Lite Applets

Using a Lite Applet with a Spreadsheet or Computer Algebra System

This live image looks very similar to the one in the preceding section except that, by changing a few of the parameters calling the applet, we have created three new buttons that enable the user to copy data into a spreadsheet (or a computer algebra system). In this form, the Image_and_Cursor applet might be used in a module that would lead students to discover how to estimate the length of a complicated curve, such as the border between Afghanistan and Iran. If you have Excel or another spreadsheet on your computer, you might try this:

The Border Between Afghanistan and Iran is a student-ready module using this image and applet as we have just described.

The HTML code shown here illustrates how the Image_and_Cursor applet is called on this page. There are just a few changes from the applet call in the preceding section.

To practice using the applet in this way, you will need to follow a procedure similar to that in the preceding section. First, you need two brief instruction pages:

Next, you need a copy of this page. [That link will open another copy of this page in a frame that will not include extraneous JOMA codes.] Right-click in the text of the new copy (command-click on a Mac), select View source (or equivalent), and save in the directory of your choice. Again, the code can be edited and saved in the application that opened it or in an HTML editor such as Dreamweaver or Front Page. Finally, you need the following files, and they should be placed in the same directory as the HTML page.

Now try creating your own student exercise with and image of your choice and a computational assignment that will make use of Image_and_Cursor data in a spreasheet or a computer algebra system.

The next section shows how lite applets can be used together with forms and Javascript to create even more interactive modules without writing Java programs.