Computerbasedmath.org -- the radical mathematics education reform organization -- has its first guinea pig: Estonia.
Computerbasedmath.org was founded by Conrad Wolfram, the brother of Stephen Wolfram, the man who created the Mathematica software platform and the Wolfram Alpha search engine. The organization wants students to use computers to explore mathematical concepts instead of having kids spend time solving quadratic equations or factoring polynomials. The aim is to provide a deeper understanding of the material, rather than rote memorization of the steps required to solve problems.
And the project will get started in the nation of Estonia, the former Soviet republic that sits on the Baltic Sea.
"Why get students emulating what computers do so much better (computing) rather than concentrate on imaginative thinking, analysis and problem-solving that students ought to be able to do so much better even than today's computers?" Wolfram wrote on his blog announcing the Estonia deal.
You might not think of Estonia as a high tech hub, but it was one of the birth places of Skype, which has helped kick off a healthy startup scene. The country has also been at the forefront of computer science reform, with a new computer science curriculum for students as young as seven. The curriculum is currently being taught to primary school teachers and will eventually be available to all Estonia public schools.
Computerbasedmath.org is starting in Estonia with a re-write of its probability and statistics curriculum. "This is an area that's just crazy to do without a computer, even harmful," Wolfram wrote. "It's an area that's only come to the fore since computers because it only makes sense with lots of data." He claims computers provide the ability for students to compare different distributions of data, something which isn't taught because nearly impossible to do by hand.
With the rising demand for software developers and data savvy analysts, Estonia's bet on reformed computer science and mathematics education could prepare its students for the jobs of the future. But it's not just about jobs. Wolfram thinks it will help citizens better assess risk, understand the world of finance and "have an in-built mathematical 6th sense by which to understand life."
Although he's optimistic about what Estonia's commitment, he acknowledges that the education world has a long way to go. "I expect it to be a couple of decades until the world's mainstream maths subject is universally computer-based maths rather than today's 'history of hand-calculating.'"
