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Wolfram Alpha, a free research web site powered by a computational knowledge engine that generates answers to questions in real time by doing computations on its own vast internal knowledge base, has announced a new live event on Oct. 21 to promote its use for education, PRWeb reports. Led by noted scientist and Wolfram Alpha creator Stephen Wolfram, this marathon webcast, dubbed ³Homework Day,² will bring together students, parents, and educators from across the country to tackle tough homework assignments. The goal of Homework Day is to reveal how students and educators are using Wolfram Alpha in K-12 and college education and to demonstrate the advantages of using this free site not only to solve specific problems, but to inspire students to probe subject matter further and promote a deeper understanding of fundamental concepts, Wolfram says. Wolfram Alpha has established a permanent Homework Day web site where people can contribute ideas, lesson plans, and videos before, during, and after the event. The site also will be used to broadcast the Oct. 21 webcast, which will feature a live chat in which participants are encouraged to submit questions for Wolfram and his team to analyze and solve. The webcast also will also feature quick, step-by-step lessons to help participants use Wolfram Alpha to tackle problems in a variety of subject areas; ideas and examples for how to make subjects like math and science more engaging and relevant to students; and live interviews and demonstrations by educators who are already using Wolfram Alpha in their classrooms. http://homeworkday.wolframalpha.com
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