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From the abstract: "The purpose of this study was to find out from current high school math teachers, of geometry specifically, what their views of technology are. The goal of the study was to ask these teachers which technologies they use and whether they believe technology has beneficial effects on student learning. Data was collected for the survey by asking teachers to take brief electronic surveys and conduct in-person interviews. All questions in both the survey and interviews were focused on the effects of technology that they see in their classrooms. The scope of the participants was restricted to Columbus, Ohio, and thus, generalizations for any classroom or any school building cannot be made. However, this study did find a consensus among the participants as to which technologies they felt were the most beneficial in their classrooms, as well as those that might not be needed at all in a classroom. The three technologies that these teachers claimed to be the most beneficial were SMART boards, TI-nspire calculators and Geometer's Sketchpad/GeoGebra. Again, this study cannot make solid conclusions, but it is safe to say that this study gives insight into teachers' viewpoints, which, in a sense, are more important than those of outside researchers. The teachers agreed on a few technologies that are the most beneficial and thus future studies should focus on really studying the effects of these technologies as well as focus on getting a wider range of teachers' opinions on this topic."

LOGIN Wednesday February 15 at 3pm Eastern US time: http://tinyurl.com/math20event During the event, Dr. Keith Still of SaferCrowds.com will introduce his Crowd Sciences work and explain the relevance of mathematics in it: "If you don't do the maths, you could end up in court on a manslaughter charge!" All events in the Math Future weekly series: http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/events The recording will be at http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/CrowdSciences Pose questions and comments for Keith before the event Math Future wiki: http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/message/list/CrowdSciences LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=33207&type=member&item=94871153&qid=b29a6dbc-6474-425f-865a-b319bd33dcb9 Email group: http://groups.google.com/group/mathfuture/browse_thread/thread/931328aab6d87b03 How to join Follow this link at the time of the event: http://tinyurl.com/math20event Wednesday, February 15 2012 we will meet online at noon Pacific, 3 pm Eastern time. WorldClock for your time zone. Click "OK" and "Accept" several times as your browser installs the software. When you see Session Log-In, enter your name and click the "Login" button If this is your first time, come a few minutes earlier to check out the technology. Crowd Modelling + Crowd Monitoring + Crowd Management = Safer Crowds Crowd Modelling is the scientific approach to the development of safe, robust, crowd management plans. This can be achieved without the need for expensive, complex, time consuming computer simulations. In simple terms Crowd Modelling is understanding how, where, when and why crowds arrive, move around and leave an events/venues. The majority of this can be accomplished using tried, tested and simple to apply methodologies. "Keith Still is what I term an intuitive mathematician. He is one of the most creative and original thinkers that I know. He adds drive and determination, as well as considerable intellectual power to any group of which h

LOGIN: http://tinyurl.com/math20event Mind the Daylight Saving Time! Geoff Roulet and Jill Lazarus will discuss their use of wikis, GeoGebra and Jing with students, and invite participants for an extended DIY exploration. More details concerning the software required are below. All events in the Math Future weekly series: http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/events The recording will be at: http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/SupportingCollaborativeMath Your time zone: http://bit.ly/z69yzS About Blended Mathematical Collaboration using a Wiki, GeoGebra and Jing This discussion centers on the use of computer tools in a high school class. The goal was to develop a "math-talk learning community" to establish mathematics communication and collaboration as a classroom norm. In support of this we have combined the use of a wiki, GeoGebra, and Jing. We would like to invite educators who have experience with wikis, GeoGebra and screencasts, or who would like to learn more, to discuss our project and share their ideas. Event Hosts Geoff is the skipper of and Jill a crew member on Jeannie, a J35 racing yacht. When not sailing, they are mathematics educators. After graduate work at the University of Waterloo, Geoff Roulet began teaching mathematics, computer science, and chemistry at Roland Michener Secondary School in Timmins, northern Ontario. In the late 1970s, when personal computers for computer science were placed in the back of his classroom, Geoff began using these to support student learning in mathematics. Since then he has been involved in ICT use in teaching and learning at all grades and in all subjects, but with a particular focus on mathematics. Teaching was followed by a short spell of curriculum development and support work with the Ontario Ministry of Education and then in 1990 a move to the Faculty of Education, Queen's University at Kingston. Along the way Geoff completed M.Ed. and D.Ed. degrees at the Ontario Institute for Studies

