Mathematics & Technology - Perfect together in La Crosse, WI

I was in La Crosse, WI earlier this month to give a keynote talk at the University of Wisconsin Teaching Mathematics with Technology conference. The night before a group of the conference attendees were treated to a cruise on the the La Crosse Queen which is a replica of the old riverboats which used to ply the Mississippi River in the 1800s. Our host was Josh Hertel (the tall guy in the photo) who organized the conference.

A unique feature of the conference was that all the attendees including the speakers were in the same room and got to see all the presentations. It made for a more intimate experience.  Unlike most conferences my keynote was the last scheduled talk so I had the full flavor of the conference before I spoke.

I focused on the 3 big technological ideas that are driving math education today.

1. Dynamic Math Software
2. Web 2.0/Social Media
3. Technology-based learning Communities

When these 3 dynamic forces come together a synergy of innovative curriculum development follows (think Dan Meyer) which engages students in activities that are highly motivational as well as mathematically rich.

I shared several activities that did just that.

• The Famous Jinx Puzzle
• Fermat's Last Theorem... Debunked? (By Homer Simpson no less.)
• Average Traveler Activity
• The Weird Number Video and the Irrational Invasion
• The Librarian who Measured the Earth 220 BC
• The Green Globs Challenge

For more details see http://clime.org/2016/UWL/

Handouts of other presenters are available at: http://www.uwlax.edu/conted/tmt/speaker-handouts/

Here are some additional ideas shared by David Wees that I should have referenced in my talk.

http://davidwees.com/content/ways-use-technology-math-class/