Zero Podcast

Here is my podcast about the history of the number zero! Enjoy!!

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GPS

I really enjoyed this lesson on GPS and geocaching. It was a lot of fun having the scavenger hunt. While Nate and I were able to find the first cache, which happened to involve aspirin, we were not so lucky in finding the second one. As you can see in the second photo, Lisa and Kirsten we not able to find that particular cache either.

While the GPS was able to direct us all to the general area, it is too bad that it could not tell us an exact location. For example, when looking for the second cache, perhaps it was there in the right spot, but we just happened to not be able to find it. In that case, if the GPS was able to give an exact location of the cache, we would have known exactly where to look.

As far as using GPS in the classroom, I think it would be neat to use it in math. One way would be to use it when learning about geometry. You could give students a particular set of coordinates as a starting point, and then have them find something that is so many degrees in a particular direction. That would relate directly to using polar coordinates and would definitely motivate students to learn.

Delicious

Image from google.com

Delicious is a definitely a great way to keep online resources organized. In my own classroom, I could show students how to use Delicious when doing a math project, in order to look up resources on their topic and save them. Students would also be able to search for their classmates and add them. That way, students who are in the same group can work together and add bookmarks that their group members have found.

For my own personal use as a teacher, it would be helpful to use when designing a unit for my math classes. I could simply search for websites to use as resources or lesson supplements, and by tagging them, I would be able to refer back whenever I needed to. Also, if trying to find a particular website while teaching, it would be a lot easier to just log in to my Delicious account in order to find it, rather than having to search for it again using Google.

Zotero

Zotero seems to be very useful when doing any kind of research, whether it is a lot of information or just a little. I like how all of the information stays organized and can easily be found by search according to a specific topic or tag. I would definitely think about using this the next time I am writing a research paper or even doing a short presentation or speech. The only down-side of Zotero, however, is the fact that you are somewhat limitted to having to use the same computer each time. While it is possible to export your library onto a travel drive, I'm not sure I would want to wait for it since it does take a lot of extra time to do so.

Prezi

Image from google.com

My Prezi was about the main topics Nate and I discussed during our Twitter presentation. I really enjoyed using Prezi and think it is a fun alternative to using PowerPoint. I especially like the whole "nonlinear" aspect and how you can make a path to any of your topics and return to them as many times as you would like. In that case, it is pretty sweet that you can basically make your presentation into a concept map.

Google Sketchup Study Area

This is my study area that I just made with Google Sketchup. The program, along with my study area of course, is pretty sweet! I love it! Because it is so quick and easy to use, I definitely plan on using it whenever I can in the future.

Recently Tweaten

Image from tweetwhatyoueat.com

The application for Twitter that I found was Tweet What You Eat. Just as the name says, it is an app that allows you to tweet about what you have eaten throughout the day. Then, along with what you have eaten, you are able to track the number of calories each food contains, as well as your weight.

This app could definitely be related to education, especially in a math classroom. While having students participate in a nutrition unit, they could use their stats that they have been tweeting about and do all sorts of math related tasks. Students could graph their calories consumed each day, as well as their weight. By graphing those two things using overlapping line graphs, students would be able to see the relationships between calorie intake and body weight. They could also, then, find the average calorie intake and body weight over a certain period of time, such as a month or so.

I believe this application is a great way to motivate students to want to do math. It is definitely not as ordinary as just doing some practice problems out of an old math textbook. Also, not only would this unit discuss mathematical topics, but it would even cover nutritional topics as well. That has got to be, without a doubt, a win-win situation for everyone! =)

Ideal Classroom Scenario

My group and I selected the topic of high school geometry for our ideal classroom project. We mainly selected this topic because we really enjoy geometry, and with this topic we could focus specifically on triangles and 3D figures. Also, after looking at a few videos, we decided that we would like our students to apply their geometry knowledge after learning about those two topics in an architecture unit. We really felt that it would be motivating to the students, as it would be a lot more interesting than taking a test, and it would also be a way to include summative assessment as well.

In order to collaborate with my group members, we uploaded our document to Google Docs. That way, everyone could just add to the paper as necessary, and we wouldn’t have to keep sending a bunch of emails back and forth. We used Google Docs in order to make the spreadsheet as well. Also, in order to create the classroom layout (below), we decided to use the Classroom Architect website that Katie had shown everyone in class.

The most difficult part of completing this project was trying to figure out what topic of math to choose and what we would like to have the students do for the specific units. We had a lot of different ideas, but we really wanted to find units that were somewhat related to one another. In the end, the topics of triangles and 3D figures went together perfectly with the architecture unit, in order to build and expand on the students’ knowledge from one unit to the next.

In that case, by doing this project, I have begun to realize how it would be really fun to use projects, similar to the architecture project, in order to assess my future students. After viewing the video about another teacher actually implementing this unit, I saw how much the students seemed to enjoy it. Also, thinking back to my high school geometry days, I would have much rather made blueprints and building designs that a one hundred point test.

