mathmattdani

[mathmattdani]

To everyone gearing up for finals week

Remember to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated, get up and stretch every so often, eat a banana or two, and try and get some sleep. Remember you have survived other finals weeks, and you will survive this one!

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virtual torus

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New teachers check out the teaching channel for cool ideas to use in the classroom!!!

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What Is the Khan Academy & Why Is It Revolutionary?

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1.1 History of technology in Math

Slide rule

  The rectangular slide rule was invented in 1620 and the circular slide rule in 1632.  A slide rule has three parts; the body, the slide, and the cursor. Scales mark the body and slide. The cursor has a hairline that facilitates accurate positioning of the cursor at a specific point on some scale.  The slide rule can be used for basic multiplication and division and even to calculate quadratic equations. (http://www.math.utah.edu/~pa/sliderules/)

  Calculator-

In the past calculators were not as user friendly as they are now.  They resembled a typewriter and would print out the answers to what you put into the machine.  (http://www.cs.laurentian.ca/jdompierre/html/calculatrices/index.html)

 Abacus

The abacus existed even before written numbers.  It was used to count and was very prevalent in trading markets to do everyday calculations.  It made doing simple math with large numbers very easy.  (http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/abacus/history.html)

  Protractor

A Protractors is an instrument used to measure and create an angle.  The protractor is over 500 years old.  In the 17th Century the protractor was used to navigate in the sea. (http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/protractors)

  Compass-

The compass was invented by Galileo and was originally used in making military maps proportional.  The proportional compass was used by all engineers and architects until the recent boom of computers.  (http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/esplora/compasso/dswmedia/storia/estoria1_st.html)

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1.2 Current uses of technology in Math

Electronic Calculator-

Calculators are used in basic mathematics problems.  Most students are allowed to start using calculators in 6th grade.  It makes computation easier and faster.  Students can use them to answer questions or check their answers. (http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/calculator.aspx)

  Graphing Calculators- 

Graphing calculators are used in advanced level courses in high school and in college.  They allow students to graph complex functions to see the outcome of graphs.  They can also be used for simple computing.

  Computers-

Math is used heavily in computers and animation.  Video games are based off of the x, y, and z planes.  Without geometry and trigonometry computer animation wouldn’t exist.  Then on other games when you least expect it are using a lot of math.  Strategy based games use graphs and nodes.  So chances are if you are doing something on a computer it is using math.  (http://nrich.maths.org/1374)

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1.3 Future use of technology in math

Computerized Books-

In the future we believe that the books could very well be on the computer and practice problems intermingled in the lesson.  We could also envision books taking a backseat to videos and virtual tutoring due to the increase in computer technology.

Everyone owning an iPad-

If everyone had an iPad at their disposal it would make it a lot easier to do a lot of things in the class room.  One of these things being sharing ideas.  With Apple devices it is really easy to share things with others using drop box.  If all the students had the technology and were educated on how to use the iPad, it would make learning a lot easier. 

Here is a video on everything that you would need to know about drop box. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6tkGSIFsH0

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2.1 History uses of technology in math teaching

Blackboard-

Students in ancient Babylonia and Sumeria inscribed their lessons on clay tablets as the teacher taught.  At the end of the 18th century, students in Europe and America were still using individual slates made of actual slate or pieces of wood coated with paint and grit and framed with wood.  In 1801 the first wall mounted blackboard was used.  This allowed teachers to incorporate a new learning style to their teachings especially when students in mathematics were able to see the problem done in front. (http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/reference-material/the-history-of-the-classroom-blackboard/)

  One Room Schoolhouse-

In a one room schoolhouse there was one teacher for students ranging from age six to age forty.  The youngest children sat in the front, while the oldest students sat in the back. The teacher could assign the older students an assignment and then help the younger students learn. The teacher usually taught reading, writing, arithmetic (math), history, and geography. (http://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/ny/es_ny_school_1.html)

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2.2 Current uses of technology in math teaching

Marker boards-

We would say that nearly every classroom in the United States has a marker board, and if they don’t they probably have a chalk board.  The White board did not gain popularity until the mid 1990’s.  But since they were popularized they have made teaching to a large group of people a lot easier and more efficient than it was before. 

  SMART boards-

SMART Boards are very efficient and they can make teaching to a classroom a lot more efficient.  It offers a new perspective that white boards can’t offer.  With SMART boards you can have presentations prepared already on your computer but then also write on top of it.  This writing can also be erased with the click of a button making it easier to cover more information in a shorter amount of time. 

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2.3 Future uses of technology in math teaching

Smart boards in every classroom-

We believe that smart  boards are still the future of teaching.  A lot of classrooms in the country have this technology accessible to them.  But just because something is accessible to a person doesn’t mean you they know how to use it to the best of its capabilities.  So in the future we could have these available in every classroom but in order to get one you would have to go through a training session in order to use it to its max potential. 

Here is a short tutorial on how to use a Smart board.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwla8E6jz4g

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Math Jokes Explained - Numberphile

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Derek Jeter Has 2,734 Games Played and 3,450 Hits. Swings? Here’s a Ballpark Guess. By DAVID WALDSTEIN, nytimes.com

Several Yankees players were in the batting cages at spring training when one of them wondered how many swings Derek Jeter had taken in his professional career — not only in regular major league games, but also during spring training games, All-St…

Just some fun with some numbers. 

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Full Size & Source:

1. Fibonacci Numbers are generated by the Pascal’s Triangle.

2. Odd and Even numbers form the Sierpinski Triangle.

3. Number’s Symmetry and the”binomial coefficient expansion” numbers.

4. Powers of 2 and 11 series.

5. Triangular Numbers.

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Our mission to provide a world-class education for anyone, anywhere. All Khan Academy content is available for free at www.khanacademy.org.

Having trouble with homework? Khan academy can help you out. 

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Secondary Education

Just some readings you might want to check out

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All about Math

All about Math articles!