  A century after its formulation by Einstein, it is time to incorporate
special relativity early in the physics curriculum. The approach advocated here
employs a simple algebraic extension of vector formalism that generates
Minkowski spacetime, displays covariant symmetries, and enables calculations of
boosts and spatial rotations without matrices or tensors. The approach is part
of a comprehensive geometric algebra with applications in many areas of
physics, but only an intuitive subset is needed at the introductory level. The
approach and some of its extensions are given here and illustrated with
insights into the geometry of spacetime.
