Calculus Visualization Tools

Welcome to Bright Ideas Software!

Feb 2010: Now available - OneStone® Math Ver. 1.4! OneStone Math is a powerful, easy to use calculus program designed for students and educators. It provides solutions and gives insight to problems in single and multivariable calculus. These include derivatives and integrals of functions, as well as vectors in two and three dimensions. Version 1.4 features the same Surface of Revolution functionality available in the Surfaces of Revolution Pebble, as well as improved compatiblity with Windows 7.

OneStone Math uses an innovative system of linked 2 and 3D graphs, presented simultaneously, to provide users with a depth of understanding unattainable with other visualization tools. This capability, combined with a powerful symbolic math engine, places OneStone Math in a class by itself among educational calculus programs. With a retail price of only $50 USD, it is a value the competition simply can't match. Click here to see a set of screenshots, or here for more information.

May 2009: Announcing a new OneStone® Pebbles module - Contour Diagrams! OneStone Pebbles are a series of calculus visualization tools specifically designed to enhance the educational experience of students. Featuring a common User Interface to minimize any learning curve, OneStone Pebbles are stand-alone programs dedicated to specific topics in the calculus syllabus. The new Contour Diagrams module joins two others included in the initial release: the Surfaces of Revolution tool and the Curve Families tool. Additional tools are planned; see the Pebbles Home and Pebbles Version History pages for information on new products and upgrades.

OneStone Pebbles are currently implemented as free cross-platform Java™ Web Start applications and will run on most systems running Windows® 2000 and above, Mac OS X, several Linux configurations, or Solaris®. They do require the installation of the latest version of Sun Microsystems' Java on a client machine, available from www.java.com. More information on can be found on the Pebbles Home Page and the Pebbles Installation page.

The Pebbles series has been designed from the ground up to incorporate current educational theory correlating student's skill at analyzing covariant relationships in dynamic systems with their success in understanding fundamental concepts in calculus. Pebbles merge these theoretical concepts with Bright Ideas Software's experience in developing high-quality 2 and 3D visualization tools. This synthesis has produced software of deceptive simplicity, capable of a profound impact on student's grasp of covariational relationships. See the Pebbles Home Page for more information on the concepts underlying the Pebbles project.

NOTE! The 3DSurface Viewer, previously featured here and published by the Mathematical Assoc. of America on their Digital Classroom Resources Site, is no longer available. It has been replaced by the Curve Families Pebble module, available free of charge here.