Math 371 Technology for STEM Educators

Many schools use online learning management systems for homework and class material. They make it easier for teachers to have all notes, assignments, and quizzes in one place. However, since the pandemic moved classes online, homework has also moved online. Through the LMS and online homework system, class data is at the teacher's fingertips. For me, that begs the question, are students better off with online homework? There are many different LMSs and homework systems, so teachers and school districts may stuggle picking out the one they think would be the best for their class. The homework system could vary from class to class even. For example, my high school math teachers use DeltaMath for Algebra I, II, and Geometry, but use Webassign for Precalculus and Calculus. My school also uses Google Classroom as the LMS, but other schools use different ones like Microsoft Teams and Canvas.  However, almost every teacher did homework differently, even if they use the same LMS and homewo...

Whiteboards in my opinion are amazing for doing problems. I myself carry multiple mini whiteboards that I’ve gotten from Amazon and have handed out many to my peers. These whiteboards were great tools when doing math homework or even other classwork. Whiteboards made it easy to fix small mistakes versus having the annoying smudge marks on paper when you make a small error. Coming to SDSU, at the AME building, even the walls are whiteboards! Many professors put students in groups and send them to the board to solve problems. Did learning from group board work help students learn? Group board work is a great way for students to communicate and problem-solve as a group. As some students struggle, they may glance at other groups’ boards to see what they are doing wrong and learn from the mistakes that they could’ve been making. There are many times when students do a worksheet for the day during the class period and later it is assigned as homework if it is not completed during the class...

Technology has changed the way we teach and learn mathematics. We as educators are not restricted to just using pencil and paper anymore because of the wide variety of new technologies that have been developed. These technologies allow us to graph functions that would be impossible to graph by hand, create interactive activities for students to complete, and so many more things. One major player in the development of math technology is Desmos. The power of Desmos is unmatched, and the opportunities are endless.   One major function of Desmos, which is probably the most used function, is graphing. Desmos allows you to graph pretty much any function you can think of, including trig functions, exponentials, circles, conic sections, polar and parametric equations, and more. Desmos also has a section on statistics, where it is able to graph things such as linear regression and histograms. In addition to just graphing equations, Desmos is able to plot lists of points. Desmos can be a ver...