Reflections on Blogging

May 3, 2008 at 12:04 pm | In Uncategorized | 3 Comments
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* Describe your blogging experience in this course. Do you think you will continue using your blog? Why or why not? I had used blogs before in other online classes, but never on WordPress.  It was a bit challenging to get use to the interface at first, but it didn’t take long to get comfortable using it.  I got very frustrated a few times with trying to format.  I couldn’t figure out how to underline text or insert tables.  I also had difficulty inserting images, but that may have been an issue with my MAC and not with the blogging.  I’m not sure about continuing this blog yet.  It’s very difficult to require students to do a technology activity frequently unless the mobile lab would be available and I could fit it into class time.  It is almost easier just to have students do writing on paper.

* What did you learn about yourself and your abilities or interests in Math or Algebra? It was interesting to see how much easier it is to write about a skill or concept that I already enjoy teaching.  It was much harder to write about one that I don’t like which makes me wonder if these “emotions” come across in my teaching.  It is something to consider, because I don’t want my students’ learning to be affected by my feelings on a topic.

* Did you learn or discover anything you found particularly interesting through your course actives or your own internet research? Describe one interesting discovery and why you found it fascinating. I was really fascinated by the web search I did on fractals.  The animations were so cool.  I never realized there was so much information out there including the animations of Sierpinski’s triangle and Koch’s snowflake.

* Do you think you will use journals with your students? Do you think you will use blogs? Why or why not? Again, I totally agree that journaling is an excellent experience for students, but I am not sure about using the blogs to do it.  Most of students have Internet and I could require them to do blogging at home, but for some, they would have to make time to do their blogging at school.  Another option is to let those students do their entries on paper, but then the whole feeling of community and sharing is lost.

Factoring Quadratic Equations

May 3, 2008 at 11:48 am | In Uncategorized | 2 Comments
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Instructions for factoring a quadratic equation in the form ax2+bx+c=0:

1.    First look at the factors of the constant value, c.
2.    Factor the first term, ax2.   This is very easy when a = 1 since the only option is x * x.
3.    Determine which combination of factors have a sum/difference equal to the coefficient of the middle term, b.
4.    Write the factors as the product of two binomials: (x + f1)(x+f2).

Questions:

* Did paraphrasing the words help you internalize the concepts more? I think it’s very difficult to put something like this in your own words and generalize it.  It is much easier to describe the steps as you do some example problems.  It’s easier to describe how to factor a basic quadratic equation with a = 1 and plus signs, but when you combine a variety of a values with some minus signs, now it is much more difficult to describe.  I don’t actually feel that paraphrasing this concept in words help me to internalize it.

* How can you apply this type of exercise in a lesson for your own students? Although I didn’t feel paraphrasing this concept was very helpful for me, it is an exercise I do with my students often.  I usually would have students paraphrase a new skill or concept as their closure or bell-ringer.

Evaluating Your Own Definitions

April 13, 2008 at 8:07 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

*  After reviewing your classmates post, would you alter your definition? Why or why not? Would you provide different examples?

It was interesting to see the different ways to word the definitions, but overall I felt they were pretty similar.  I would probably use the words input and output in my function definition if I had to write it again.  I don’t feel any need to change my examples.

* How can you evaluate whether or not your students grasped the difference between the two?

I think having the students come up with their own examples of each is the best way to see if they really get it.  When we first start functions, I like to have the students draw relations that are functions and some that are not.  I actually had my students this year make the questions for the chapter test.  I of course chose some of the better ones they made up.  As far as linear equations go, there is only one type of linear equation that is not a function (vertical lines).  In Algebra I, we spend quite a bit of time examining the special types of linear equations (horizontal and vertical) and in our discussion we examine which type would not satisfy a function and why not.  Of course we mention that all linear positive and negative equations are functions and then look at them in function form.  I have a writing prompt from one of my books, which makes students explain this in their own words.  For my lower level classes I just provide them with a word bank for their writing, but they always surprise me how detailed their explanations are.

Applet Review

April 13, 2008 at 3:07 am | In Uncategorized | 3 Comments

From the NLVM site, I really like the “Grapher” applet.

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_109_g_3_t_2.html?open=activities&from=category_g_3_t_2.html

This applet is fantastic, because it just like students having a graphing calculator at their house (as long as they have internet).  I love using the graphing calculators in class, but I can’t let students take them home, so that makes it very difficult sometimes to incorporate them into different lessons, chapters, assessments, etc.  I actually like the applet better than the graphing calculators in some ways.  It is easier to learn to use, has a bigger screen, and the graphs are color-coded.  They can trace the values on three functions at a time and compare them right away.

I could definitely use this applet to have students investigate families of graphs.  They could look at parallel lines with different y-intercepts.  They could look at lines with the same intercept, but different slopes.  They could even look at perpendicular lines with opposite reciprocal slopes.  Students could play with using parameters, using them as slope and/or y-intercepts, and then changing the parameters using the sliders.  This feature makes it easier to investigate families of graph using the applet than a graphing calculator!

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