A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified more than a thousand empirical studies of online learning. Analysts screened these studies to find those that (a) contrasted an online to a face-to-face condition, (b) measured student learning outcomes, (c) used a rigorous research design, and (d) provided adequate information to calculate an effect size. As a result of this screening, 51 independent effects were identified that could be subjected to meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes-measured as the difference between treatment and control means, divided by the pooled standard deviation-was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face. Analysts noted that these blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions. This finding suggests that the positive effects associated with blended learning should not be attributed to the media, per se. An unexpected finding was the small number of rigorous published studies contrasting online and face-to-face learning conditions for K-12 students. In light of this small corpus, caution is required in generalizing to the K-12 population because the results are derived for the most part from studies in other settings (e.g., medical training, higher education). ix

A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified more than a thousand empirical studies of online learning. Analysts screened these studies to find those that (a) contrasted an online to a face-to-face condition, (b) measured student learning outcomes, (c) used a rigorous research design, and (d) provided adequate information to calculate an effect size. As a result of this screening, 51 independent effects were identified that could be subjected to meta-analysis. ***The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.*** The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes-measured as the difference between treatment and control means, divided by the pooled standard deviation-was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face. Analysts noted that these blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions. This finding suggests that the positive effects associated with blended learning should not be attributed to the media, per se. An unexpected finding was the small number of rigorous published studies contrasting online and face-to-face learning conditions for K-12 students. In light of this small corpus, caution is required in generalizing to the K-12 population because the results are derived for the most part from studies in other settings (e.g., medical training, higher education). ix

This is a MUST TRY site. It's not often that I'm amazed be an educational resource, but I am with this one. Pora Ora is a stunning educational virtual world for Primary school aged students. Play truely fun educational games which practise skills in English, maths and many other subjects. The graphics and useably is superb. Online safety is at the heart of this site. The parential admin account can set the student's account to free chat with everyone to completely locked down where they have the world to themselves and everything in between. The site has a language filter and users can report any incidents of trouble. Also, the first task requires the user to complete an online safety task. The site is free with a few premium features coming out later. You have got to try this one! http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

A Kickstarter project for a children's math and science-oriented detective story: "This is the made up story about two very real girls - Ada, the world's first computer programmer, and Mary, the world's first science fiction author - caught up in a steampunk world of hot-air balloons and steam engines, jewel thieves and mechanical contraptions. For readers 8-12. "This is a pro-math, pro-science, pro-history and pro-literature adventure novel for and about girls, who use their education to solve problems and catch a jewel thief. Ada and Mary encounter real historical characters, such as Percy Shelley, Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday, and Charles Dickens - people whom the girls actually knew. If Jane Austen wrote about zeppelins and brass goggles, this would be the book."

From the abstract (full text requires subscription or purchase): "Though cooperative learning has been a topic of considerable interest in educational research, there has been little study specific to learning in the mathematics content area of geometry. This paper seeks to address that gap through a design experiment featuring a novel small-group computing environment for supporting student learning about quadrilaterals. In this design, each student controls a unique point in a shared geometric space, and those points are linked such that a group of four students collectively forms a quadrilateral. We first present results from pre- and post-measures to show how the students learned from the activities and developed in terms of geometric reasoning. We then present three episodes, elaborated with the notion of appropriation, to explain how students took up ways of using the technological tools and of talking about geometric concepts from one another in the interactive environment. Our study found that students achieved learning gains in this novel environment, that the environment provided rich opportunities for peer interaction around geometric objects, and that student learning opportunities and interactions were characterized by processes of appropriating ways of talking about and using software features."

