Even with tools such as PowerPoint, that include drawing tools, it is difficult to show students what happens in a graphical LP as constraint lines and iso-profit lines shift around on a graph. Construction of a two-dimensional feasible region com-bined with iso-profit (or iso-cost) lines on a blackboard or overhead projector can be tedious, at best.

As a result, introductory operations research/management science textbooks typically present a graphical solution method to a two-variable LP as a prelude to the presentation of more complex problems. T he graphical solution method to a two-variable linear program (LP) provides valuable insights about the general nature of multivariable linear programming models. The GLP-Tool is already freely available online at Sapientia-the repository of the “Universidade do Algarve” (University of the Algarve) and at one of the authors’ ResearchGate web page. These interactive, dynamic, and graphical features make the GLP-Tool a powerful tool for teaching and learning LP, both in undergraduate and high school courses. All the GLP-Tool functionalities are represented graphically and updated in real time. Implemented using the computer algebra system Mathematica, this interactive tool allows the user to dynamically explore different objective functions and sets of constraints. The GLP-Tool is designed to solve user-defined LP problems with two variables, up to a didactical limit of five constraints (plus the non-negativity constraints). This paper presents the GLP-Tool, an example of an active learning technical tool which enables an active learning environment to explore the fundamental concepts of Linear Programming (LP). Literature on teaching and learning methods reports strong evidence of the effectiveness of using active learning techniques.

Mathematica linear programming