Jon Oaks

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  • The Snooze Button is Now a Math Problem

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    Jon Oaks
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    Yesterday I came across this problem while planning a lesson on ratio and proportion: "When I woke up this morning, I hit the snooze button and got 10 extra minutes to sleep.  Every time I hit the button, I get 10 extra minutes.  At this rate, if my alarm first goes off at 5:30 and…

  • Rotten Tomatoes, Linear Equations, Ratio and Proportion

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    Jon Oaks
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    This problem came about because I was talking about solving the equation 4x + y = – 14 for y and there was a little confusion about how I could  subtract 4x from – 14.  Although this was really a problem with combining like terms, I figured that now was as good of a time…

  • New Application Problems from the Classroom

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    Jon Oaks
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    Here are few more problems that I came up with during today’s class: 1.  Clyde owed 8 different people $4 each for some doughnuts that he bought to eat on his birthday. Then when he wasn’t looking, Hellman’s stole $4 from Clyde’s wallet.  In order to reclaim his debt, Clyde needed to split up his…

  • Teaching Signed Numbers with Zombies, Ghostbusters, and Night Vision Goggles

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    Jon Oaks
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    Here are three new application problems that I came up with while teaching signed numbers this morning.  Remember, I came up with these on the spot, during class.  So, just imagine that the entire class is paying attention to each of these problems as I am writing them, trying to figure out what is going…

  • Regression on the Calculator

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    Jon Oaks
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    Here are a few notes on regression and other stuff I’ve noticed over the past week: 1.  Remember my calculator post from last week?  Well, some of my Finite Math students were still having a little bit of trouble using the calculator to do Regression on the calculator.  This website on Cubic Regression seems to…

  • Thousands of FREE Learning Resources

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    Jon Oaks
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    I have heard about these websites from various places throughout the past week.  I hijacked a few of the descriptions, but I would rather give a hijacked description rather than an inaccurate description. 1.  CoSketch is a multi-user online whiteboard designed to give you the ability to quickly visualize and share your ideas as images.…

  • Interactive Demonstration Tools

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    Jon Oaks
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    Here are a few highlights of some of the Interactive Demonstration Tools that I have come across in the past few weeks: 1.  All Interactive Whiteboard Resources – Although the applets on this website are designed to be friendly for those classrooms with Smartboards and the like, I see no reason why these applets can't…

  • Joliprint, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Teaching Measurement

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    Jon Oaks
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    There have been so many times when I have wanted to print something from the web, but have had a very hard time getting it to print out correctly.  Joliprint is a resource that will definitely solve (most) of your problems.  For example, the other day, I printed this Convert, then Compete blog post from the Chronicle…

  • Tech Resources for Teachers: Backchanneling and more!

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    Jon Oaks
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    Over the past few months I have been trying to totally emerge myself into the world of Instructional Technology.  I have seen so many resources and as we all know, they eventually become repetitive.  I hate reading a list of "The Top Best New 100 Resources for Teachers" and half of them I already know…

  • Graphing Calculator Issues

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    Jon Oaks
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    In my Finite Math class I have been heavily stressing the use of the graphing calculator, especially since the college requires the calculator for the course.  I would definitely show the students how to use the graphing calculator anyway, it’s just that since it’s required, I feel as if I have an extra obligation to…