Mathematics is much more than you see in school!

This is a revisit of a GeoGebra file I made a couple years ago. I put it here as another step in my push to get students to experience higher level math early on.  With the exception of the sentence in red, the entire process uses only basic geometric concepts: points, circles, rotations, segments, midpoints.

The file itself can be found here. Spread the news!

Mathtype into Word into Google Docs into Blogger: What a Country!

I have been unable to embed animated gifs into Microsoft Word, but I found Google Docs would handle it. So I created a document in word (with MathType), copied it into Google Docs, embedded the animated gifs (which had been created with GeoGebra and then edited for size in Fireworks), and here it is. The formatting of the equations needs adjustment, but the process seems to work.

This document is for a presentation at the Association of Teachers of Mathematics of New York State scheduled for Rye, NY, in November.

Mathphobics can learn this too!

Here is another file that just might help some teacher or student somewhere as the new school year begins. Find my original here.

3...2...1..GO!

Schools will be starting around the country soon, and there is never a chance to "start over".  Even Olympians often get to restart. Not teachers or students!

With the goal of helping somebody somewhere get a smooth start, I made this little file. 

If one person finds it helpful, it will have been worthwhile. The file can be found here.

 

NBC fails

NBC cannot broadcast opening ceremonies of the Olympics live.

Probably so that they can be sure to get massive ads to fit in.

Math is Fun

Although I could fill pages with comments on the 2016 US presidential campaigns, I choose this time to stick with my GeoGebra efforts.  Here is a file I wish I could have used when I was in the classroom. Using basic geometric concepts out of any high school geometry class (circles, rotations, segments, midpoints) it targets a graphing question which would be extremely hard, if not impossible, to introduce without dynamic geometry. Anyone can experience it, even "math-haters".

This file (find it here) took around an hour to create, but has the benefit of reuse.  It only needs to be created once. By posting it as a public file, anyone anywhere with access to the web can use it.

I hope people do use it, and come to appreciate how, properly used,  programs such as Geogebra can transform and revitalize the classroom. 

Remember: math is a game. Go out and have some fun!

 

Do you know the state capitals?

It appears to me that when many people hear the name "GeoGebra" they respond with a "what?" and when you indicate it is a combination of "geometry" and "algebra" they immediately categorize it as something from mathematics.

Wrong!!!

GeoGebra can be used in many non-mathematical ways, but I must admit that behind any computer application is the world of symbolic logic, which is hard-core mathematics. I guess if you are reading this, you are using mathematics, whether you want to or not.

Here is  a quickie that I put together this morning that would most likely not be used in a mathematics classroom. The possibilities are endless. Restricting GeoGebra explorations to just math teachers and math students will do nothing but strengthen "the Wall" that exists between mathematics and the rest of the world.

A couple of years ago I put together a file dealing with the states and a map, which you can find here). As of today that file needs some tweaking to make it work with the latest html coding standards, but it gives the idea anyway. Enjoy!