SJC Department of Mathematics Facilities
The Mathematics Department is strongly committed to the use of technology
(both calculators and computers) in enhancing exploration, visualization,
and problem solving in mathematics.
Scientific and Graphing Calculators
The department strongly encourages the use of the scientific and graphing
calculator and it is an important tool in the calculus sequence.
The intent is not only to involve these tools in calculus, but to have
the students use them in further mathematical studies at Saint Joseph's
and beyond. A number of departmental Texas Instrument TI-92 Plus
calculators are made available for student use, and many students
acquire their own calculators.
Computers and Mathematical Software
Laboratory work is a frequent component of mathematics courses. Two main
computer laboratories contain PC networked computers with overhead projection
equipment for course laboratory work. In addition in the Mathematics
Lab, a number of networked PC's are also available for student use.
The Mathematics Department uses several mathematical software packages
which are installed on the computers and available for use in all
of these facilities. Maple and Derive computer algebra systems
are used in Calculus, Real Analysis, Number Theory, Discrete Mathematics,
and Differential Equations. MATLAB
is used for Linear Algebra and Numerical Analysis. Two other
computer programs, "Omnifarious Plotter", and "MPP" (Mathematical Plotting
Package), specifically for graphing functions and doing some analysis,
are available on the network. The statistical packages, Minitab and SPSS
are used in the Probability and Statistics courses.
Other mathematical programs are available on specific machines in the
Mathematics Lab for student work, such as "The Geometer's Sketchpad",
"Theorist", and "MathCad".