The Math Technology Lab (MTL) is developing activities and attracting a campus clientele. Sarah Miller, the MTL Coordinator, has been providing support to students who want to improve their placement test scores and/or want help in specific math areas. This may evolve into an actual course this summer, as Sarah investigates the need for a “Placement Test Crash Course” for students planning Fall enrollment. She is currently tutoring students in Math 20, 94, 95, 111, 112, 251 and statistics. The MTL has operational hours that complement the Tutoring Lab, providing a resource for students on Fridays until noon and then Saturday from 1-5 p.m. Sarah also makes herself available to students through as E-Tutoring at AskOnline during her Saturday shift in the lab.  

Currently, the MTL has 12 computers with 2 being equipped with Plato, a self-paced tutorial program. The MTL also shares the web-based program MySkillsTutor with the Newmark Center, providing another avenue for students to complete exercises which test skills and develop knowledge in an interactive, computer-based learning environment. Additional math enhancement and assessment programs are being evaluated by the Math Department, including Accuplacer, Aleks, and Hawkes Learning System. This summer, the MTL will be piloting MyMathLab in one section of Math 20 and Math 70 courses. If this pilot proves successful, MyMathLab will be bundled with Bittinger/Beecher math textbooks and incorporated into respective courses for Fall.

The Math Technology Lab has been made possible through SOCC’s Teaching and Learning Innovations Grant, funded from the United States Department of Education, Office of Post Secondary Education, Title III, Strengthening Institutions Grant.