The Magic of Fibonacci Numbers: http://www.ted.com/talks/arthur_benjamin_the_magic_of_fibonacci_numbers.html
Why is x the unknown? http://www.ted.com/talks/terry_moore_why_is_x_the_unknown.html
Friday, November 29, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
TT1351: Ready-Made Content
Ready-made videos:
http://web.clark.edu/math/Calculator/
This site has a collection of ~40 tutorial videos for using the TI-84 graphing calculator, which is what I use in my college algebra courses. In a face-to-face class, I have the opportunity to show students how to use the calculator and help them when they are learning new skills, but this can be difficult to do with an online student. I would post links to specific skills as we got to topics where we needed to use the calculator for that purpose.
Podcasts:
I had never considered the use of podcasts before in mathematics. I found an interesting podcast called "Math Mutation" at http://mathmutation.blogspot.com/ This podcast describes itself as "a short podcast for people of all ages, where we explore fun, interesting, or just plain weird corners of mathematics that you probably didn't hear in school." The way I see this being used in my online class would be as a discussion started for weekly posts, discussing how math relates to everyday topics (such as voting and politics) as well as class topics. New podcasts are released about once a month.
As far as instructions, I don't think any would be needed for students listening on their computers. Though some instructions about how to download this on to a phone/mp3 player might be helpful.
Learning Objects:
Starting with a definition, learning objects are digital entities (small ‘chunks’ of e-learning content) that can be delivered over the Internet and reused in a many of ways. For example, instructional designers can create these instructional components or objects that can then be assembled in a number of times in different learning situations, these learning objects can be organized using what is called metadata (meaning "data about data"), the metadata cataloging system allows educators to search access and then reuse these learning objects as needed.
Therefore, one can describe learning objects as:
1. Small "chunks" of instructional material
2. Catalogued by metadata
3. Are reusable
4. Are in a digital format
Some sources include: Merlot http://www.merlot.org National Science Digital Library http://nsdl.org/ and Wisc-Online http://www.wisc-online.com
One thing I found on Merlot that could be used across a variety of courses is Paul Seeburger's Dynamic Calculus Site which has a Calculus Function Grapher (http://web.monroecc.edu/pseeburger/) This interactive grapher could be used for class demos or for student investigation in graphing functions, polar, parametric, and piecewise graphs.
http://web.clark.edu/math/Calculator/
This site has a collection of ~40 tutorial videos for using the TI-84 graphing calculator, which is what I use in my college algebra courses. In a face-to-face class, I have the opportunity to show students how to use the calculator and help them when they are learning new skills, but this can be difficult to do with an online student. I would post links to specific skills as we got to topics where we needed to use the calculator for that purpose.
Podcasts:
I had never considered the use of podcasts before in mathematics. I found an interesting podcast called "Math Mutation" at http://mathmutation.blogspot.com/ This podcast describes itself as "a short podcast for people of all ages, where we explore fun, interesting, or just plain weird corners of mathematics that you probably didn't hear in school." The way I see this being used in my online class would be as a discussion started for weekly posts, discussing how math relates to everyday topics (such as voting and politics) as well as class topics. New podcasts are released about once a month.
As far as instructions, I don't think any would be needed for students listening on their computers. Though some instructions about how to download this on to a phone/mp3 player might be helpful.
Learning Objects:
Starting with a definition, learning objects are digital entities (small ‘chunks’ of e-learning content) that can be delivered over the Internet and reused in a many of ways. For example, instructional designers can create these instructional components or objects that can then be assembled in a number of times in different learning situations, these learning objects can be organized using what is called metadata (meaning "data about data"), the metadata cataloging system allows educators to search access and then reuse these learning objects as needed.
