I’ve already outlined many reasons why students will be fast adopters, and for the most part, these are the same reasons that instructors will be fast adopters (high relative advantage, low complexity, good trialability and observability). There will be a sizable group of math instructors that immediately shifts to using Wolfram Alpha in instruction, and thus, begins to shift the curriculum in those classes away from computational mathematics. Thus, for the reason that it appears to be a means to an end (getting through that math course with the least pain possible), using W|A to help complete assignments for math courses will be extremely compatible with the belief systems of these students.Ģ. W|A will provide solutions to problems, relevant mathematical information, and in many cases, steps for how the solution was obtained.

Most students take their math classes for one reason: they are required to for their degree. (Facebook, MySpace, etc.), and you can see why I don’t think it will take long for W|A to spread to the undergraduate population of math students. Compound this ease of observability with the incredible connectedness of the student population in the U.S. Not only that, but observability is also high – simply use a hyperlink to share what you’re doing in W|A with others. W|A is easily trialable – anyone with Internet access can try it. W|A just assumes you want all relevant information it can generate.

With prior CAS technologies, you had to know exactly what series of steps or commands to write in order to extract the outcome you desired, but with W|A, the less you ask for, the more you get out. Because W|A is free and similar to other technologies they know how to use (designed like a search engine), it has relative advantage over other CAS technologies. I’ve examined the attributes and variables that affect the diffusion of innovations, and found that every single one points to a fast adoption amongst students. The adoption rate of W|A amongst students in higher education will be extremely fast. Please keep in mind that these are my own predictions and thoughts, for better or for worse.ġ. What happens if there is sudden, random change all over the system?

Wolfram alpha mathematics