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MakeitBetter:DrawingwithGeoGebra|ContinuousEverywherebutDifferentiableNowhere

ContinuousEverywherebutDifferentiableNowhere
IhavenoideawhyIpickedthisblogname,butthere'sno
turningbacknow

MakeitBetter:DrawingwithGeoGebra
Hello!ThoughSammayrefertomeasKiki,dontbefooled.MynameisBowmanandImanAmerican
dudeteachingMATHata912coedboardingschoolinAmman,Jordan.IteachmostlyJordaniankids,
thoughweteachanAmericanstylecurriculuminEnglish,withsortofinternationalschooltypeoutlook.
ForthepasttwoyearsIhavetaughtPhysics,thenlastyearIpickedupCalculus,andnextyearIm
droppingthePhysicstopickupAPCalculusAB.AllofmyfriendscantreallyunderstandwhyImso
pumpedaboutthisbecausetheythinkImtheonlypersonintheworldthatgetsgiddyaboutCalculus.
False.
Ilovethemathbloggingcommunityandamexcitedtobedelvingintoit.ThoughIalreadyhaveanI
dontliveinAmericatypeblogaboutmytimeinJordan(hp://bowmandickson.wordpress.com),I
havereliedheavilyonedublogstodevelopasateacherandImlookingforwardtorepayingmydebt.
Andprobablylikeyou,Samsblogismyfave,soImhonoredthathewouldgivemesomeairtime.If
youevergetachancetomeethiminperson,consideryourselflucky.Sincethethingthatrstdrewme
herewasthewealthofpracticallessonplanningideasinhisVirtualFilingCabinet
(hps://samjshah.com/worksheetsprojects/)(whichIcheckpreyconsistentlybeforeIplanaunit),I
thoughtIdbeginrepayingmydebtbysharingsomeofthecreativeideasIhaveusedtopresentspecic
materialthispastyear.Acknowledgingmyyouthandpaucityofteachingexperience,Imgoingtotitle
thesepostsMakeItBeertoindicatethatwhileIthinktheseideashavealotofpotential,Imlooking
forwaystoimprovethem.Enoughintroductionontothemath!

DrawingwithGeoGebra
ForanyonewhohasnotdiscoveredthemagicofGeoGebrayet,downloadit
(hp://www.geogebra.org/cms/)rightnowandthenspendsometimethissummerplayingaroundwith
it.Ithasanicemixofgeometricandalgebraiccapabilities,withfancylookingslidersandanimationsto
helpstudentsvisualizeorexperimentwithmathematicalconcepts.Thesecanbeusedinfrontofthe
https://samjshah.com/2011/07/13/makeitbetterdrawingwithgeogebra/
classoronindividualstudentscomputers.Iendedupusingitsomuchthroughouttheyearinstudent 1/8

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MakeitBetter:DrawingwithGeoGebra|ContinuousEverywherebutDifferentiableNowhere

classoronindividualstudentscomputers.Iendedupusingitsomuchthroughouttheyearinstudent
directedlearningthatwhenwedidendoftheyearindividualizedprojects,amajorityofmystudents
pulledoutGeoGebraontheirowntographsomethingortamodeltosomedata.Sweet.
OneofmyfavoriteGeoGebraexploitsthisyearwasadrawingproject,wherestudentsconvertedan
actualpictureintoamathematicalpicturebyingfunctionsaroundtheoutlinesandthenusing
integralstoshadeintheareabetween.Forexample,theycouldapictureofaguitarandturnitintoa
sexymathematicalimage,likethis:

(https://samjshah.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/dwg
guitar.jpg)>>>

(https://samjshah.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/dwg
guitarconversion.jpg)Basicsteps(moredetailed
procedurebelow):
1.UploadapictureintoGeoGebraandscaletheaxestotherightscale.
2.Placepointsaroundalltheoutlinesmakingsuretohitcriticalpoints
3.Fitfunctionstotheoutlines.
4.Useintegralstoshadeintheareasbetweentheoutlines.Thebasicsyntaxlookslikethis
(hps://samjshah.les.wordpress.com/2011/07/dwgintegral
https://samjshah.com/2011/07/13/makeitbetterdrawingwithgeogebra/
input3.jpg)

