Sketchpad & Data Tables

I was making a Sketchpad activity and discovered that you can collect measurements in a table.

The full instructions on how to do so are here (search for “Tables”). It’s relatively painless. Select the measurements, go to the Graph>Tabulate menu. There you go! To add more measurements, double click on the table. Done.

I really like this as a way for students to organize and analyze the effects of changes to the figure. I think too often they just click and drag on things without stopping to think about what is really happening. Of course a good worksheet to supplement the activity is necessary. I’m still working on that part.

If you’d like this file, you can download it here. You will need Sketchpad though. Just for fun I tried the “Save As>HTML JavaSketchpad” option. The full features aren’t available (like the table) but here it is (Java compatible browser required). I need to play with this option some more. It is on my list of things to figure out.

Speaking of which, does anyone know how to embed these Java Sketchpad files directly into a WordPress post? My trust aide gave me some code to do so, but WordPress didn’t like it.

Passion Quilt Meme

Damian tagged me with this one a while ago.

Here are the rules, taken directly from his post,

Passion Quilt Meme Rules:

1. Think about what you are passionate about teaching your students.
2. Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.
3. Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.
4. Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.

Reflecting

I liked this image for a few reasons. I want my students to be reflective learners. I want them to examine their own thinking and that of others. To compare solutions and processes for their mathematical work. I want them to reflect on their actions and choices too. I also chose this image because I like the patterns displayed. I want my students to recognize (and appreciate the beauty of) patterns.

I’m not sure how well I’ve been doing in actually bringing these passions to the classroom on a daily basis. That’s something on which I need to reflect.

I’m going to break one of the rules by not tagging anyone. Or tagging everyone. If you’re interested, consider yourself tagged.

Image: Reflected Doyle Spirals by fdecomite via flickr under CC

Spring Break

I’m going out of town for a couple of days for spring break. I wish I could say I’m going to a nice warm, sunny beach somewhere. Alas this is not the case, but…

I’m unplugging. Leaving the laptop, the lesson plans, and the grading at home.

Yay!!

Adding Value?

I recently got a Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet.

It is fun. So far the only “educational” use it has gotten has been to write up a solution for a math team problem we couldn’t solve last week. Which was nice. I was able to save it as a .png, upload it and email the link. Much faster than scanning or typing. Typing those up is a pain.

I’m trying to decide if and how I can use this in the classroom. I don’t have a smart board. I do have a projector to which I can hook up my laptop.

I don’t know. I’m torn.

Pros:

• As I’m playing with it, I’m more conscious of “board space” and layout. Which is a good thing.
• Notes would be archived for students who are absent.
• Easier to get notes to students with the accommodation of access to teacher/peer notes.
• I have to slow down when I’m writing on it. This is good as I think I do things too quickly when I’m at the board anyway.
• Using Skitch, we can write on documents and slides I create. Usually I just project these on the whiteboard.

Cons:

• Only one person can use it at a time. How would we manage multiple students putting up their work for us to compare methods/solutions? This is a big one. I believe this is important.
• It isn’t easy to write on legibly without practice. How would the students do? (admittedly, probably better than me…)
• Writing on the tablet is strange at first. You have to look at the screen while writing on the tablet. I’m still getting used to this and I’ve been playing with it for tens of hours.
• If I do this, I have to be consistent. I have to upload the images daily so the students have access to them. I need a way to organize them so it is easy for the students to use. My current school web page is … not very flexible.

I don’t want to use something in the classroom just because I can. It needs to add value - and the value needs to outweigh any costs. I think I’m going to ask my mentor about this one. I’m also asking all my other mentors. What do you guys think?