Therefore, one can describe learning objects as:
1. Small "chunks" of instructional material
2. Catalogued by metadata
3. Are reusable
4. Are in a digital format
Some sources include: Merlot http://www.merlot.org National Science Digital Library http://nsdl.org/ and Wisc-Online http://www.wisc-online.com
One thing I found on Merlot that could be used across a variety of courses is Paul Seeburger's Dynamic Calculus Site which has a Calculus Function Grapher (http://web.monroecc.edu/pseeburger/) This interactive grapher could be used for class demos or for student investigation in graphing functions, polar, parametric, and piecewise graphs.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Discrete Math Resources
Links found through Merlot for Discrete Math/Graph Theory:
- Graph Theory Lessons (java applets)
- Description: The applets contain topics typically found in undergraduate graph theory and discrete structures classes like null graphs, the handshaking lemma, isomorphism, complete graphs, subgraphs, regular graphs, platonic graphs, adjacency matrices, graph coloring, bipartite graphs, simple circuits, Euler and Hamilton circuits, trees, unions and sums of graphs, complements of graphs, line graphs, spanning trees, plane graphs, shortest paths, minimal spanning trees. The applet utilizes Petersen software written by the author. Peterson can draw, edit and manipulate simple graphs, examine properties of the graphs, and demonstrate them using computer animation.
- Discrete Math (flash applets)
- This site consists of examples, exercises, games, and other learning activities associated with the textbook, Discrete Mathematics: Mathematical Reasoning and Proof with Puzzles, Patterns and Games by Doug Ensley and Winston Crawley. Requires Adobe Flash player.
- The Discrete Mathematics Project
- Demonstrates real-world applications of math to all those students who say, "How will I ever use this?" You don't get much more real world than solving the problems of dividing estates fairly, apportioning legislative seats, or cutting a cake in even pieces. Each activity includes printable worksheet materials as you incorporate this standards-based subject--discrete mathematics--in your math classes (grade 9 and up).
Saturday, November 16, 2013
TT1351: Communicating in Real Time
Currently in my online courses, all of the communication takes place asynchronously. There is a lot of emailing, announcements, and discussion board posts, but never anything "live". A couple of tools that could change this would be texting, chatting (using the built in tool in MyMathLab), Skype (either for instant messaging or for video conferencing), Google+ hangouts, or Blackboard Collaborate.
If I were to start using texting as a form of communication, I think one of the first steps would be to set up a number with Google Voice. This way I could get student texts either from my computer at work or home as well as on my phone, while keeping my personal number private. This could provide a nice option for quick, easy questions (need quiz reset, site down, etc.) but probably wouldn't be beneficial for asking actual content questions.
Skype or Google+ provide some free options for video chatting, but with some limitations on the number of people that can participate (Skype only allows one person for free and Google+ can do up to 10). Both work on phones and computers, both android and apple, so there is a lot of flexibility on how students choose to participate, but they would probably need a camera and microphone.
The option that I plan to actually pursue using is Blackboard Collaborate. ICC is currently paying for 10 log-ins, and not many people are using them yet, so I have my own log in for hosting sessions. There is a virtual whiteboard space that is perfect for writing out problems, as well as the ability to take students to our course site (or other websites) to explain features and resources. Students can type in the textbox or use their microphone to ask questions, as well as polling options and virtual hand raising. The one downside is that it is separate from our MyMathLab course site, and the first time I used it I had some technical issues getting things set-up. I'm hoping to do a doodle poll at the beginning of the semester to find out what days and times work best for students, and then to offer sessions every couple of weeks for optional review and practice problems.
If I were to start using texting as a form of communication, I think one of the first steps would be to set up a number with Google Voice. This way I could get student texts either from my computer at work or home as well as on my phone, while keeping my personal number private. This could provide a nice option for quick, easy questions (need quiz reset, site down, etc.) but probably wouldn't be beneficial for asking actual content questions.
Skype or Google+ provide some free options for video chatting, but with some limitations on the number of people that can participate (Skype only allows one person for free and Google+ can do up to 10). Both work on phones and computers, both android and apple, so there is a lot of flexibility on how students choose to participate, but they would probably need a camera and microphone.
