Tag Archives: Use Appropriate Tools Strategically

Educational Technology

Starting with Sketchpad Activities on Day One in Grades 2-5

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As an 18-year veteran teacher in Philadelphia public schools, my initial reaction when I first saw Sketchpad was “This would have completely changed the way I taught geometry.” I phrase it differently today: “This would have completely changed the way students experience mathematics.” a perspective that differs in two important details. First, I now understand that the … Continue Reading ››
Conferences

A Swan Song for Sweet Karen Coe

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Today I leave for my first proper vacation in a year and a half. Last time I took such a vacation, Key sold its high school textbooks to Kendall Hunt and transformed from a publishing company to a educational technology company. This time I just hope to survive the end of the world. 🙂 Before … Continue Reading ››
Math Software

Understanding Proportional Relationships with the Proximity Data Game

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In the Fall as Middle School and Algebra 1 teachers look for activities to develop students’ understandings of proportional relationships, they may turn to measuring scale diagrams or using springs. One of KCP Technologies' new online Data Games called Proximity offers a new option for teachers to help students learn about proportional … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology

Pass the Candy! Sweetening the Study of Probability

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As part of our guest blog series, we bring you another post from Kathryn Shafer. A former middle school and high school math teacher, Kathy is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Ball State University, Indiana. She's done a variety of … Continue Reading ››
Real-World Math

Monopoly Math

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Scan the headlines and you’ll see a stream of stories about educational technology: 1 to 1 iPads, teacher blogs, the flipped classroom… the electronic beat goes on. I’m not pining for the silky feel of chalk on my fingertips, but there’s something to be said for old school games and their ability to illustrate mathematical … Continue Reading ››
Math Software

“Figuring It Out” Is Where the Learning Happens

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 I often get asked the question when doing webinars, workshops, or professional development training, "is there a quick way to do that" with Sketchpad, TinkerPlots or Fathom? For example, last week we had a webinar on functions, and the question came up about whether Sketchpad had a … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology

Exploring the Law of Large Numbers with TinkerPlots

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As part of our guest blog series, we bring you a post from Kathryn Shafer. A former middle school and high school math teacher, Kathy is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Ball State University, Indiana. She's done a variety of work for Key, including presenting webinars, moderating online courses, and … Continue Reading ››
Math Software

Functions Come Alive in a Precalculus Classroom

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Ken Gordon has written our first in a series of guest blog posts from people working with Key Curriculum products in schools. Ken teaches Precalculus and Calculus in an accelerated program at Sisler High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He has been using The Geometer’s Sketchpad since first seeing it at an NCTM conference in 2004. … Continue Reading ››
Math Software

What’s the Appropriate Role for the Teacher when using Computer Games?

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I had the privilege this year of participating in the CADRE Fellows Program of NSF's Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education, and met a number of colleagues in the program whose projects, like our Data Games project, are exploring the classroom benefits of computer-game- or simulation-based-learning. (In this post, I’ll refer to technology-oriented … Continue Reading ››