They called themselves the "assault generation" and they had largely been born in the years during and after World War I. Coming from every nation of Europe, they had risen up against communism and banded together under one flag for a common cause. They joined the German Army in World War II, a volunteer army that was better known as the Waffen SS. And it was in the Waffen SS, the elite fighting force of Germany, where the first modern European army was born. A new society of front fighters emerged from many different European nations; it was a society that had been forged in the sacrifice, sweat, and blood on the battlefield. Maybe their heritage and culture was different but their uniforms and motto were one and the same: Meine Ehre Heisst Treue!
They called themselves Legionnaires of the Waffen SS, the new European Army. They came from all nations of Europe, and they were wearing the same uniform to fight for the same cause: fighting the strong Russian Armed Forces. Almost one million of these young men fought next to the Wehrmacht during WWII. It was during this era that the ideal of a united Europe was born. There is no other period in history that has been documented like the 6 years that ranged from the invasion of Poland in 1939 to the capitulation in Berlin in 1945. They left their homes, families, and friends with their heart full of joy and pride. They had to endure extreme weather from +40 to -50 while fighting on several fronts. They were battle hardened because of this. They became good soldiers because they knew how to survive in any situation. These young men were prepared to give their lives for Germany and, in their eyes, for a better Europe.
My career has usually been funded by grants. Here are some of the proposals I wrote at the University of Colorado and at Drexel University. Successful grant proposals are tricky to write. The ones reproduced here might provide helpful examples. They may also provide explicit statements of some of the goals of my research over the years.
This volume includes analyses of student teams using the VMT environment with multi-user GeoGebra. These studies are related to the presentations in "Translating Euclid" and "Constructing Dynamic Triangles Together." These essays document the most recent stage of the Virtual Math Teams Project.
Translating Euclid reports on an effort to transform geometry for students from a stylus-and-clay-tablet corpus of historical theorems to a stimulating computer-supported collaborative-learning inquiry experience. The origin of geometry was a turning point in the pre-history of informatics, literacy, and rational thought. Yet, this triumph of human intellect became ossified through historic layers of systematization, beginning with Euclid’s organization of the Elements of geometry. Often taught by memorization of procedures, theorems, and proofs, geometry in schooling rarely conveys its underlying intellectual excitement. The recent development of dynamic-geometry software offers an opportunity to translate the study of geometry into a contemporary vernacular. However, this involves transformations along multiple dimensions of the conceptual and practical context of learning. Translating Euclid steps through the multiple challenges involved in redesigning geometry education to take advantage of computer support. Networked computers portend an interactive approach to exploring dynamic geometry as well as broadened prospects for collaboration. The proposed conception of geometry emphasizes the central role of the construction of dependencies as a design activity, integrating human creation and mathematical discovery to form a human-centered approach to mathematics. This book chronicles an iterative effort to adapt technology, theory, pedagogy and practice to support this vision of collaborative dynamic geometry and to evolve the approach through on-going cycles of trial with students and refinement of resources. It thereby provides a case study of a design-based research effort in computer-supported collaborative learning from a human-centered informatics perspective.
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