Dr. Otto Wilke

After graduating high school in Brenham, TX, Dr. Otto Wilke, author of Contemporary Math Using Maple or TI-89, received 2 Engineering Degrees from Texas A&M University. Dr. Wilke spent several years in Waco as a Dentist after he received his DDS from Baylor Dental School in Dallas, TX. With his background in engineering, he was qualified to teach at TSTC Waco and has been teaching all levels of math since 1989.

What is the story behind the Maple book?

I wanted to use the most modern up to date software there is available for doing mathematical calculations. After calculators, came computers, which allowed a whole new world of algebra systems able to be used. Maple originated from Canada and with this system if a student knows the steps to solve an equation; after the student puts in that information to solve the equation then it (the Maple computer system) does all the work for that equation and gives you the solution. In other words, there would be no more human errors making mistakes along the process of solving let's say...a seven step equation. This program is bigger and better than a calculator. Maple the most up to date modern way to solve equations so I want to teach my students how to use it.

How does the Contemporary Math book work in the classroom?

With this Maple system students can do realistic work. The course is a level I math course. Maple is user-friendly both for students and instructors. Students can actually create 3-D, animated graphics using this program that comes with this Maple system. The students can actually see an example of their equation working and moving. There are help screens available for the students and this type of math can be related to other types of technological fields such as gaming. The Maple program that goes along with the book takes out the human error factor which helps those students who have a short attention span for doing long problems, actually get the work done. For the instructors, there is a programmable language provided that can generate thousands of different tests with different questions and even different numbers in each question.