MATH TOOLS NEWSLETTER - JANUARY 30, 2009 - No. 72 ***ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS (free) For teachers of students in grades 5-9, we offer online workshops: Technology and Algebraic Reasoning http://mathforum.org/nsdl_mathtech/online/ Tools for Thinking about Probability http://mathforum.org/nsdl_mathtech/online/prob.html The application deadline for our next sessions is Monday, February 23. The $100 workshop fee is currently covered by a grant from the National Science Foundation. ***ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE Teaching Mathematics with the Problems of the Week is designed for current subscribers of the Problem of the Week who want to implement problem solving more effectively. All individuals who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate indicating that they have completed 15 hours of professional development. This is equivalent to 1.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Current prices for this course start at $149. Led by Claire Mead, Teaching Mathematics with the Problems of the Week is scheduled to span six weeks, February 19 through April 1. Participants will have some flexibility within each week but are expected to complete the activities during the assigned week. Registration closes at 5 pm on Friday, February 13, 2009. View more description and the syllabus: http://mathforum.org/pd/funpow/syllabus.html ***FEATURED DISCUSSION Tutorial software for high school algebra http://mathforum.org/mathtools/discuss.html?&do=r&msg=74103 bobk544 adds this comment to an existing discussion: "I am continually in and out of the need for complex math and continually having to reinvent my learning approach, but with a site like this, I can see unlimited potential for everyone!" ***FEATURED DISCUSSION Factoring Quadratics http://mathforum.org/mathtools/discuss.html?&do=m&thread=a_____g-30 LFS announces, "I invite you to look at this scheme for factoring a quadratic with a=1." ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: How fast can you run? http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/73157/ Michael Backus Students determine how fast they can run in ft/s, mi/hr, m/s, and km/hr. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: How old are you? http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/73158/ Michael Backus Students calculate how old they are in days, hours, minutes, and seconds. This assignment provides for differentiation. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Mixtures http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/70747/ Shodor: Project Interactivate Mixtures allows exploration of percents through two piles of colored and uncolored chips. The user must decide how many chips to color to create the desired percentage of colored chips compared to the total pile. Mixtures is one of the Interactivate assessment explorers. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Chron me! http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/70981/ chronme Chron me! is an online stopwatch. You may use it to just time a specific activity or monitor your daily tasks. Versions available include full, mini, and blog-friendly widget. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Regression http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/70767/ Shodor: Project Interactivate Plot a bivariate data set, determine the line of best fit for their data, and then check the accuracy of your line of best fit. ***FEATURED TOOL Tool: Multi-Function Data Flyer http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/70763/ Shodor: Project Interactivate Enter a set of data points and a function or multiple functions, then manipulate those functions to fit those points. Manipulate the function on a coordinate plane using slider bars. Learn how each constant and coefficient affects the resulting graph. 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 -- 30 January 2009