Abstract:
The JAVA Vector Field Analyzer II: Curriculum integration and inquiry based learning through interactive visualization

The VFA II is a sophisticated JAVA applet that is freely available on the WWW and which is virtually "ready to use"
without requiring long explanations. It was originally designed as a tool to visualize the curl, divergence and integral
theorems of vector calculus, and to highlight the intimate relationship of vector calculus with differential equations.
Since its inception it has found many more uses, including complex analysis and graduate level topics in dynamical
systems.

This presentation will demonstrate how to effectively use this "open ended" tool to involve students in the discovery
process, to ask questions, experiment and make conjectures for which the users feel personal ownership, and leading
to theorems and proofs that have strongly visual conceptual roots.