Issue 1

September 22, 2014

MathWeek
Bringing parents the latest on
teaching mathematics and
highlighting the best practices
in learning and teaching math.
Issue 1, September 22, 2014

There can be infinite

uses of the computer
and of new age
technology, but if the
teachers themselves
are not able to bring it
into the classroom and
make it work, then it
fails.

Nancy Kassebaum,
U.S. Senator

Got technology?
Teaching and learning in the year 2014 has drastically changed
from the teaching strategies in the 20th century. The reason behind this
change has a lot to do with technology. It is all around us and particularly, it
has become a useful tool for reaching diverse learners in the classroom.
The educational sphere is just touching the surface by utilizing technology
in the classroom. Remember overhead projectors and transparencies? The
advancement of technology is evident in the classroom as teachers and
students are introduced to ELMOS and Smart Boards, and iPads.
The use of technology in the classroom calls for a new intervention,
an intervention that contains more information about the use of technology,
specifically the iPads. In this issue of MathWeek, we will discuss the uses of
two specific applications that support teaching and learning mathematics.

What is Khan Academy?

The new learning tool emerging in schools comes in the form of video tutorials.
Find out how it is used and how parents, teachers, tutors, and students use this
app.

Pg. 2

MathWeek

Issue 1, September 22, 2014

Khan Academy
The way Khan portrays the concept of education and the mechanism
of learning is revolutionary. Bill Gates
Purpose and Content
The mission statement of
Khan Academy revolves around a free
education that is accessible to anyone,
anywhere. For schools, the program
has been a learning strategy for a lot
of students. Khan Academy
communicates knowledge in the form
of engaging video tutorials. While the
app covers a wide selection of
subjects, this issue of MathWeek will
only focus on the area of Algebra I,
starting with a video on variables and
expressions and ending with ratio and

have not mastered the content area.

Pedagogical Perspective
Khan Academy is engaging
and appealing as the tutorials are
accompanied by visual aids in time to
the instruction. Students can track
their own progress and earn badges
when they have mastered a content,
which also instills a sense of
motivation and accountability in the
student. Through the videos, the

proportions.
How it is used in the Classroom
Khan Academy is user friendly
for students, teachers, and parents. The
program contains problems that teachers
can assign as homework, exercises for
students to complete as assessment.
Some teachers use Khan Academy to
reach all the learners in the classroom
because the videos reach the students at
where they are. The students can work at
their own pace while the teacher works
with a smaller group of students. For the
higher achieving students, Khan

students are exposed to math language

by listening, reading, and writing. The
program is for the most part
appropriate for the grade level. Some
videos like exploring why dividing by zero
is undefined might be too advanced for my
Algebra I CP class. The program is
excellent for personalizing student
learning and meeting the students where
they are at, so that ultimately they are
working at what Vygotsky called, the

Academy has video tutorials that

allow them to explore further, such as
investigating why dividing by zero is
undefined. On the other end of the
spectrum, Khan Academy has videos
that teach the foundations of
mathematics, filling in the gaps for the
students who need it.
This would
be a great teaching resource for my
Algebra I CP class. The students could
create accounts and complete
exercises based on the concepts
theyve learned. Khan Academy also
provides data to teachers, compiling
lists of my students who have and

students zone of
development. Khan Academy is another
medium in which students can learn
and explore topics in math. The
students can pause a video and go back
to it, but they cannot pause a classroom
lecture. A potential flaw might be not
using the pause option, in which the
student (continued on bottom of pg.
2
4)

MathWeek

Issue 1, September 22, 2014

Desmos:
Graphing online
Desmos is available as a website and an
app. Use this program to witness function
transformations and discover the
relationship between variables in a
function.
Link to Desmos:
https://www.desmos.com/
Purpose and Content
Desmos is an online
graphing calculator. What makes it
different from your typical
graphing calculator is the
animation. See the graph change
and transform as the slider moves
back and forth on the value of the
different variables. According to
their mission statement, Desmos
allows students to investigate
function transformations. The
graphing calculator plots instantly
and is easy to use with a math
keyboard. Students and teachers
can graph various types of
equations from lines and parabolas
up through derivatives and Fourier
series. The site highlights the
ability to use sliders on the graphs.
How It Is Used in the Classroom
As a teacher, I would use
Desmos for discovery and
exploration. I would have the
students type in a general equation
like y=mx + b and ask them to find
out when the slope is steeper? In
other words, what values for y, m,
x, and b, is the slope going to be
steeper and when will the line be
vertical. The students can use the

slider option to observe how the

graph changes as the values for
those variables increase and
decrease. Another way Desmos can
be used in the classroom is when
the students are learning the values
of sine and cosine. Many students
have viewed the sin(pi/2)=1 as a
fact. Desmos graphing calculator
gives them a visual to see why sin
(pi/2) = 1. Desmos is engaging and
can change the way students feel
about math. Their site also includes
fun activities that explore area and
width and finding the relationship
by ultimately writing a function to
represent that relationship.
Pedagogical Perspective
The application is
appealing and allows for easy
distinction with color options for
different functions. The animation
on the graphs captivates students
attention and utilizes the students
skills with reading and writing
mathematical functions. Higher
order thinking skills are required
to extract relationships from the
graphs. The program is a great
visual aid and support for learners
who could benefit from a picture.

A drawback to this
program is that Desmos mostly
works with numbers and variables.
The program will not explicitly
define slope for the students. Being
a graphing calculator, the program
is excellent for a quick visual aid,
but if the students are learning to
graph, this program can be a cheat
s
h
e
e
t
i
n
s

Desmos is engaging
and can change the way
students feel about
math
ome ways, by graphing the
functions for the students.
Desmos for Parents
Desmos should be used by
students in order to obtain a
stronger understanding of the

MathWeek

Issue 1, September 22, 2014

Continued
concepts that surround functions.
Desmos offers a different way of
learning in the form of discovery
and exploration. I highly

recommend parents to use this tool

as a resource in helping their child
with the concept at home. Desmos
provides beautiful graphs that

accurately portray the

relationships in functions.
Students will have a visual aid to
make sense of a math content that
will become more abstract.

Khan Academy: An Educational Approach to Teaching Math

(continued from pg. 2) would not
be discovering the concepts for
themselves. Another potential
problem is if the video is not
appropriate for the students zone
of development. The students can
get bored fast if the material is too
easy or too difficult. While Khan
Academy is a website and an app
on the iPad, it might be difficult for
some schools who do not have the
technology to access Khan
Academy.

Khan Academy for Parents

The program is a great
resource for parents as well.
Learning does not stop when the
students leave the classroom. A
large part to academic achievement
is following up and reviewing at
home. Khan Academy provides
appropriate homework problems
and has the material to assist
parents in helping their children
with their homework. They can log
in and have access to information

about their child as a learner. Khan

Academy collects data, informing
the parents the areas in which their
child is struggling with. There is
also an option to set goals with
their child, giving the parents an
active role in the students learning.
Misconception can be addressed
immediately at home rather than a
few weeks later when the parents
receive the students progress
report.
Link to Khan Academy:
https://www.khanacademy.org/