Computer Algebra Systems

After doing one of my field experiences last spring at Price Lab, I was introduced to "the new thing" in the world of math, the TI-Nspire CAS. Everyone seemed to be so excited to have these new calculators, but they were completely foreign to me. I had never actually used one, seen one, or even heard of one. In that case, it was a frustrating process to me because, in order to teach something to the students in class which involved graphing calculator, I had to try to figure out how to do everything I already knew how to do on my own calculators, a TI-83 or TI-86.

Image from http://www.calculators.com/

Then, after attending the Iowa Council of Teachers of Mathematics annual conference a couple of weeks ago, I attended a session that was supposed to teach you how to use the new computer algebra system. In that case, I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me. I would finally be able to learn how to use the TI-Nspire CAS, since I will probably have to use it in my future classroom. To my surprise, there was another kind of CAS that I, once again, had never used, seen, or heard about. It was called the Casio ClassPad. While it is similar to the TI CAS, it was supposed to be better, or so said the man giving the presentation, because it was less intimidating due to the simpler interface. Instead of having all of the keys and functions right on the keypad, this calculator had the basic keys on the keypad. Any of those "missing" keys were able to be accessed by pressing the "keyboard" button, and since it was a touch screen, you could just use the pen to type.

Image from http://www.amazon.com/

Either way, I am not completely sure which computer algebra system of the two I prefer, but it I am sure I will eventually develop an opinion about it in time. As of now, I am just trying to familiarize myself with either of the two in order to better prepare myself for my future teaching experiences. When it comes down to it, though, I am going to guess that, of the two, the school at which I will eventually teach will probably have the TI-Nspire CAS, Texas Instruments is the leading brand when it comes to calculators and have always seemed to have the upper hand on things.

Euler Paths and Circuits

Image provided from http://www.wikipedia.org/.

This artifact is a lesson I used with my 10th grade math partner, who I currently work with twice a week during my field experience. It was designed in order to introduce Euler paths and circuits because it was the upcoming unit, and my student had no previous knowledge of the topic, due to the fact that he had recently transferred from another school. The goal of the lesson, therefore, was to define what it means for a graph to be an Euler path or circuit and to identify the specific characteristics of the two.

Overall, I was very happy with how well the lesson went. I had accurately planned for the time allowed for the lesson, and my student was able to get through the entire worksheet. When going through the instruction part of the lesson, it seemed to be very helpful to my student that I provided definitions of all new and previously learned terms. Also, because those terms were also defined on his worksheet, he was able to reference them whenever necessary. Also, while the student was instructed to work on procedural knowledge by identifying the type of graph, he also worked on some conceptual knowledge of the topic by filling in the given table in order to see patterns and relationships between the types of graphs.

In the future, I would definitely consider using this lesson plan again because it sets a good foundation for students when they are just learning about Euler paths and circuits. Because I will eventually be teaching an entire class rather than just one student, though, I will be sure to adapt my lesson plan properly. For instance, instead of going through the worksheet together, I would probably allow students to work in pairs in order to complete it. Then, towards the end of class, I would be sure to have a whole group discussion about their findings relating to the patterns and relationships discovered.

A Different Side of Geometry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_geometry

As I was reading some updated blog entries today, I came across some teaching info about introducing non-Euclidean geometry. On the HippoCampus blog, there were a few good websites that do a great job of describing the difference between Euclidean geometry and any other geometry, especially spherical. Also, there is a neat demo for helping students, especially the more visual learners, think about how lines, triangles, and squares, look a little different in spherical geometry.

On an unrelated note, the Math Teaching blog I was reading had a cool link to a website where you can create your own graph paper. To me, being the nerd I am, this is exciting! Not only can you change the size of the grid, the kind of graph, and the type of lines, but you can even change the color. Anyway, I will most definitely use that website as a resource in the future.

Blog to Follow

My theme for my “blog following” is using technology in the teaching of mathematics. My favorite blog I found is simply called, “Teaching Math.” The goal of the writer of this blog seems to be to inform other math teachers about helpful tips for teaching, as well as provide resources for creating lesson plans and math related activities. I selected this blog because it has a lot of helpful information, as well as some neat and useful online manipulatives. This could really come in handy for me as I am currently doing my field experience at Price Lab. A class set of computers is almost always available to check out for my lessons, so I would definitely be able to have students try some of these interactive websites.

The writings of this “blogger” are fairly organized in the fact that each posting covers a single topic at a time and provides multiple links to related information, whether that be an online gadget or just another blog. While the writer does not seem like someone who is only writing to vent or express his opinion about a topic or idea, there is a lot of great insight provided in each posting. Also, the best part about this blog is that the whole right side of it is filled with just about every math topic there is, so it is really easy to find what you are looking for on any give occasion.