" The use of logarithms, an important tool for calculus and beyond, has been reduced to symbol manipulation without understanding in most entry-level college algebra courses. The primary aim of this research, therefore, was to investigate college students' understanding of logarithmic concepts through the use of a series of instructional tasks designed to observe what students do as they construct meaning. APOS Theory was used as a framework for analysis of growth. APOS Theory is a useful theoretical framework for studying and explaining conceptual development. Closely linked to Piaget's notions of reflective abstraction, it begins with the hypothesis that mathematical activity develops as students perform actions that become interiorized to form a process understanding of the concept, which eventually leads students to a heightened awareness or object understanding of the concept. Prior to any investigation, the researcher must provide an analysis of the concept development in terms of the essential components of this theory: actions, process, objects, and schemas. This is referred to as the genetic decomposition. The results of this study suggest a framework that a learner may use to construct meaning for logarithmic concepts. Using tasks aligned with the initial genetic decomposition, the researcher made revisions to the proposed genetic decomposition in the process of analyzing the data. The results indicated that historical accounts of the development of this concept might be useful to promote insightful learning. Based on this new set of data, iterations should continue to produce a better understanding of the student's constructions. " (from the abstract)

During the live online event Saturday January 14th 2pm ET, Shad Moarif, the founder of Karismath, will lead brainstorming about mathematical videos and dynamic mathematics in general. Event challenge! What types of the Grid do you see from the pedagogical perspective? Discussions beginning before the event This wiki: discussion tab http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/message/list/Karismath LinkedIn: "Math, Math Education, Math Culture" group http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=33207&type=member&item=88774229&qid=00e42ab4-4f69-453e-8a79-0a181ab07bc9 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/karismath/posts/334691806549990 Math Future email group: http://groups.google.com/group/mathfuture/browse_thread/thread/071299f3319650cf# In a grid, there is an obvious connection between the product cell and the simultaneity of two bits of information coexisting within it. Shad is exploring ways of breaking this connection down into a sequence of transitional steps by distilling them visually. Shad has categorized the Grid into eleven types according to their uses for storing, sorting, and displaying numerical information (see below). What pedagogical types of the Grid come to your mind? How to join Follow this link at the time of the event: http://tinyurl.com/math20event

Published by University of Chicago Press, July 2012. "Math and science hold powerful places in contemporary society, setting the foundations for entry into some of the most robust and highest-paying industries. However, effective math and science education is not equally available to all students, with some of the poorest students-those who would benefit most-going egregiously underserved. This ongoing problem with education highlights one of the core causes of the widening class gap. While this educational inequality can be attributed to a number of economic and political causes, in Empowering Science and Mathematics Education in Urban Communities, Angela Calabrese Barton and Edna Tan demonstrate that it is augmented by a consistent failure to integrate student history, culture, and social needs into the core curriculum. They argue that teachers and schools should create hybrid third spaces-neither classroom nor home-in which underserved students can merge their personal worlds with those of math and science. A host of examples buttress this argument: schools where these spaces have been instituted now provide students not only an immediate motivation to engage the subjects most critical to their future livelihoods but also the broader math and science literacy necessary for robust societal engagement. A unique look at a frustratingly understudied subject, Empowering Science and Mathematics Education pushes beyond the idea of teaching for social justice and into larger questions of how and why students participate in math and science. " Excerpts in Google Books

Tips and tricks for the iPod Touch are needed to assist teachers in making the process easier when using this digital device for teaching and learning. As these digital devices become more widespread in classrooms, the need for more efficient use of these tools is coming to the forefront. This evolutionary course of action is resulting in more efficient and time saving strategies. The purpose of these 10 tips and tricks is to provide teachers, both novice and experienced, with features and applications (apps) designed to make an iPod Touch's functions easier to use. These features and apps offer the ability to customize this device to resolve management issues and integrate efficiently with other digital devices, such as a Mac laptop.

The top five search tools for finding Flickr images are designed to help teachers and students locate just the right image for use in any subject area and project. Without these tools finding the right image on this image hosting site is often an impossible, or at least a tedious, task. The value of this site is its ability to provide digital pictures which are often impossible for a teacher to obtain any other way. Like everything else on the internet, trying to find something is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. This where the top five search tools become valuable resources for teachers and students trying to find images comes into play. These search engines are specifically designed to search the more than three billion pictures on the Flickr hosting site.

