Behold:

Dave Lutzkanin's Wiki Page 

 

EDUC 463 begins here:

 

 

 

Click here for my school web page

 

 

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PSU Educ 463 Assignment search engines.doc 

 

Pythagoras' Life link

 

President Garfield's proof of Pythagorean Theorem (among others)

 

animated proof of Pythagorean Theorem

 

 

my del.icio.us site

 

 

 

 

Webquests:

 

History of Geometry webquest     (Why do we study geometry?  Students will see that geometry is a very old discipline.  This webquest results in a timeline.)

 

 

webquest of geometry and trig in building codes  ( How do you use trig and geometry in building a house??  This webquest shows you how)

 

 

Geometry and Betsy Ross' quilt webquest   (Betsy Ross, flags, geometry, yes they all come together here. Assist Betsy in designing a flag using geometric principles.)

 

 

Pythagoras webquest   (Everything you ever wanted to know about Pythagoras.)

 

 

Proof of Pythagorean Theorem webquest   (How many ways can this theorem be proven?  You will be amazed.)

 

 

 

 

Some blogs about teaching math:

 

 

A blog with a good article about the "dumbing" down of our education system. 

 

 

 

A blog about teaching math at any level 

 

 

a math teaching blog with a lot of teachers posting about various topics 

 

 

Podcast assignment:

I located these podcasts and anicasts  on stuffed sheets , which is a site geared towards the math student.  An anicast is a podcast with animation similar to a powerpoint presentation.

There were several podcasts that students would find beneficial, they are:

 

Equivalent fractions - how to find equivalent fractions and raise or lower the term of a fraction.  Duration  - 3:50

 

Sieve of Eratosthenes - explores various number concepts, including prime and composite numbers, factors and divisibility and the Sieve of Eratosthenes for finding primes. Duration 5:34

 

Converting improper fractions to whole or mixed numbers.  Duration - 4:23

 

Converting whole or mixed numbers to improper fractions.  Duration 3:54

 

Fractions and division - explore the relationship between fractions and division. Duration - 2:46

 

I chose these podcasts because they are lesson being explained with examples and work being shown, which would be a benefit to both students and parents alike.  Unfortunatley, the site did not list an author for any of these anicasts.

 

 

 Educ 464 Spring 2008 begins here:

 

Excel assignment:  I chose to utilize a simple spreadsheet on the properties of the seven special quadrilaterals.  The students would download and print it from my school website and check off the appropriate properties for each shape.  Extra text could be added by the student on the spreadsheet for study purposes prior to printing.

 

Quad chart.xls 

 

 

Powerpoint assignment:I used the Trig powerpoint presentation from last spring's class and added a quiz on the end for checking for understanding by the students.

 

Using Basic Trigonometry 2.ppt

 

 

Virtual Tours Assignment: After searching for a long time, I stumbled upon the NCTM website and found a site that contains virtual tools for the geometric (and Platonic) solids.  Since I teach an extensive amount of geometry and teach a unit on the solids, this would be a very practical site for me to incorporate into my unit.  The students could see the various solids as they are rotated around their axis.  I have had the students in the past create these shapes out of construction paper, however, the big drawback is the time it takes and also the absent students pose a problem. Using this website would take less time for students to get a grasp of what these shapes actually look like. Students would be able to explore the various relationships among the solids, like edges, vertices, faces, diagonals, etc. I would expect to only use this site for one class period, although it may prove to be a great resource for students, as well as in an enrichment situation.

 

geometry solids virtual tool 

 

 Webquest assignment: I created a webquest on the history of mathematics, pretty cool, huh??!!

Math history webquest.doc

 

 

Inspiration assignment:  I chose to do the optional assignment using the Inspiration software.  Due to difficulties in downloading this at Wyalusing HS, and the fact that I do not have the Internet at home, I am unable to actually use Inspiration to show a sample of student generated work.

So, here's my lesson:  In geometry class we encounter a number of formulas for finding the area of various shapes, my assignment for students would be to generate an organizational tool for all these formulas using Inspiration, I am envisioning some sort of a flowchart, that would actually contain the shapes we are discussing, however I would not hinder student creativity here.  Some sort of a fancy list, etc would work as well. The objective being that the formulas are organized along with their respective shapes.  This assignment could very easily be extended over several chapters in a cumulative fashion as well.

 

 

Chatroom Assignment:  At first when I saw the chatroom topic on our syllabus for this course, I immediately was skeptical about how it could be applied to my subject area, secondary mathematics.  However, after running a tutoring homeroom for the last year, I have come to realize that there are possibilities for using this technology in mathematics. My lesson plan thoughts on using a chatroom would include the student requirement of 30 minutes in the chatroom.  I think that the chatroom could be offered weekly for extra credit, or sparingly as a requirement, there is certainly room to be flexible here. Based on the number of kids that I assist in preparing for their tests, the chatroom could be a day or two prior to the chapter test, or even prior to the midterm exam or final exam, and the content of the chat would be test review and preparation.  I will offer my opinion, in that I think it would only be beneficial to the better students who have a grasp of the material, in so much as that there is only so much you can say about  doing a problem (algebra for example) rather than showing the solution to the problem.  Working out an algebra or calculus problem in a chatroom would be difficult.  However, geometry, with its many terms and theorems may be handled easier in the chat room environment.  The chatroom session, certainly would require rules and parameters about participation that would have to be discussed in class.  Proper online behavior, appropriate language, and topics of discussion would all need to be considered. 

 

 

Yet another Blog assignment.....

The use of blogs would be similar to that of a class webpage.  A teacher could post assignments, lesson plans, test dates, or other pertinent administrative information. However in addition to this info, the teacher could also post lesson material, examples of problems, problems solutions, enrichment material, assistance with problems, test practice, test solutions ( after the test has been taken), etc.  Likewise, with students able to post to the blog, student generated material could be seen as well, such as student questions, solutions, thoughts, etc.

Personally, I see the use of blogs as more geared to the college level classroom, as maturity will play a role in post content.  However, I do see possibilities for its use on a limited basis.  The fact that not all students will have the internet at home is a drawback.  I really thionk that each and every teacher who used blogs in their classroom would end up putting a different spin on their use.

 

http://lutzkanin.21classes.com/?slsid=1206466343805&isContentPreview=true

 

 

 

Abbott and Costello do math: 

 

 13 x 7 = 28