Towards a Universal Interface for Real-Time Mathematical Communication

Rapid growth in mobile computing has given rise to a dramatic evolution in communication tools that have the potential to transform the educational experience. Because of the complexities of mathematical communication, however, progress towards the realization of that potential has been particularly slow in the mathematical sciences. We are addressing this by developing iCE (interface for Collaborative Equations), a multimodal mathematical communication environment for postsecondary mathematics and statistics courses. Based on our experiences with this, we discuss the user requirements and difficulties in building a universal interface – one that allows users, ranging from mathematical novices to experts, to intuitively communicate mathematics in real-time using a broad range of computing devices.