IDEA is Internet Differential Equations Activities, an interdisciplinary effort to provide students and teachers around the world with computer based activities for differential equations in a wide variety of disciplines. IDEA is sponsored by the National Science Foundation with a grant from the Division of Undergraduate Education.
The Idea behind IDEA
As with every site on the Web, IDEA is evolving. IDEA contains a database of computer activities illustrating both mathematical concepts and the application of these concepts in a wide variety of disciplines. The aim is to show differential equations where they live, rather than in a purely mathematical setting.
In addition to the exercises, it provides a variety of software for solving and describing differential equations. These packages include DynaSys, a package for Microsoft operating system that can be used in a very flexible way to create displays of solutions of differential equations; Java software that may be used over the Web to develop your own activities, or to work on the ones presented here; and Flash components that again may be used to develop differential equations activities.
CODEE, the Consortium for Differential Equations Experiments, has been
revitalized. CODEE was quite active in the 1990s in spreading differential
equations activities, information, and software tools. In particular,
CODEE formed the organization for the ODE Architect software. Recently,
an NSF project headed by Darryl Young of Harvey Mudd College has
reinvigorated CODEE.
New activities! There are two new activities concerning
the Idaho plan for wolf management, and a model for an insurgency.
See the project page for details.