Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Math Apps
The website I found is more of an ad for IPads and IPhones; however it does describe the usefulness of these two forms of technology in the classroom. The website discusses the top 5 Math apps for the IPad and IPhone and how they are very useful for every math student from basic algebra and geometry to advanced calculus. They even have an app that has math games for children to practice addition, subtraction multiplication and division. The apps that I thought would be the most useful in my classroom are WolframAlpha (Universal), Apollonius (iPhone), and Math Ref (Universal). WolframAlpha is able to do computation and calculate complicated integrals, but it also gives the student step by step instructions on how to get the answers on their own so they can apply the steps on future problems and exams. WolframAlpha also allows students to look up different mathematical theorems, rules and axioms which is extremely helpful is classes such as geometry, modern algebra, and advanced calculus. The Apollonius app also seemed really helpful because the description reminded me of Geometers Sketchpad which is something that we were required to use in my geometry class which I found extremely useful. Unfortunately it says that this app is only available for the IPhone and not the IPad because I feel it would be more useful on the IPad given that the screen is bigger which would make it easier to draw different shapes and angles. Math Ref also seems like an amazing app for any math class because it provides so many different formulas, tips and examples; it’s like having a giant math textbook at your fingertips, and the best part is you don’t have to look through the text book to find the formula your looking for, just type it into the search bar. These apps are a great way to get all students involved and with the fact that so many students have IPads and IPhones it’s would be something that would be pretty easy to bring into the classroom.
http://www.imore.com/2011/05/18/top-5-math-apps/
Twitter as a Learning Tool
May I start by saying you will love this video! I love
Grey’s anatomy, and this episode made me a believer in twitter when I was more
against twitter than anyone I know.
In this Episode Dr. Bailey tweets about her surgeries in order to teach
many different doctors at different hospitals about the different techniques
she uses. The Chief of surgery was
strongly against Bailey tweeting her surgeries because he felt it was in
appropriate, but he becomes a believer too when the all the tweeting leads to
saving a life! Watch to find out how… In my math classes I may not save a life
by tweeting about mathematical formulas and giving study hints, but I may e
able to help students with their homework and studying for tests by perhaps
tweeting practice problems and solutions to study.
Youtube as a Study Tool!
The link I attached to this post is a youtube video about
finding the derivative of trigonometric functions. It shows step-by-step instructions of how to find the
derivative of the tan function.
What I really like is that the teacher reviews the derivatives of sin
and cos because as we already know tan = sin/cos. This is great because it helps the students better
understand the concept behind why the derivative is what it is instead of just
memorizing the answer. I used youtube a great deal when I was taking calculus
because the great thing about youtube that you can get in the classroom is you
can pause and rewind the video when you need clarification. When I was taking calculus I would
watch youtube while doing my homework so I could get step-by-step instructions
of how to do the problems. After
doing a few problems I was able to understand the different steps need to solve
the problems and this made me very successful in the class. I highly recommend youtube to anyone
struggling in math because they have videos for everything I can think of and
it really does help a great deal when it comes to understanding the different
steps of computation.
Website for Math Articles
This is an interesting website because it provides access to
many articles from teachers who have found many different ways of implementing
technology into their classrooms.
This article also describes the different tools that can be used such as
Excel and the TI-Nspire in order to introduce new mathematical topics. Many of the articles are about the
different technologies they can use to model and graph many different functions
and geometric shapes. The best
part about the website is that even though you have to subscribe to the
website, the subscription is free!
There is even an article that talks about aids for building proofs,
which I feel, is an area that students usually struggle with in math. Beyond building proofs there are
articles that discuss how to discover theorems. Mathematical theorems are often hard for students to
understand, but if they are working to discover them on their own they will
have a better grasp on the concepts.
Theorems are important because with the use of different theorems we can
prove new mathematical concepts and have our students becoming real
mathematicians.
Tackling problems facing technology in math education
This article is important because
it is very objective and provides both the positive and negative aspects of
trying to incorporate technology in the classroom. One of the biggest problems in a math classroom is
calculator dependency. The newest
graphing calculators have a wide range of functions and graphs that they can
perform, solve and draw. Because of this, many teachers fear that their
students will depend solely on the calculator instead of sharpening their
mathematical knowledge and skills.
The key is figuring out the proper method of teaching in order for
students to learn how to use the calculator as a mathematical tool in order to
perform higher levels of thinking and work more efficiently instead of just
using the calculator as a crutch.
Another
big problem with incorporating technologies into classrooms is the lack of
access to different types of technologies. Most schools cannot afford to provide every student with a
laptop or graphing calculator. Therefore students are often required to provide
their own forms of technology, which is very difficult in lower income
areas. With these different forms
of technology becoming imperative tools in the classroom, schools should be
required to have a these technologies available if the students are unable to
provide them for themselves. Because
these technologies have to ability to get students more engaged in lessons and
learn more efficiently, we as teacher have to be able to come up with different
solutions to these problems that could prevent technology from being used in
the classroom.
Evolution of Technology
This article was interesting
because it was about how much technology in the classroom has evolved thought
the years. There was obviously not
always digital technology in classrooms but the technology they did have seemed
to work for them and continue to progress rapidly much like it does today. Many of the technologies we use today
date back to as early as the 1890s!
Just as the chalkboard was important back then, it is still often used
today especially in math classrooms for writing new formulas and showing
step-by-step solutions to problems.
The pencil has been around in the classroom since as early as 1900 and
is still one of the most important tools of any math class.
Videotapes
have been around since 1951 and we still use this type of visual technology,
but of course now we are able to look up any needed videos on youtube. Educational television has also been
around since 1958 and I feel it is a great way to get students interested in a
subject. There are so many
educational programs geared toward children to get them interested in learning
such as Bill Nye the Science Guy or Sesame Street for younger children. Teachers should take advantage of these
television programs because they would be a great way to start a lesson and get
the students interested. The
article goes on to describe other technologies that we know to be important in
classrooms today such as graphing calculators and smart boards. There are of
course other technologies such as IPads which are not used too often in
classrooms currently but hopefully in the future they will be incorporated more.
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