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input3.jpg)
whichmeanstheintegralbetweenthe[topfunctionf,andtheboomfunctiong,fromx=1,tox=4].
SoIconceptualizedthisprojectasalowkeybutconceptuallyrichthingtododuringthecrazinessof
APs,andassomethingthatthekidswhoweregoingtomissmanydaysofclasscoulddoontheirown.
Butitturnedouttohavesomeotherreallycoolbenetstoo.HerearesomethingsIreallylikedabout
it
Thehardestpartaboutintegralsisse ingthemupandthatsallstudentspracticedinthisproject.
Theydidabsolutelynocalculation.(IntheageofWolframAlphaandTIscouldthatbesooomewhat
athingofthepast?)
Thevisualnatureoftheprojectgaveimmediatefeedbacktowronginputs.Ifastudentchosethe
wrongendpointsorthewrongfunctions,thewrongintegralthattheytypedinwouldshowup.They
couldseewhatwaswrongaboutittohopefullygureouthowtocorrecttheirinput,andcorrect
theirmisconception.Thetinkeringaspectwasmaybemyfavoritepartbecausetheyoftendont
understandthatjustbytryingsomethingtosolveamathproblem,itcanpointyouintheright
directiontosolvetheproblemevenifitswrong.
Ituneartheddeepmisconceptionsaboutintegration.Somestudentswereconceptualizing
integrationdiagonally,somewouldchooseendpointsatcompletelywrongspotsandsomecouldnt
conceptualizewhatareastheyweretryingtocolorinintherstplace.Ihadlotsofgreat
conversationstoaddressmisconceptionsthatwereatthesametimeabitscarybecausewehad
alreadybeenintegratingforafewweeksbythatpoint.
Everybodysproblemwasdierent.Eachstudentwasforcedtovisualizewhatheorsheneededto
doandhadtoaackaratherlargeproblembybreakingitupintomuchsmallerpieces.
Thewholethingwaskindafun.SometimesIpretendImabovethis,buteachstudentchosea
picturetheywereinterestedinandthenwehungthemupintheclassroomattheend.Andyoucan
colortheintegralswhatevercoloryouwant.Prey!
HerearesomethingsthatIdidntlikeaboutit
Somestudentstotallycoppedoutandchosereallyeasypicture.Iwasntveryclearwithmy
expectations(well,Iactuallydidntknowwhattoexpect)andasaresultafewstudentschosedumb
things.Onestudentdidawatermelonuncut.like,awholegreenwatermelon.Orotherstudents
didntknowwhatwouldbeagoodpictureandchosesomethingthatendedupbeingwaytoo
hard,oruninteresting.
Thefunction ingpartwasabitridiculous.Youcangoreallyhighwiththedegreesofthe
polynomialsforthefunctioningsopeoplewouldjustputpointsalongareallycurvysurfaceand
thenpicka73rddegreepolynomialthatnicelytthewholething.Idontknowifthisisactuallybad,
butitfeltweirdtome.
Theproblemwasslightlymeaningless.Ihadthemadduptheintegralsattheendtondthetotal
area,butthiswasabitmeaninglessunlesstheyhadchoseaatobject.
Icanpicturesomethinglikethisbeingdoneforlowerlevelstoo.Theconceptsthatcometomind
immediatelytomearepiecewisefunctionsandtransformations.Insteadofhavingthemtfunctionsto
points,youcouldgivethemabasicsetoffunctionsandforcethemtomanipulatethemwithvarious
transformationstotoutlines(andthenignorethecoloringinpart).Thereareeasywaystolimitthe
domainsoffunctionsinGeoGebra.BelowareGeoGebrainstructionsforthevariousstepsandwaaaaybelow
aresomemoreexamplesofstudentwork.

