Category Archives: Educational Technology

Conferences, Educational Technology, Geometric Functions, Math Software

International Congress for Mathematics Education Part 2

1 Comment
I began this post on Friday night in Hamburg Germany, near the end of ICME, the quadrennial international math-education conference that's been both exhilarating and exhausting. I’m now finishing it on the airplane headed back home. ICME-paper As interesting as many of the presentations have been, they've also been … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Math Software

Developing Arithmetic Fluency Through “Drill and Thrill”

Leave a comment

In a previous post, I described the game Chisla, an app that succeeds in making basic arithmetic both challenging and tense.  Given a numerical target, you have just 15 seconds to pick numbers from a list of possible addends that will sum to that value. A target of 10 is no big deal, but when the target escalates … Continue Reading ››

Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Geometry, Math Software

Estimating Angle Measurement

Leave a comment
Angles are a thorny concept to teach because of the fundamentally different ways in which they can be used and understood. In the article What's Your Angle on Angles?, the authors divide the concept of angle into three main groups: angle-as-figure, angle-as-wedge, and angle-as-turn. In the Web Sketchpad game below, we focus on angle-as-turn. Given an angle, students enter an estimate … Continue Reading ››
Advanced Mathematics, Educational Technology, Math Software

A Mathematical Mystery Story with Web Sketchpad

Leave a comment
Several years ago, I wrote a blog post about the value that students derive from writing mathematics with Sketchpad. The post included an example of a simple Logo iteration, easily implemented in Sketchpad, that produces some very complex and interesting shapes depending on the values of several input parameters. In the article* where … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Math Software

An Equivalent Fractions Game

Leave a comment
In my recent posts, I've introduced interactive models for comparing fractions and multiplying fractions. To continue the fraction theme, below is a Web Sketchpad model in which the need for equivalent fractions arises naturally through the rules of a game. The model displays two arrays. Dragging the four points changes the arrays' dimensions. The goal is to drag blue squares into the blue array … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Math Software

A Compendium of Elementary Web Sketchpad Activities

Leave a comment
In the short two years since we introduced Web Sketchpad in this blog, we've developed lots of websketches and shared them here. As the number has grown, it's become challenging to keep track of them all. Here then is an annotated list of all the elementary-themed Web Sketchpad activities we've offered. The list includes links to our original … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Math Software

Comparing and Identifying Fractions Visually

Leave a comment
In my previous post, I presented an interactive Web Sketchpad model for visualizing and solving fraction multiplication problems. This week, I'd like to back up a step and focus on the more fundamental skill of visualizing and reasoning about the size of fractions. The fraction game below presents two random fractions at a time and challenges students to … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Math Software

Understanding Fraction Multiplication

2 Comments
Last week, Scott and I attended a fraction symposium at NYU, and it made me realize how long it's been since I've written about our Sketchpad work with fractions. Below is a Web Sketchpad model for displaying and solving fraction multiplication problems. Representing fraction multiplication with an area model is a common approach, but it's challenging to sort … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Geometry, Math Software

Exploring Tessellations with Web Sketchpad

Leave a comment
Metamorphosis is a New York-based company that offers professional content coaching to transform the mindset and practice of both teachers and administrators. I recently had the pleasure to collaborate with Metamorphosis staff members Toni Cameron and Kara Levin as well as mathematics coach Ariel Dlugasch from P.S. 276 in a coaching learning community that brought … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Geometric Functions, Math Software

Connecting Functions in Geometry and Algebra

Leave a comment
News alert! Scott and I wrote the cover story, Connecting Functions in Geometry and Algebra, in this month's Mathematics Teacher. You can read the article in print, but better yet, go to the free online version. This is the first time Mathematics Teacher has incorporated live dynamic-mathematics figures into its online offerings, allowing readers to manipulate the mathematical … Continue Reading ››