Programming Software Tools
August 16, 2012, 12:00 amI thought it might be useful to share a list of programming tools that I use in my Intro to Programming class. This is also an update to my earlier programming ideas post from last year.
My general rule for software in this class is that it should be free and multi-platform. If they kids have a...
Sizes of Infinity
August 11, 2012, 12:00 amMessage and medium
July 14, 2012, 12:00 amI really enjoyed Vi Hart’s newest video, but I heard conflicting messages. Vi compliments Sal Khan’s videos because the are done on the fly and you can see his thinking process, but then she scoffs videos that are all about the process of math (memorizing equations and processes).
I would argue t...
Planets – XKCD
June 20, 2012, 12:00 am
Fantastic comic by xkcd, as usual. But the most interesting part is the hovertext:
Planets are turning out to be so common that to show all the planets in our galaxy, this chart would have to be nested in itself–with each planet replaced by a copy of the chart–at least three levels deep.
So,...
Skallops and Regular Polygons
June 19, 2012, 12:00 am
Google Blockly
June 6, 2012, 12:00 amFrom @joshgiesbrecht , fantastic web app from Google. Blockly is a web-based programming environment that allows you to export the code as Python, Javascript, Dart (anyone outside of google use this??), or XML (wow ugly code).
Blockly was just released a couple of days ago so it’s still rough...
Move The Turtle (iOS)
June 2, 2012, 12:00 amMove The Turtle. The “game” portion of this app is pretty simple, but it comes with a programming interface which is very easy to get into. Fun stuff.
After 10 minutes of tweaking:
Timon on 101qs.com
May 5, 2012, 12:00 amTimon Piccini has been kicking ass at this math blogging thing for a while now. Here’s part of his take on Dan Meyer’s 101qs site:
Over at Dan’s site people have been discussing these last set of questions and we find, naturally, Dan promoting his brand of “Make the prompt scream the question...
Taking the ACT a quarter century after high school – Scott McLeod
April 18, 2012, 12:00 amMy biggest concerns about the math test relate to the fact that much of what is assessed is math that – and I think I’m safe saying this – most of us will never use again (how many of you have needed to calculate the cosine of an angle recently? how many of you have needed to det...
The Love Tree – A Math Puzzler (?)
April 7, 2012, 12:00 amFrom Car Talk.
A teenage boy smitten with a teenage girl in his high school freshman class, made his feelings known. Overjoyed at finding them reciprocated, he took pen knife to a young hard wood in the vicinity and carved their initials within a heart, five feet up the tree’s trunk.
By thei...