MATH TOOLS NEWSLETTER - APRIL 2, 2005 - No. 25
Are you planning to visit Anaheim, California, to attend
the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 83nd Annual
Meeting, April 6-9, 2005? If you are, we'd love to have
you stop by Booth 448 in the exhibit hall, or attend one
of our sessions focusing on Math Tools:
Thursday, April 7, 3:00 - 4:30
Session 355
Desert Springs (Anaheim Marriott)
Teachers of Teachers Workshop
Math Forum @ Drexel tPoW: Using Technology to Help Students
Solve Problems
Presenters: Suzanne Alejandre & Cynthia Lanius
Thursday, April 7, 3:00 - 4:30
Session 372
Room 213 C (Convention Center)
Hands-On Computer Workshop (Mac)
Sketchpad and More, Using the Math Tools Digital Library
Presenter: Annie Fetter
***FEATURED TPOW
Technology PoW: Balloon Booths
http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tpow/17731/
Scale the size of a hot air balloon so you can make it fit
through a narrow passage and hit a nail to pop it.
***FEATURED TPOW
Technology PoW: Counterfeit Coins
http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tpow/17799/
Find the fewest number of weighings that will identify which
of the nine coins is counterfeit. A link to a Java applet
from The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM)
is provided to help students think about the problem.
***FEATURED DISCUSSION
Representation of concepts
http://mathforum.org/mathtools/discuss.html?&do=m&thread=_____ra-48
ycc states, "I am interested in the roles of different
representations in understanding concepts of mathematics in
particular, and any discipline in general."
***FEATURED TOOL
Tool: Wait for a Date
http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/17866/
Students use Sketchpad to simulate a probability problem and
then calculate a precise probability by reasoning about their
model. The link to the tool begins downloading the zip file
WaitForADate.zip, which contains both the sketch and a pdf file
of the corresponding activity.
***FEATURED TOOL
Tool: Kali
Jeff Weeks
http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/18059/
Kali lets you draw symmetrical patterns based on any of the
17 tiling groups. Even the youngest children enjoy Kali. Older
students can systematically explore the wallpaper, frieze and
rosette groups. The command "Show Singularities" and the Conway
and IUC notation provide support for a theoretical analysis.
Freely available for both Windows and Macintosh computers.
***FEATURED TOOL
Tool: Poly
Pedagoguery Software, Inc
http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/17925/
Poly is a shareware program for exploring and constructing
polyhedra. With Poly, you can manipulate polyhedral solids on
the computer in a variety of ways. Flattened versions (nets)
of polyhedra may be printed and then cut out, folded, and taped,
to produce three-dimensional models.
***FEATURED LESSON PLAN
Lesson Plan: Fibonacci-Like Sequences and the Golden Ratio
http://mathforum.org/mathtools/lesson/18044/
In this activity, students develop the Fibonacci sequence and
use a spreadsheet to investigate several of its interesting
properties, drawing on a recursive formula to discuss arithmetic
and geometric sequences, using exponential regression,
calculating ratios, and exploring properties of Phi, the golden
ratio.
***FEATURED SUPPORT MATERIAL
Support Material: Links to Data
The Fathom Team at KCP Technologies
http://mathforum.org/mathtools/support/18062/
Key Curriculum Press has organized an area with links to data
sets for use with their Fathom software.
CHECK OUT THE MATH TOOLS SITE:
Math Tools http://mathforum.org/mathtools/
Register http://mathforum.org/mathtools/register.html
Discussions http://mathforum.org/mathtools/discuss.html
Research Area http://mathforum.org/mathtools/research/
Developers Area http://mathforum.org/mathtools/developers/
Newsletter Archive http://mathforum.org/mathtools/newsletter/
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The Math Forum @ Drexel -- 2 April 2005