MATH TOOLS NEWSLETTER - AUGUST 31, 2007 - No. 55 ***FREE OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 9-10 The MathMentor http://mathforum.org/cooke/ The Math Forum @ Drexel is offering the MathMentor, an online mentoring program that is designed to expand students' career aspirations and help them to develop interest in math, science and technology. Applications are currently being accepted. \|/ As you browse the catalog, please take a moment to rate a resource, comment on it, review it -- or start a new discussion! ***FEATURED DISCUSSION From physical to abstraction http://mathforum.org/mathtools/discuss.html?&do=m&thread=___disc_13171_g-14 Shar1963 explains, "I see in my work with student the difficulty of translating a physical situation into its mathematical abtraction. I like the way this applet allows us to view the physical, though simplistic, while immediately showing the graphing abstraction. This shift is a very important one where most of my students struggle." ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Division Bingo BCC/Netmedia http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/33323/ Bingo is a well known game that can be a lot of fun. In the traditional game, the numbers are called out by the Bingo caller. This game is similar but the numbers are "called out" by answering the division number sentences correctly. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Calculus Applets Tom Downey http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/31344/ A set of web pages that provide interactive, graphical applets for learning/teaching calculus. Each page provides an applet, explorations to do with the applet, and a button to pop up the applet in a resizeable window (suitable for projecting on a screen for a class). The applets make use of the Webcompmath graphing library. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Galton's Quincunx Duncan Keith http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/33324/ Francis Galton was a pioneer in the study of heredity and statistics. His quincunx (a pattern of five dots, as on dice) is modeled in this Flash activity. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Addition Table Wayne Allen Bateman http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/33325/ The object of this game is to fill the whole addition table with the numbered tiles. Users can pick up and drag each tile to its correct cell with the mouse. If the cell in the table is clicked, its arithmetic expression is displayed below the table. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Graphing Calculator Online Amir Rashedi http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/33119/ Java program to graph functions, parametric curves, and equations in Cartesian or Polar coordinate systems. Specify domain for functions, rotate axis, change scale, and translate by using your mouse or by entering data. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Rolling Two Dice: Distribution of the Sum Juha Puranen http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/32704/ Visualize statistical phenomena using this tool to roll two dice. The distribution of the sum is displayed. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Mr. Beneli's Website Ido Beneli http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/33060/ This site contains 19 interactive flash tools that are at the Pre-Algebra to Algebra 1 level. Some of them are games. All of them provide immediate feedback. They are all visually appealing and easy to use without instruction. One of the games is similar to "Green Globs." There is also a very nice function machine that shows input and output and the rule very clearly. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Math Games and Logical Games Hans Software Pvt Ltd. http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/33063/ This site contains 7 games. One of the games, Algebra vs. The Cockroaches, leads students through graphing using slope and y-intercept through increasing difficult rounds. The Tsyanshidzi game has 2 realistic looking hands and you play the game of Nim against the computer. There are also games about divisibility, factors and coordinates on a plane. 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/ \`. .--------------.___________) \ |//////////////|___________[ ] `--------------' ) ( '-' The Math Forum @ Drexel -- 31 August 2007