MAST Webconnect
About Us
MAST WebConnect is a free service provided by the University of Northern Colorado
within the College of Natural and Health Sciences. MAST WebConnect replaces the popular
MAST Hotline, a free call-in service established in 1989. With the dominance of the
Internet, it was determined that a call-in service was no longer relevant. In 2008,
the MAST Institute began a transformation to web-based services, and MAST WebConnect was created.
The Problem
Obviously the problem is not that the Internet does not contain enough math and science
education resources, but finding quality resources can be an overwhelming task for
teachers and students alike. Teachers often do not have the time to do a quality web
search or seek experts in the field.
The Solution
MAST WebConnect will answer your questions and find high-quality web-based Internet
resources personally for you! Supported by the MAST Institute and the University of Northern Colorado, WebConnect is staffed by math and science
educators and professors with access to these resources and references.
How it Works
The idea is simple. We know that the Internet provides a wealth of information, but
sorting through and filtering that information to find quality materials can be an
overwhelming task.
That is where we come in. Contact MAST WebConnect with any mathematics or science question, and our coordinators will find the information either by contacting experts in the field, or finding high-quality Internet sites.
Recent inquiries have been:
"A student asked me why plant cells do not get cancer. Can you help me?"
"Can you suggest an Earth Day activity for high school students?"
"Do you have any web resources for teaching human anatomy?"
"How can I incorporate the stock market into 9th grade math?"
"I am looking for current research on the negative effects of tracking for math."
Inquiries can be simple or complex. More complex questions will be routed to expert scientists.
MAST WebConnect has a pool of available volunteer mathematics and science experts to help with more difficult inquiries. These include college professors and working scientists within Northern Colorado.
WebConnect serves:
- K-12 Teachers who have mathematics or science questions.
- K-12 Teachers who need mathematics or science Internet resource recommendations.
- K-12 Students with math or science questions.
- K-12 Students who need help finding math or science resources on the Internet.
- Pre-Service Teachers who need help finding math or science teaching resources on the Internet.
Volunteer for Webconnect
The Mathematics and Science Teaching (MAST) Institute at the University of Northern
Colorado would like to provide practicing and pre-service K-12 teachers access to
expertise in the areas of science, mathematics, and education via the free, online
MAST WebConnect service. Over the 20 years since we have served K-12 science and math
teachers, we have found they continue to have daily content and teaching strategy
needs.
We would like to invite you to join the MAST Institutes expert pool to assist teachers and students. You may be called upon through e-mail, an online chat, or online discussion area to help teachers and their students with classroom questions. We are developing an online environment in which teachers and students inquiries would be routed to volunteer experts. We expect you would receive no more than 2 inquiries per week.
If you have the interest and time to volunteer to help mathematics and science teachers with their content or teaching strategy needs, we ask you to email webconnect@unco.edu or jerry.overmyer@unco.edu with the following information:
Full Name
Degree, University and Subject Area
Areas of expertise where you feel you can answer questions
Affiliation Name (Company name, University/College, Government Agency, Retired, please
be specific)
Any personal webpages you would like to share.
As we develop the online interface, we will keep you informed on updates and improvements to the program.
