Desmos is a revolutionary new concept that takes graphing calculators, and truly maximizes their potency. The most amazing calculator concept since the TI-89 nSpire, Desmos brings a mathematical powerhouse to the table, and though it must be accessed over the internet, it has the potential to overtake the standard run-of-the-mill calculators.
At last week’s session, we had a guest speaker from Desmos present their online graphing calculator (the Virtual Whiteboard) that allows the user to input various types of functions and graph them on separate or the same graph. After the quick introduction, we were able to experiment with the graphing calculator and attempt to make different pieces of artwork.
Today we started with a quick crash-course in programming with Adobe Flash. We learned to setup variables and trace functions. Afterwards, the CEO of Desmos, which is an improvement of the TutorTrove program, introduced us to his new products: one, a graphing calculator that allows you to graph online and change different aspects of your functions. The second product was a Whiteboard where we could create graphs through functions. We used the Whiteboard and our knowledge about the manipulation of functions to create images such as ships, trees, and more abstract pieces of artwork. While I was experimenting I had the opportunity to create a house, attempted to draw a tree, and started a ship.
Today at SmashCast we got to use Desmos which is a virtual whiteboard. I got to try it out and I created a snowman by using equations and graphing them on a graph. I really enjoyed Desmos because of how easy and fun it is to use and I think it could help teachers teach students because everyone will be able to work at the same time in the same place so the teacher could monitor all the students and also display for everyone to see.I would recommend this tool to anyone who loves math and to any teacher who teaches any math related topic.
Many schools have suffered many budget cuts, causing the elimination of art and sport programs, as well as teachers. If we had a national organization dedicated to fundraising and sponsoring educational programs, we could save our school systems and quality of education for the future of the world.
With edits made using Final Cut Express, I improved the quality of my solution to the problem I was addressing. The problem that I address in this video is the fact that it is difficult for students to enter college because of the complex application process. My solution is to basically provide students the tools to be able to get to college every step of the way.
Foster Parents are abusing there children by not properly taking care of them and just adopting them to get money from the government. This is very terrible and my solution is to have a government based website where the children can inform Child Protective Services of how there “loving parents” are treating them. This will greatly influence the children’s lives because they will be able to avoid being abused and improperly cared for.
There are many people at my school who are not motivated enough to achieve something. They do not do any sports, are not in any clubs, and do not really care about their grades. Also some of the counselors don’t help to motivate the students either. It’s almost like a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy and the students never ask for this information themselves.
If I had a starting resource, I would find some way to get them motivated and advertise all of the summer programs available to try to introduce them to all the kinds jobs out there and ways to get to college so they can succeed. I would also find helpful counselors that can find helpful resources for the students and shape their schedules around the interests of the students. Doing this would increase the amount of people that will actually apply to college.
I also commented on:
Respect the Earth by: Tracie Lord
The problem I am addressing in this video is the issue of bad teachers preventing ambitious students from learning about subjects that they are passionate about, by either being unskilled or uninterested in their own job.
I am excited to be able to work in the area of entrepreneurship, as it has always been a slight thought in my mind, that I may want to start a software development company as I get older. So this was a small stepping stone towards pitching to investors in the future. It was a relatively easy process for me, as I am used to filming for projects at school.
I’ve watched and commented on
“Breaking Down The Way to College” by Marianelly ( http://www.smashcast.org/new-post/ )
“Communication Between Teachers And Students” by Adriana ( http://www.smashcast.org/communication-between-teachers-and-students/#comments )
“Dealing with Gangs” by Juan
( http://www.smashcast.org/dealing-with-gangs/#comments )
Three images to support:
Although it may not be solved with money very fast, I am frustrated by the fact that when students, such as myself, take courses in high school, there are sometimes teachers that act as though they would rather be somewhere else or as if they do not know the material, knowing that there are students in the the class that are ambitious and would like to learn about the subject the class is about.
I would suggest something along the lines of a screening process during the hiring of teachers,“checkups” by administrators, and elected students to do teacher evaluations at the end of each semester. This would ensure that students, ambitious or not, will receive a true quality education.
