Maplesoft and the University of Waterloo have 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. Interactive applications, visualizations and immediate feedback keep students actively engaged and promote learning by doing.
The University of Waterloo 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 offered online using Möbius.
Maplesoft has successfully developed technology solutions and tools used in STEM education for nearly 30 years, and 8,000 educational institutions, research labs, and companies, in more than 90 countries use its technology.
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 wide 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 Faculty of Mathematics at Waterloo. “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 they have 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 the fall.
Maplesoft and UWaterloo previously partnered to create the Secondary School Courseware Project, a free online education initiative that encourages and promotes the study of mathematics among 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.
