April 6, 2006–Starting April 12, 2006, Wolfram Education Group is offering free, live, online seminars to all interested customers worldwide. Presented by senior Wolfram Research staff, these seminars provide an excellent, informal way to learn more about Mathematica and its use. They are designed for people who are new to Mathematica, those who haven’t kept up to date with the latest versions of the software, or simply those who are thinking about taking an online Wolfram Education Group course and want to get an idea of how they are run.
The current seminar, “S10: A Technical Overview of Mathematica,” provides an introduction to Mathematica‘s major technologies and the capabilities that they enable. Covering topics such as numeric and symbolic computations, programming, working with data, visualization, technical documents, and connection technologies, the seminar lasts approximately one hour, allowing for a 45-minute presentation and 10-15 minutes for questions. It will be offered twice a week and participants will be given comprehensive presentation materials, including sample “jump-start” computational tasks with solutions provided.
“We expect that this seminar will better educate potential users about Mathematica and how it can serve their needs,” said Paul Wellin, manager of Wolfram Education Group. “Oftentimes people have questions that are best answered by demonstration, or that are more easily understood when one possesses a preliminary knowledge of the system. This format is ideal for those who would like to increase their familiarity with the system or any new features.”
The online seminars are a new initiative for Wolfram Education Group, which was established five years ago to meet the training needs of the Mathematica community. As the division has continued to grow and diversify its course delivery methods, adding a preview component was a natural progression. “People who have taken our courses consistently tell us that the experience has a tremendously positive impact on their understanding of Mathematica and their ability to use it in their work,” added Wellin. “In educating our broader customer base, we want to make all users better able to take advantage of Mathematica‘s capabilities from day one.”
Wolfram Education Group online seminars are free to the public, and accessible to anyone with an internet-enabled computer and web browser with Flash Player installed. A telephone with a speaker or telephone headset, or a suitable computer microphone or headset, is also required. The seminars will be repeated weekly on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time and Thursdays at 4 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time. Additional topics are being considered for future seminar offerings.
Online registration and more information is available at the Wolfram Education Group seminars website.