Fathom

Fathom allows you to investigate data in multiple ways. It is especially useful when there are multiple attributes. You can make variety of graphs according to what you like to observe. If you select something in one graph, it will be highlighted in other graphs or tables for easier comparison.

Add line or least square line is helpful to find a formula for a set of data, but what I like best is adding a formula and using a slider to find a graph that fits the data that are not linear.

I liked the ability to control the appearance of the cases, but I do think the placement location is a little confusing. I had to use trial and error until the icons lined up the way I liked.

Geogebra

I like Geogebra input bar. It allows you to type equations with more than one variable. I was trying to do this with Sketchpad but could not figure a way. I tried to use the sample activity "analytic conics" on the learning center web page, but it would not work with this one particular equation, 16x^2-94x+9y^2-342y-24xy+1324=0. It should plot a parabola opened up on a diagonal toward the 1st quadrant. In Geogebra, all I had to do was to type in the equation without any necessary manipulations. The only thing is you need to place an asterisk for multiplication between the two variables x and y.

Another neat thing about Geogebra, you can type in a word in the input bar and it will find it for you. Such as the parabola above, I wanted to find its focus. I typed in the word focus and the letter assigned to that equation into the brackets and it gave me the coordinates of the focus. I did the same to find the directrix and it gave me the equation for its directrix. I don't think Sketchpad is set up to work with conic sections as fluently as Geogebra.

Week six

I have found that most of the activities that I have found for GSP are mostly instructional driven. This does allow students to see a demonstration of problem solving, but I would like them to practice and use their own problem solving skills. The GSP activities can be easily modified by leaving out some of the instructional steps and allowing the students to explore freely. It will require the teacher to be more of a moderator than an instructor. The teacher will have to observe the students closely to orchestrate the communication needed for the students to share their conjectures and their method of reasoning.

As for the activities instructions, I like to leave them as is and allow the teacher to decide what to leave out. This is to allow the teacher to modify them according to their own comfort level or time they may have in the activity.

Mr. Mike Stanek

Mr. Stanek discussion of online class is amazingly not much different than ours. The online class takes a little adjustment but I do think I like it. It is unlike the online class I had last semester. Last semester you read what the teacher post and then you respond by typing. We didn't have any "on-time" communication that we have now. I'm amazed with the possiblities we have with our's and Mr. Stanek's virtual class. We have opportunity to actually speak. We can have discussions by typing. The teacher can share a web page, powerpoint, and more in an extra window. All of this at one time. This is really the age of multitasking.
I do think it takes time to adjust to this virual world. The multitasking will get easier as I get familiar with all the functions of the virtual class. The speaker is difficult to adjust to. It is odd to talk to a computer, but there are people really listening. You just don't know how you are coming across. It is an adjustment that one has to learn to get use to.

GSP

I have been reviewing over the GSP activities to make a tentative plan for the modules. Most of the activities found are from Key Curriculum Press or GSP website. I have found one in "Mathematics Teacher" magazine and a couple of others in Glencoe's Geometry text book. I would think the future modules would be much easier because we would not need to develop any activites. We can just use the activities that are found as is. We have already build the basis in how to use the technology in the 1st module and the technology is really simple to follow. There may be one or two occasions that we may want to develop one. Such as the one from the magazine, I altered it to develop into a more formal lesson to follow.

GSP

GSP is a very easy software to manipulate. I like to have more challenging activites for the students. This software lends in itself for students to be able to explore beyond what that can do without it. Also I like the lessons that students will achieve just by being able to do the constructions. Just making the constructions reinforces the lessons students learn about certain shapes. They also may find new ones. The speaker from yesterday, Mr. Pinkerton, seems to enjoy the GSP because he can get "on time" evaluation of student's understanding. Also he does not think it makes the students "dumb/lazy" because the students have to make constructions. I found it interesting that he mention that there is a gap between the classroom and the computer room. The kids seem to be interactive in the computer room, but when they get back to the classroom they clam up. I was curious that maybe the activites with GSP should be mixed up a little. Have the activites with GSP but also have the students see how to relate it without the use of GSP. Like Mr. Pinkerton stated that they could not go to the computer room one day and they were trying to make a conjecture of perpendicular bisector of a triangle. They were curios if the intersection point of the perpendicular bisectors of a traingle will always meet inside the triangle. He stated that this is when the students appreciated the use of GSP. They could easily manipulate it on GSP, but left by their own means it would be tedious and troublesome. Maybe after they did find the answer on GSP, they should go back and do it by hand. Basically have the activity on GSP but then see how they could of done it without it.
I'm thinking that maybe I should try to find activities that lead the students by the use of GSP but then also lead them to think without it. Basically allow the students to learn with GSP but reinforce what they learn from GSP by their own means.

Terrapin Logo

In making the quilt for Terrapin logo, I still had a couple of problems that I had not resolved yet. One problem is that there seem to be a slight shift in the step of the pattern but it is so slight that it is really not noticable. The shift had to deal with making the arcs. Another problem was when the turtle reached the boundaries of the screen it seem not to follow the commands as noted.

Dr Shafer had noted that scratch is another software that may be use to develop this quilt. If I have time, I may experiment with scratch to see if I can do the quilt project on there.