The primary purpose of blog is to facilitate interaction between a teacher and his or her students. This is possible because a blog is a dynamic tool which can be easily updated or transformed as necessary to meet the needs of a science or math class. The integration of blog technology in a class requires an investment of time. Because of this commitment, additional evidence is needed to support the integration this technology in a science or math class curriculum.

Learning algebra is difficult for most students. Ask any student what they are learning in algebra and you will probably receive an answer similar to this (after - Why do I need to know this?). "Using Xs and Ys a lot, a bunch of numbers and symbols, and memorizing a lot of rules." This often comes with learning algebra without connection to anything students can relate to. When students learn basic math, they can make a lot of connections.

"I often sit on a Thursday evening about 2000hrs and watch the ukedchat hashtag. This week it was about physical education. Although this is not one of my strong subjects in teaching (or even in real life) I was interested in the first question which asked how physical education could be related to literacy and/or mathematics. Just like a GSCE multiple choice essay question I chose to answer how it could be related to mathematics. You can see the full tweet chat conversation here - but I thought I would expand my response in this week's waffle."

"This National report examines the way in which teaching, learning and assessment is conceptualised in Welsh policy for early years science and mathematics, and the role for creativity. This report is one of 13 European national policy reports that are contributing to the Creative Little Scientist Project deliverable (D3.2 Report on Mapping and Comparing Recorded Practices) mapping and comparing policy approaches across Europe. In order to map the key messages in Welsh policy, as well as allow comparisons with other nations, this report draws upon a survey instrument used to rate the extent to which certain approaches, and the role of creativity is emphasised across relevant policy documents in this area. In the case of Wales, this was largely based upon the Framework for Children's Learning for 3 to 7 year olds in Wales, Play/Active Learning: overview for 3 to 7 year olds, the National Curriculum documents for Key Stage 2, associated assessment documents and inspection reports. "

Abstract: "The principal aim of this study is to find the weaknesses of secondary school students at geometry questions of measures , angles and shapes , transformations and construction and 3-D shapes. The year 7 curriculum contains 4 geometry topics out of 17 mathematics topics. In addition to this , this study aims to find out the mistakes, 28 , 7th grade students made in the last 4 exams including two midterms and two final exams.To collect data, students were tested on two midterms and two final exams using open-ended questions on geometry to analyze their problem solving skills and to test how much they acquired during the year.Frequency tables were used in data analysis.To fulfill this aim in the first midterm exam the subject measures were tested.In the first final exam which followed the first midterm exam in addition to measures and angles shapes skills were also tested. Following these tests , in the second midterm we tested the students on transformation and construction. A descriptive methodology and student interview were used in the study to analyze and interpret the results. The results from this study revealed that 7th grade secondary school students have a number of misconceptions, lack of background knowledge, reasoning and basic operation mistakes at the topics mentioned above."

This list of "myths" written with a strong political bias. Take it in with a grain of salt. I like that they include references and links for why they believe what they do. This article would be good fodder for discussion.

I keep writing, in bits and pieces, about the middle way between the two approaches. For example, there should be enough discovery for every kid to firmly believe they could derive anything, if needed. This "just enough" will vary from student to student, too. In "The Glass Bead Game" Joseph took years to trace one short (highly abstract) game transcript to its very roots. He wanted to see for himself if the game was real. He did not do it for every game, though. The idea of "flow channels" between two opposite bad states comes to mind: http://www.secondlanguagewriting.com/explorations/elements/flow.jpg

This tool enables K-6 students to build visual models of word problems. There are hundreds of built-in math problems covering thirty-six different categories. Videos explain how to model each problem type. The full screen feature makes this application compatible with interactive white boards.

This is an incredible collection!!!

This great maths site has an amazing collection of maths self-marking problem solving questions. Search by age level or topic. This covers both Primary and Secondary levels. Topics include numbers, geometry, algebra, data analysis, probability and more. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Maths