Math 371 Technology for STEM Educators

By Sydney Stapleton This past week our class created Desmos activities, which ar e digital mathematical experiences that aid students’ learning by modeling and using multiple representations to show concepts. While exploring Desmos to make an activity, I am amazed at the tools and abilities it offers to help teachers visualize the learning concepts for their students. Desmos was started by a Yale math and physics major and now CEO, Eli Luberoff. Like most, if not all, secondary students, Eli grew up utilizing a graphing calculator. With the wave of technology in the world, it makes sense that we would see people create software that can do the graphing on a bigger screen, like a computer. Desmos now has not only a graphing calculator tool, but a scientific calculator, four-function calculator, matrix calculator, geometry tool, and test practice as well. SInce Desmos is specifically for educational purposes, it strives, “to build a world where every student learns math and loves learnin...

by Emily Siemonsma           In high school, the importance of memorization is stressed in almost every class. Even in some college courses, memorization is the only way through the class. However, memorization has never been a strength of mine and I am sure many other students agree. Memorization takes up so much time and honestly I forget eighty percent of the material right after the test if I force myself to memorize terms or methods. Learning is about gaining a deeper understanding of the subjects you are introduced to. Thus, I believe that memorization needs to become a thing of the past, especially in the math classroom.           Once we say goodbye to memorization, we can start discussing allowing formula sheets in the math classroom. I think that formula sheets make perfect sense in the math classroom. When someone is working as an engineer, teacher, or mathematician, they will probably look up most formulas. Memoriz...

    While technology has opened up a variety of opportunities not only in the math classroom but in classrooms in general, it runs the risk of leading to a disconnect between teachers and students. Coming from the Harrisburg School District in high school, the first district in South Dakota to adopt Mass Customized Learning or MCL, I feel as though I have gained a unique perspective on how teachers who are either forced to use too much technology or teachers who aren't prepared to use technology can lead to a classroom environment with the teacher almost completely uninvolved. MCL provides the potential for strong student-teacher interactions with teachers being readily available to help students who have already gotten an understanding of the material. The teachers need to understand that they need to make sure they are still actively involved to not lose their students' attention.     In theory Mass Customized learning is a modern idea where students can ...

By Hunter Hanson What is gamification in the classroom? Well, gamification is about transforming your classroom environment and regular activities into a game. The teacher can do many things with gamification to try and get students involved with what they are teaching. They can use a leaderboard with students getting points each week as they progress throughout the year. This can be achieved through either effort from the student, the attitude of the student, or even how well the students perform in the activities. It can be a great tool in the classroom with many pros but also has some cons as well. Some gamification websites that you can use as a teacher include Kahoot, Quizlet, Gimkit, and many others. Pros One pro of gamification is that it creates enthusiasm in the classroom. Gamified learning can help students that may struggle with certain subjects in school like math. By gamifying the subject, you can make the students more excited and competitive while learning at the same ti...