Using Dot Collector last week, my students leapt far ahead to bizarre curves – something they would never have been able to do without graphing software. When is this a useful liberation, and when is it blind trial and error? How does the teacher ensure the right balance is achieved?

https://infinityandreality.wordpress.com/2017/11/13/creativity-with-desmos/

Thanks Dan. Yes, the slower ones tend to drive the pace, which isn’t ideal.

There is one Maths dedicated computer room in the school. Maybe I should work my way around to getting that room.

Sounds like you have the pros and cons pretty well accounted for, Chester. I trust you’ll make the right call.

The only con I don’t see accounted for is that students will need different amounts of time to complete the one problem at the board. One advantage of a gallery of problems is that students can differentiate themselves not by time but by quantity.

Why are students so engaged by their tablets, phones, and laptops outside of class and so bored by them inside of class?

It’s the same device. But in one context, students are generally enthusiastic and focused. In the other, they’re often apathetic and distracted.

I’ve been mulling this since you posted, and I don’t believe the device has anything at all to do with it. Students will only chat on their phone to people they would chat with in person. The phone is merely the medium.

There’s a handful of students I have taught that are actually interested in their devices, as devices. They learn to code and to hack — and the other students think they are weird geeks. Far from being “digital natives”, most teenagers couldn’t write simple code to save themselves. They are constantly amazed that I hand code my own website and write my own graphing applications, and would never dream of doing that themselves.

If Desmos is to engage them, then it won’t be because it is done on devices. It will be because it allows us to do something intrinsically interesting.

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The idea of writing a parabola to pass through specific gates is interesting and I’m strongly tempted to use it as an activity in class. It’s off-beat enough to be a nice change, but is still mathematically rigorous.

If students do it on their own devices then they can guess and check their way to the result, and will likely enjoy doing so, but are not forced to use their knowledge. The competition aspect will raise interest, I’m sure of that, but will also encourage students to take shortcuts to ensure they win, which I absolutely don’t want.

Whereas if I do it with them on the board they cannot just twiddle the parameters until they get one that fits, but will need to apply much more of what they have learned. You often stress the need for the delay in feedback Dan, and I am wary of any system that allows instant tweaking for that reason. And as importantly by doing it as a class I can correct any misunderstandings as they arise, and keep an eye on those that aren’t keeping up. The competition aspect and the social aspect aren’t lost by doing it as a class.

So given the hassles of trooping down to the computer rooms — and keeping the easily distracted ones off social media once there — what gains will I see from doing it on individual screens, not as a class?

I am excited that this element has been added to other activities.