on the whiteboard, use the tools on
top of the whiteboard to draw lines,
geometrical figures or text. You will find more
information about these tools at the bottom of
this page.
To link one chat message to another, double
click the message you want to respond to and
you will see a blue arrow connecting that
message with the text field for new messages.