My Comrade, Technology
Pam Losinski
Michigan State University
Masters of Arts in Educational Technology
CEP 805-Learning Mathematics with
Technology
Overview
Success in today’s classrooms demands
assistance from technology.
Student
Technology
Teache
r
Student
Technology
Teacher
Technology
Teacher
Student
Objective I
Technology needs to be readily
available for education.
Technology is essential in teaching and learning
mathematics; it influences the mathematics that
is taught and enhances students' learning.
-NCTM’s Technology Principle
The Argument
Allow teachers the ability to
determine appropriate technology
for their classrooms.
Instances of Technology at QMS

Calculators
– Scientific to TI-83 graphing calculators

Computers
–
–
–
–
–

Teacher desktops
LCD projectors
Document Cameras
Computer lab equipped with 30 student desktops
Laptop carts equipped with 24 laptops, wireless
printing capabilities
Data Collection Devices
– CBR and CBL
Blocked Technology at QMS

Internet Resources
– Online Communities
– Course Management Sites

Programs & Simulations available for download
Northwest Regional
Educational Laboratories
“Computers make possible experiences and
representations that cannot take place in the real
world, providing new experiences and improved
understanding.”
Objective II
Networking within Quincy Middle
School’s Mathematics Department will
provide students with the most effective
education possible.
Existing Networking

Department Meetings
– Teachers gather once a month
– Agenda sent via email prior to meeting
– Minutes recorded and posted on middle school
collaborative drive

Web Based Bookmark Manager
– Collection of math websites available to entire
department, annotated for easy searching
Proposed Networking
Teachers prepare brief presentations to
introduce new technology.
A Sample Presentation
SimCalc
“Research and development in
technology and curriculum dedicated
to democratizing access to the
Mathematics of Change and
Variation, including ideas underlying
Calculus.”
SimCalc: Curricular Vision
To democratize access
to the big ideas of
mathematics
SimCalc Project believes that technology provides essential
means to restructure this curriculum in order to:
Democratize
access to important and powerful ideas.
Build much more longitudinal coherence between early
and later years.
Focusing on the growth of big ideas, and their roots in
everyday human experience.
Crack the formalism barrier by providing multiple ways
of working with mathematical ideas, using the full range
of human linguistic, visualization and cognitive capacities.
Increase efficiency by teaching several important ideas
simultaneously.
Make room for more modern mathematics, moving out of
the 19th century and into the 21st.
SimCalc: Sack Race Performance Activity
Focus:
Slope
as a rate of change
Positive
Slope
Negative Slope
Zero Slope
Systems
of Equations
Intersection
of Linear Equations
SimCalc: Sack Race Performance Activity
Students
manipulate Actor A and B
to simulate a sack race that ends in a
tie
PDF
links:
Introduction
Teacher Instructions
Student Instructions
SimCalc: Sample Race
Actor A, Big Red, and Actor B, The Green Giant, both start off strong as the race gets
underway. Unfortunately, at 4 seconds into the race, Actor B gets sidetracked when
he sees a friend standing beside the path. Not wanting The Green Giant to lose the
race, he quickly reminds him to “keep running!”. Distracted, The Green Giant starts
running back toward the starting line. Realizing his mistake, he quickly turns around and
runs as fast as he can to catch up to his rival, Big Red. As his poor physical condition
gets the best of him, he slows slightly, but still manages to finish the race in a tie with
Big Red.
Classroom Follow Up
Presentations
of individual graphs & stories
Discussion of slope
When
they equal?
What
What
that means?
positive/negative slope means for the
racers.
Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations
Sixth



Grade Standards
A.PA.06.01 Solve applied problems involving rates, including speed, e.g., if a car is
going 50 mph, how far will it go in 3 1/2 hours?
A.RP.06.08 Understand that relationships between quantities can be suggested by
graphs and tables.
A.RP.06.10 Represent simple relationships between quantities using verbal
descriptions, formulas or equations, tables, and graphs, e.g., perimeter-side
relationship for a square, distance-time graphs, and conversions such as feet to
inches.
Seventh


Grade Standards
A.PA.07.01 Recognize when information given in a table, graph, or formula
suggests a directly proportional or linear relationship.*
A.RP.07.02 Represent directly proportional and linear relationships using verbal
descriptions, tables, graphs, and formulas, and translate among these
representations.
Eighth


Grade Standards
A.FO.08.11 Solve simultaneous linear equations in two variables by graphing, by
substitution, and by linear combination; estimate solutions using graphs; include
examples with no solutions and infinitely many solutions.
A.FO.08.12 Solve linear inequalities in one and two variables, and graph the
solution sets.
Additional Ideas for Networking
from CEP 805

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
– Connections between math and technology
The Jasper Series
 Geometers Sketchpad

– An alternative from Cabri Geometry
Sources
http://www.quincyschools.org/Demographics.cfm
http://www.nwrel.org/request/june01/
http://www.simcalc.umassd.edu/
http://www.mi.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-28753_33232---,00.html