The option that I plan to actually pursue using is Blackboard Collaborate. ICC is currently paying for 10 log-ins, and not many people are using them yet, so I have my own log in for hosting sessions. There is a virtual whiteboard space that is perfect for writing out problems, as well as the ability to take students to our course site (or other websites) to explain features and resources. Students can type in the textbox or use their microphone to ask questions, as well as polling options and virtual hand raising. The one downside is that it is separate from our MyMathLab course site, and the first time I used it I had some technical issues getting things set-up. I'm hoping to do a doodle poll at the beginning of the semester to find out what days and times work best for students, and then to offer sessions every couple of weeks for optional review and practice problems.
Friday, November 15, 2013
TT1351: Blogs for students
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/blog/ and http://statpics.blogspot.com/
These two blogs are ones that could be used by students in one of my math classes. Both sites post data in a variety of interesting formats to illustrate mathematical ideas and really visualize what the data is telling us. These would both be great resources of starting points for projects as well as examples of class topics using real world data. These blogs would help students to see math in their daily lives and make connections to the class content.
For example, we talk about Venn diagrams in my liberal arts math class, and the examples in the text always feel very contrived and boring...but what's more fun than looking at who can catch which flu virus: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/which-flu-virus/
If students were going to be creating their own blogs or wikis, some free resources include:
These two blogs are ones that could be used by students in one of my math classes. Both sites post data in a variety of interesting formats to illustrate mathematical ideas and really visualize what the data is telling us. These would both be great resources of starting points for projects as well as examples of class topics using real world data. These blogs would help students to see math in their daily lives and make connections to the class content.
For example, we talk about Venn diagrams in my liberal arts math class, and the examples in the text always feel very contrived and boring...but what's more fun than looking at who can catch which flu virus: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/which-flu-virus/
If students were going to be creating their own blogs or wikis, some free resources include:
- Free blogs at http://www.edublogs.org or http://wordpress.com/ or http://www.blogger.com
- Free wikis at http://www.wikispaces.com/ or http://pbwiki.com or http://bluwiki.com/
Friday, November 8, 2013
TT1351: Desmos ideas
Desmos is an online interactive graphing calculator that is pretty powerful. There are a number of ready made lessons already created and shared online (see examples below). It seems like a good potential tool in an online class to have students creating and sharing graphs.
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/unsox3phkb
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/ooau4av9cz
-Approximating definite integrals using Riemann sums (left, right or midpoint). Sliders to control interval and number of rectangles.
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/q0vy8feq5h
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/xxyyjofuxo
-Taylor Polynomials
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/m2iciw8hlh
-11x^2+12x+13 had no real roots What is the only day that has an integer root? 11x^2+day(x)+13
http://simplifyingradicals2.blogspot.com/2013/11/conic-capture-game.html
-Conic capture game (using desmos)
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/unsox3phkb
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/ooau4av9cz
-Approximating definite integrals using Riemann sums (left, right or midpoint). Sliders to control interval and number of rectangles.
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/q0vy8feq5h
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/xxyyjofuxo
-Taylor Polynomials
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/m2iciw8hlh
-11x^2+12x+13 had no real roots What is the only day that has an integer root? 11x^2+day(x)+13
http://simplifyingradicals2.blogspot.com/2013/11/conic-capture-game.html
-Conic capture game (using desmos)
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
TT1351: Texting and polling
A couple of free tools that can be used for online polling include http://www.polleverywhere.com/ and http://doodle.com/?locale=en. Poll Everywhere can create polls that can be answered by text or on the web, with the free service allowing for 40 responses to a poll. Doodle allows respondents to select dates/times that work best for their schedule.
These types of tools could be used for scheduling events such as proctored exams or synchronous sessions, or could take the place of clickers to do class polling. If students have their phones in their hand every minute, why not put it to use?
These types of tools could be used for scheduling events such as proctored exams or synchronous sessions, or could take the place of clickers to do class polling. If students have their phones in their hand every minute, why not put it to use?
