Free Web-based Software #2 - Sumo Paint

I chose to take a look at Sumo Paint as they state they are the "webs best image editor."  I did not pay to upgrade to Pro, I simply used the free form of the software.  As far as an image editor, it had a lot of options to use.  That is good when you know what you are doing, but if not it took some time to figure out how to use it.  I like other photo editing software that shows a preview of what tools would do to the picture.  I did not see it on my visit to this website.  I did like the ability to add text to the photos and took several of my daughter and added her name and the date it was taken.  As far as use in the classroom, I teach math and my students don't typically need a photo editor for class.  If a class needed a photo editor, I would recommend the students giving this a try!

Free Web-based Software #1 - GOOGLE DOCS

Google Docs is a great way to create documents, spreadsheet, and even presentations in a way such that multiple members of a group can provide input and make changes.  I really like the fact that it saves when any changes are made (eliminating students issues when files are just "gone").  I also enjoy the fact that you can see past versions of the document (or spreadsheet).  The only downfall that I have found on google docs is the requirement of internet.  This is not an issue for most students, but for a small handful it is an issue.  One thing that I did not get to see how it works is when multiple people work on the document at the same time.  According to information on google docs, many people can edit it at the same time.  Another great feature for collaborators (especially those students that like to wait until the last minute to finish a project).  I have had students use this free web-based software to complete a project for a statistics class and it worked very well for them!  I strongly recommend that others check out this software.

Class Website

Using google sites, I have created the beginning of a class website I intend on using this next school year.  The website has a home page linking students to the school website, moodle, and grades.  In the sidebar I have placed a countdown to the AP Statistics Test for the students to see when they are on any page in the website (hopefully a strong reminder to the students).

Two other pages it contains are individual pages for my Algebra 2 course and AP Statistics course.  On both of these pages you will find links to the book companion websites, a calendar (linked to a google calendar - one for each class) that I can update, an image of the current textbook, and an area for me to place class announcements.  I included a calendar on each as a way to type in daily homework assignments.  I did not create an area to link worksheets as it is school policy that they must be contained in Moodle (I could always decide later to place them in both if I wanted).  In addition on the statistics page you will find a link to my screencast on creating graphs in excel.  I chose not to embed the screencast to avoid clutter.  It is simply a link for the students which opens in a separate tab.

Another page that I created was a simple page with contact information.  Please click here to view my website!

Concept Maps

Using Bubbl.us a free online concept-mapping creator this is an example of a concept map that students could create and add to in an Algebra 2 course.  This concept map is the start of a summary map of all of the families of functions that we cover in this course.  We create a booklet of all of the families of functions, but students could then make a concept map adding key features to assist in studying the families.

The second concept map that I created is one that I give the students in Geometry when learning the quadrilateral hierarchy.  This map helps them realize the relationship between the quadrilaterals.  We make this concept map after covering and proving the various properties of the quadrilaterals.  Some of the lines connecting the shape are proven by the students within the course.

Screencast

This screencast demonstrates how to make a pie chart, bar graph, and scatterplot in Excel. In my AP statistics course students must complete a research project. A requirement of this project is the use of Excel to create data displays. This screencast walks students through the three most common graphs that students create. It show students how to create graphs, label axes, and change colors. Although screencasts can include audio, the audio is omitted as my microphone was picking up too many external sounds and was unclear.
In displaying this screencast, I learned that if it displays too large in the blog, you can simply change the height and the width in the code!

Google Map Lesson

View Hawaii in a larger map

 In upper level math we start talking about functions and the limits.  The limit is the value that the function approaches.  This activity I designed to have students start thinking about the concept of limits.  The students will first be instructed to find an island in Hawaii.  They can use any island that they would like.  They are going to be looking at the perimeter of the island (or in other worlds the linear miles of coastline).  They will use the line feature to draw around the island. The goal is to get an accurate perimeter.  The first time they must only use 4 segments together to form a closed shape that would give the best representation of the perimeter.  To form the next closed shape they must use a different color and 25 and 30 segments.  The final closed shape (of a different color) must contain at least 50.  The goal of this last shape is to be as accurate as possible.


Looking at the map I created, this is an example of what I hope the students would create.  The colors represent the three different criteria.  Using an online resource, the students would then need to find the actual miles of coastline.  For my island, the actual miles of coastline was 106.  From my map you will see that as I used more segments to create my shape my estimation was more accurate.  This will lead into the discussion of limits.

Audio Podcast

When looking for interesting audio podcasts that are educational, I stumbled upon the American Mathematical Society.  On the site I visited a page titled Mathematical Moments, which has podcasts that show how mathematics is used in various ways.  One of the podcasts I listened to described how math will be used when vehicles become autonomous (driven by computers).  They briefly discuss the math used in the programming of these cars.  The other podcast I listened to described the application of conic sections.  These podcasts could put these mathematical concepts routed in real world application.  Students always ask where mathematical concepts are used in the real world!