Wednesday 7/29 - Excel

Daily Class Exit BlogAnswer at least one of the following:1. Describe something you learned2. Questions you have or something you would like to learn more about3. Describe connections to classroom practice

Today, we did more data analysis in Fathom and the more we use it the more I like it. It is just so simple to use. I love the click and drag method and how I can generate multiple graphs in very little time. The other thing I like about Fathom is the ability to just go grab data from the Data and Story Library (DASL) and import it directly into the program. From there, I look at so many different representations of the data and have so much more time for analysis.

I really enjoyed the Excel activity with the number shifters. I am familiar with Excel and I think that an activity like this would not be too hard to recreate. Personally, I had fun with the activity...it felt like a game to me. I would hope that my students would feel the same way. Math gets such a bad rap for being tedious and boring and teachers really need to help to change that image.

I do have a question for today. We have looked at a lot activities in Geometer's Sketchpad, Fathom, and Excel in the past few days that have been created by others. Some activities, I feel I might be able to replicate, but others like the Talent Show activity or the Angle and Velocity activity today seemed a bit more complex. Are these activities easy to find online somewhere where teachers can just grab them to use in their lessons? The same question goes for Geometer's Sketchpad and Fathom.