Friday, November 1, 2013
TT1351: Diigo - social bookmarking
Diigo is a social bookmarking tool where you can annotate sites/articles with sticky notes and highlighters, organize bookmarks, and not have to worry about broken links as webpages are archived. There is also a MVCR Tech Tools group (https://groups.diigo.com/group/mvcr-tech-tools).
My account is: https://www.diigo.com/user/megan_bomer
Being in a program like the Master Online Teacher, exposes you to so many resources, that some kind of system for organizing links is a must. Though I'm not sure that Diigo is the one for me. If you were collaborating on research, it seems like a great way to be able to share resources with one another as you were working, but for working alone I don't know that I'll be pursuing this site.
Update (11/5/13): Ok, so after some more use, I'm coming around on the benefits of Diigo. I have been one that frequently prints off articles to read to be able to highlight and reference later (especially for classes). With diigo, there is a highlighter tool that can be used and the highlighted sections are then shown in your diigo library. This makes a quick and easy way to reference quotes, without even needing to pull up the whole article. When watching videos, you can take notes in a "sticky note" that shows up in your library in the same way.
My account is: https://www.diigo.com/user/megan_bomer
Being in a program like the Master Online Teacher, exposes you to so many resources, that some kind of system for organizing links is a must. Though I'm not sure that Diigo is the one for me. If you were collaborating on research, it seems like a great way to be able to share resources with one another as you were working, but for working alone I don't know that I'll be pursuing this site.
Update (11/5/13): Ok, so after some more use, I'm coming around on the benefits of Diigo. I have been one that frequently prints off articles to read to be able to highlight and reference later (especially for classes). With diigo, there is a highlighter tool that can be used and the highlighted sections are then shown in your diigo library. This makes a quick and easy way to reference quotes, without even needing to pull up the whole article. When watching videos, you can take notes in a "sticky note" that shows up in your library in the same way.
TT1351: Twitter in the Classroom #HelloWorld
This week I signed up for a Twitter account, a mere 7 years after the site launched. I had never been interested in using it for social purposes, but hadn't considered it for educational purposes.
So how could Twitter be used as an educational tool? Lots of people have already come up with long lists of ways that it can be used:
One concern I have been pondering is having multiple log-ins for students to get to course content/assignments/announcements, but it seems there are some ways to integrate Blackboard and Twitter to have a feed on your course homepage (http://library.uoregon.edu/scis/blackboard/faq/instructors/i77.html or http://www.socialbrite.org/2010/11/09/top-10-social-media-dashboard-tools/). Another concern is managing separate personal and professional accounts, as you can have multiple accounts but there is no way to have one common feed (https://support.twitter.com/articles/20169956-managing-multiple-twitter-accounts)
From a professional development standpoint, I'm excited about some of the resources I've found on Twitter. I've found a number of math professionals as well as math organizations to follow, many of which seem to post regularly. This collection of articles and lesson ideas is a great resource, and something I plan to continue to check.
So how could Twitter be used as an educational tool? Lots of people have already come up with long lists of ways that it can be used:
- http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom
- http://www.emergingedtech.com/2010/02/100-ways-to-teach-with-twitter/
- http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/10/50-plus-tips-on-how-to-use-twitter-in.html
One concern I have been pondering is having multiple log-ins for students to get to course content/assignments/announcements, but it seems there are some ways to integrate Blackboard and Twitter to have a feed on your course homepage (http://library.uoregon.edu/scis/blackboard/faq/instructors/i77.html or http://www.socialbrite.org/2010/11/09/top-10-social-media-dashboard-tools/). Another concern is managing separate personal and professional accounts, as you can have multiple accounts but there is no way to have one common feed (https://support.twitter.com/articles/20169956-managing-multiple-twitter-accounts)
From a professional development standpoint, I'm excited about some of the resources I've found on Twitter. I've found a number of math professionals as well as math organizations to follow, many of which seem to post regularly. This collection of articles and lesson ideas is a great resource, and something I plan to continue to check.
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