https://samjshah.com/2011/07/13/makeitbetterdrawingwithgeogebra/
Butrst,thewholepointofthispost

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Butrst,thewholepointofthispost
MakeitBe er.
Whatdoyouthink?Whatwouldyoudodierently?Doyouthinkthisholdseducationalvalueeventhoughthe
problemiscontrived?HowcouldImakethismoremeaningful(i.e.maketheresult,theintegral,notjustthe
picture,actuallyholdvalueitself)?ShouldIgivethemasetofpredeterminedimagesforthemtochoosefromto
avoidbadchoices?HowelsecouldIavoidbadchoices?Withwhatothermaterialcouldsomethinglikethis
work?Wouldyouusethisinyourclassroom?
from@bowmanimal
Theproceduralinstructionsforthevarioustasks:

TO PLACE YOUR PICTURE INTO GEOGEBRA AND FIX IT TO THE BACKGROUND

1. Find the picture you would like to use. Save it to your computer somewhere easy to find.

Crop it so that the bottom of the picture is where you would like the x-axis to go (you

may not need to do this). You can use Paint or Microsoft Office 2010 (right click on the
image, go down to Open With and select the one that you want to use).

Rotate the image so that it is easy to fit functions to the various curves within it. Usually,

this is easier if the image is horizontal as opposed to vertical (I flipped my guitar image
so that the guitar laid flat).
2. Open Geogebra and immediately save this file somewhere easy to find.
3. Place a new point where you would like the bottom left corner of your image to go using the
tool under this button:

up at the top left corner on the tool bar. For most people, this will

be the origin.
4. Under the menu that is second from the right (the button looks like this
Image command which has the button

), find the Insert

. Click on the point you created in part 3. Then a

menu should pop up where you will need to locate your image find the image on your
computer and select it.
5. The image should be on the screen now. Zoom in or out by pressing CTRL and - or + (or by
selecting zoom in and zoom out from the last menu on the right) until the scale seems
appropriate to your image. For example, with the guitar, I scaled it so that I could see 100
because I knew the guitar was about 70 cm long.
6. Now we need to fix the image at a certain size. Making sure that you have this arrow
selected on the top right, right click on your image and then click on Object Properties. Go to
the

Tab. You can fix the locations of Corner 2 (the bottom right) or Corner 4 (the top left).

Just enter a point in the form of (#,#) and the picture will automatically scale to that point. Do
this to scale your picture to the exact right size and then fix it.
Now, going back to the screen, notice if you move it left or right or zoom in and out, the picture scales

ViewthisdocumentonScribd(hp://www.scribd.com/doc/59953641)
Examplesofstudentwork(IhadtoincludethewatermelonbecauseImentionedit):

https://samjshah.com/2011/07/13/makeitbetterdrawingwithgeogebra/

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(hps://samjshah.les.wordpress.com/2011/07/dwgona.jpg)

(hps://samjshah.les.wordpress.com/2011/07/dwgsquirrel.jpg)

(hps://samjshah.les.wordpress.com/2011/07/dwgyoda1.jpg)
(hps://samjshah.les.wordpress.com/2011/07/dwgwatermelon.jpg)

https://samjshah.com/2011/07/13/makeitbetterdrawingwithgeogebra/

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PostedinUncategorizedandtaggedGoodMathProblemsonJuly13,2011byBowmanDickson.10
Comments

