Tag Archives: Fractals and Tessellations

Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Math Software

A Compendium of Elementary Web Sketchpad Activities

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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, Geometry, Math Software

Creating Mosaics Inspired by a Pattern from Sultan Ahmed Mosque

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Mirek Majewski was born in Poland and studied mathematics at the Nicholas Copernicus University in Poland with an M.S. and Ph.D. in non-classical geometries. He is a professor of mathematics and computer science at several universities – PNG University of Technology, Inter-University of Macau (now Saint Joseph University), Zayed University in United Arab Emirates, and New York … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Geometry, Math Software

More Adventures with Web Sketchpad Tools

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In my prior post, I introduced some basic Web Sketchpad geometry tools for constructing points, circles, segments, lines, and rays. These tools are great for getting started, but what happens when your needs grow more demanding? Suppose, for example, that you decide to build a tessellation pattern composed of equilateral triangles. Do you really want … Continue Reading ››
Math Software

Picturing Functions and Functions of Pictures

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I’m excited to be making my first presentation of the 2013-14 school year next week in Baltimore. Daniel Scher and I are presenting Picturing Functions and Functions of Pictures. We'll be discussing the connections between pictures and functions. These connections are even richer than I realized when I first began to work with pictures in Sketchpad. In the … Continue Reading ››
Math Software

Writing Mathematics with Sketchpad

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In a recent blog post, Karen Coe referred to Conrad Wolfram’s opinion that programming is to mathematics what composition is to English. I’ve taught programming and written a lot of Sketchpad code, and I appreciate Wolfram’s analogy. In English class, students read books, poems, short stories, essays, and articles—but to gain a deep appreciation for … Continue Reading ››
Math Software

Eat Your Vegetables! Do Your Math!

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I was not a picky eater as a child. My parents had no trouble convincing me to eat my peas, artichokes, and even spinach (in the form of my dad’s delicious Thanksgiving stuffing). But I drew the line at Brussels sprouts. There was just no way for me to get over that cabbagy smell. [caption id="" … Continue Reading ››