New Slope Game

By Jon OaksApr 20, 2011
I hope you enjoy this game!  I would love to have any feedback if you decide to use it. Slope game Other Slope Resources Applets 1.  Interactive Slope Applet - Although I ran out of time to actually use this with my own class, this is a wonderful resource that lets students click and drag points such that when the line between the point changes, the calculation of the slope of the line also changes on the screen as well.  Very useful! 2.  Slope-Intercept Equation Applet - This appears to be the exact same applet I introduced to you a few weeks…
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Statistics Resources from Across the Web

By Jon OaksApr 10, 2011
I'm preparing to teach statistics this summer, so statistics resources are on my radar right now.  Here are some that have been fed to me recently: 1.  Prezi on 'Beyond Tables' -- Awesome Prezi on ditching the tables and integrating applets such as those over at Surf Stat.   Beyond Tables on Prezi 2.  YouTube Video - "Benford's Law -- How Mathematics Can Detect Fraud!"  -- I wanted to teach Benford's Law better the last time I taught statistics, but I didn't know how.  This will help. 3.  10 Jaw-Droppingly Awesome Infographics on Education -- If you didn't see my…
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Interactive Demonstration Tools

By Jon OaksFeb 24, 2011
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 be used in any classroom.  In fact, I plan on use this Angle Measure resource when teaching my classes about angles in the upcoming weeks.  Other great resources on this website include this Translation Plotter, which helps students to visualize translating a shape in the Rectangular Coordinate…
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GeoGebra and Applets for Calculus

By Jon OaksFeb 06, 2011
Somethings I have learned just by being a little more observant.  One day last week I was sitting at a different table than usual at school, and it happened to be next to the bulletin board.  At the very top of the bulletin board was a flier that I had never seen before that had a list of two websites, one of them being Math Applets for Calculus at St. Louis University.  Personally, I have never been too big of a fan of applets, but most of these are really great.  There are four types of applets there: JCM Applets,…
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Teaching the Unit Circle

By Jon OaksJan 16, 2011
This is simply another consequence of my poking around the web, and although I haven't taught trigonometry since last summer, I would consider using either of these ideas in the future: 1.  Touch Trigonometry - This is an interactive trigonometry graph and circle featuring the six basic trig functions.  I wasn't a fan at first because I'm colorblind, which made it seem like there was just too much going on, but I can see that it is a useful tool for those who are able to distinguish colors. 2.  Serving Unit-Circle Trigonometry on a Paper Plate - At first I thought…
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Wolfram Demonstrations Project: The Double Cone

By Jon OaksDec 07, 2010
This afternoon I taught my College Algebra class about the Conic Sections, and The Double Cone project from the Wolfram Demonstrations Project came to mind.  I figured that it deserves a mention since it's the second time this semester that I have used it in my classes when explaning the conic sections.  It really seems to help the students visualize where the conic sections are coming from and why they are called conic sections. In fact, a few students this afternoon stayed after class to dicuss what they saw on the screen and we even looked a few other demonstrations,…
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