10comments
1.ISpeakMathsays:
July13,2011at10:12pm
Whatafunidea!Ilovethatisisselfcorrectingaswell.Iwouldlovetoimprovisethisfor6thand7th.
MaybeIcouldhavethemusegeometricshapesandndtheequationsofthelinesaroundtheir
shape?IneedtolearnGeogebra!Thanksfortheinspiration!
REPLY
2.Andrewsays:
July14,2011at12:26pm
ActuallyIreallylikethechoiceofawatermelon.Themelonseemslikesuchapleasing,regular
shape:isitclosetosomenaturalmathematicalcurve?Howdoesitvarywiththesizeofthemelon,
withinaspecies?Itsrotationallysymmetric,soifyouknowitsarea,canyoudetermineitsvolume?
How?(Orwhynot,ifitsimpossible?)
OfcourseIwouldhavebeenlessimpressedhadtheychosenaroundmelon.
REPLY
1.BowmanDicksonsays:
July14,2011at4:33pm
wow,thanksforthis.iwasthinkingthewatermelonwasbadbecauseyouttwofunctionsand
computeoneintegral(sodumbinthecontextofthisproject),butiguesswhatitakefromyou
commentisthattherearewaystomakethefunctioningpartmoremeaningful(ratherthanjust
makingoutlines).itwouldbentondthevolumeofthemelonbyingafunctionandrotating
andthenndtheactualvolumeofthemelonandcompare.
REPLY
https://samjshah.com/2011/07/13/makeitbetterdrawingwithgeogebra/
3.brainopennowsays:

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3.brainopennowsays:
July14,2011at1:03pm
Ilovethestudentwork.Yourstudentshavearenedsenseofcolormatching.
Asacritiqueofthisassignment,thisisaTASKandnotaPROBLEM.Sureyoucanndthefunction
thatmakesashapelikethepictureandusethattondthearea,butwhywouldyoudoso?You
pointedthisoutyourself.Ivealwaysbeensuspiciousofusingfunctionstodrawpictures.
Butmaybeyourstudentsarentsosuspiciousandtheyhadfunwiththisone.Youbethejudgeon
that.Theideasofmodelingwithfunctionsandndingareaaredenitelyimportant.
Tomakeitbeer,Iwouldseeifyoucanusethetechnicalskillsyourkidsdevelopedtoaccomplish
thepicturetaskwithanewproblemwherethereisaclearneedandmeaningtondingarea.Good
luck!
REPLY
1.BowmanDicksonsays:
July14,2011at4:40pm
greatpointaboutitpossiblybeingusefuljusttoteachthetechnicalskillsofmodeling.wediddo
modelinglaterinthecourse,butthetroubleifacedwasthatsomestudentsdidntreallythink
abouttheactualfunctionwheningit.forexample,onegroupwasmodelingarocketsight
andinsteadofspliingupthefunctionintoafewdierentones,theytlikea63rddegree
polynomialandsaidwow,lookhowcloseitts!withoutreallythinkingofwellwhywould
thatbea63rddegreepolynomial?iguessineedtobemoreconsciouswithdesigningthisifthe
goalistoteachthoseskillsthanks!
REPLY
4.GuillermoBautistasays:
August22,2011at3:14am
ExcellentactivityBowman.BeenusingGeoGebraforalongtime,butIhaventthoughtofthisone.
Bytheway,ifyouhavenotvisitedmysiteyet,Ihavewrienmorethan50GeoGebratutorialsthere:
hp://mathandmultimedia.com/geogebra/
MaybeyoucanrefersomeofyourstudentstheretolearnGeoGebra.
REPLY
1.BowmanDicksonsays:
August25,2011at6:21am
yourtutorialsaregreat!mygoalistogureoutthehtmlformwherestudentscaninputthingsin
awebenvironmentbeforeIgetbacktoschool.ThanksGuillermo
REPLY
1.openmathsays:
August31,2011at3:20am
Youjusthavetolearnsomebasichtmlinput(input,textboxes,dropdownlist,etc)andalile
bitofjavascript.Imreviewingalilebitmyself.Bytheway,GeoGebra4.0hascommand
buonsandtextboxes,soIthinkthatwillsaveussometroublecoding.
5.Pingback:ThankThankThankYouBowmanContinuousEverywherebutDierentiableNowhere
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