Tag Archives: Software

Educational Technology, Geometry, Math Software

Digging Deep Into Varignon’s Theorem

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In the interactive websketch below (and here on its own page), ABCD is an arbitrary quadrilateral whose midpoints form quadrilateral EFGH. Drag any vertex of ABCD. What do you notice about EFGH? The midpoint quadrilateral theorem, attributed to the French mathematician Pierre Varignon, is relatively new in the canon of geometry theorems, dating to 1731. Mathematics educator Chris Pritchard … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Geometry, Math Software, Uncategorized

A Geometry Challenge from Japan

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Here is a wonderful geometry problem from Japan: The five triangles below are all isosceles. The quadrilaterals are all rhombi. The shaded quadrilateral is a square. What is the area of the square? I wondered at first whether the English translation of the problem was correct because with so many side … Continue Reading ››
Elementary Mathematics, Geometry, Math Software, Professional Development, Uncategorized

Creating Animated Factorization Diagrams

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Last year, I had the pleasure of co-organizing a geometry-focused coaching collaborative led by Metamorphosis, a New York-based organization that offers professional content coaching to transform the mindset and practices of teachers and administrators. I had so much fun that I decided to do it again! My workshop partners were Metamorphosis staffers Toni Cameron, Ariel Dlugasch, … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Geometry

The Varied Paths to Constructing a Square

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The November 2016 issue of Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School features the article Leveraging Interactive Geometry Software to Prompt Discussion by Priya V. Prasad. The article focuses on how the use of dynamic geometry technology can encourage students to think abstractly about geometric objects by having them construct those objects from their definitions. For example, … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics

Make Your Own Fractions

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In my very first Sine of the Times blog post from January 2012, I wrote about the paucity of fractions that young learners typically encounter in their math classes. While they might construct visual representations of 1/2, 2/3, and 8/12, it's unlikely they'll create models of 7/31, 36/19, or 5/101. That's a shame because without … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Geometry, Math Software

Estimating Angle Measurement

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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 ››
Math Software

A Merciless But Addictive Addition Game

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How challenging can single-digit addition be? That's the question I asked myself when my friend Hung suggested that I download Chisla, a mobile game for iOS and Android. From its description alone, the game seemed suitable for young learners practicing their addition. Take a look at the image below. The game presents you with an array of 25 random digits. … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Math Software

An Equivalent Fractions Game

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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

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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, Elementary Mathematics, Geometry, Math Software

Exploring Tessellations with Web Sketchpad

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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 ››