Exhibitors in Denver

A dynamic invitation

Every year around this time I start receiving (junk...) I mean advertising from companies that are planning to exhibit in Denver during the NCTM conference. The invite on the left was interesting because it popped right out of the envelop. (Click on the link to see what I mean.)

I'm not usually inspired to accept such an invitation because I always assume an inverse relationship between the advertising budget of the company and the quality of the product. But since I'm making a big deal about this, I will hold judgement and see the product in Booth #917 on April 18th at 8:45. After I see it I'll report back here with a review.

Here are some other technology oriented exhibitors I plan to visit during my stay in Denver. A lot of old friends and hopefully I'll make some new ones as well. Key Curriclum Press now has a new home in McGraw Hill country.

AT&LT #637 develops 3D math video games. Their current product is the Lost Function: A Math Adventure game. New to me.
Big Brainz #1516 Timez Attack is their big hit product.
Buzzmath #1140 Their mission is to lead middle school students to proficiency in math through suppported practice.
Math Forum - #741 For more than 20 years providing resources to help teachers improve their mathematics teaching and learning. Long time friends of CLIME.
Carnegie Learning #1820 is a leading publisher of innovative, research-based math curricula for middle school, high school, and postsecondary students. 
Calculus in Motion #1131 - Software. Also CDs with tons of Sketchpad applications.
Conceptua Math #823 - teaching and learning everything about fractions is the goal of their software.
Desmos Inc. #916 - Online calculator company. One of the co-hosts of Dan Meyer's and Karim Ani's happy hour on Thursday.
Dreambox Learning #1222 - Lot's of positive buzz about their products. I need to take a closer look.
GeoGebra #1433 - Sketchpad's competitor. Can't beat the price.
Explore Learning #1823 - Always give them a positive review for their excellent applets (Gizmos) and sometimes even their support material. See their equivalent fraction Gizmo.
How the Market Works #719 - Great way to bring real world math into the classroom.
Hooda Math #1538 - new to me.
Mind Research Institute #331 - Adventures with Jiji.
McGraw-Hill Education #731 - Geometer's Sketchpad and Tinkerplots. Sketchpad Users Group after hours session? Will find out...
Neufeld Learning Systems Inc. #2024 Rudy Neufeld - my friend from the early Logo days
Saltire Software #330 - Some really cool software.

See also CLIME's previous blogs about the conference:
Denver's tech sessions: Do they meet the CLIME Standard? - Link
Annual Meeting in Denver Technology Sessions Update - Link

If you are speaking on a technology themed topic in Denver please check for your listing here. If you would like to add or change anything to your listing please let me know via email at ihor@clime.org or twitter @climeguy.

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Is a "tipping point" in math learning no longer a dream?

Most of you who follow this blog are probably aware that I believe my vision of math 2.0 is no longer a fantasy, but a reality that is doable through the commitment of inspired educators who with the help of powerful technological applications can hoist a learning revolution never seen before. The first step in such a revolution is having the technological infrastructure so that all students have access to the technology. My friend and colleague Joshua Koen, the technology director at a committed urban school district in Passaic, NJ have taken the first steps in that direction. He calls it a tipping point a phrase coined by Malcolm Gladwell in his book "The Tipping Point" which he describes in this video as: "It's a moment in which something explodes, something changes shape. It's that moment of critical mass where everything changes all at once." With the technology in place (1-1 computing with Chromebooks for grades 7-12) the Passaic Schools now have the opportunity to fully embrace a paradigm that focuses more on learning and where teaching and learning are indistinguishable. 

A recent Edutopia article "How to Make your Classroom a Thinking Space" reminded me of the importance of classroom environment as one of the cornerstones* of my Dynamic Classroom model which is the essence of Math 2.0. 

"Take a moment and imagine a creative work environment. Don't worry about the kind of work going on. Just focus on the space. Close your eyes and picture it. What is that space like? What does it sound like? How are people interacting? Is there movement? Is there evidence of work in progress? Is it tidy, or busy-messy? Can you imagine working there?"

To make your classroom work for you the authors suggest the following:

• Fine-tune the physical environment for PBL (Project Based Learning)
• Make a place for independent, partner and small-group work.
• Reimagine who the stuff belongs to.
• Make for a conversational classroom.
• Student presentations should be the norm.
• Encourage hands-on, minds-on creative thinking by providing tools for tinkering.
• Skype with other schools on collaborative projects.
• Create a video booth to capture student reflections.

In closing the authors write:

"What's on Your Wish List?

Teachers model creative thinking when they find workarounds or inexpensive fixes to make their classrooms more conducive to project work. They also model collaboration if they enlist parent volunteers and other community members to help. Put your creativity to work by imagining how you might improve your classroom environment to invite good thinking. What belongs on your PBL wish list? How might you make it happen?"

*The others are curriculum, resources, teaching, learning and assessing. See my blog entries for more about math 2.0 and the dynamic math classroom:

• In Search of Math 2.0
• The Dynamic Math Classroom 1.0 (version 2.0 in press)

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Annual Meeting in Denver Technology Sessions Update

I've updated the listing of technology sessions at the Denver Annual NCTM meeting including more details about the sessions from the speakers who have responded to my request. If you are a speaker on a technology theme and your session is not listed please let me know (ihor@clime.org) and I will include your session. Also if you wish to have more detail than what is listed please send me a photo and additional information about your session. We know that you submitted your proposal to speak last May and you may want your potential attendees to know more about you and your presentation. I'll be continuing to update this listing (here is the link again) right through the conference. So its never to late to do so.

I will be attending the conference though this year CLIME will not be exhibiting so I'll be free to roam around the conference and report back to you about the sessions and exhibits that I found interesting.

I hope to see you there.

Ihor aka @climeguy on Twitter

Here is the list of my "go to" sessions from a previous blog. I hope to attend as many as I can.

1. Dynamic Math software
5 -     Chaos Games and Fractal Images
46 -   Collecting Live Data in Fathom
80 -   The Mathematics of Angry Birds
180 - Getting Serious about Games in Middle Grades Math (Lure of the Labyrinth) - Scott Osterweil
207 - Do the Function Dance with Sketchpad 5 - Scott Stekettee, Dan Scher
283 - The Gamification of Math: Research, Gaming Theory, and Math Instruction
502 - Help Students Dig into Data, Statistics, and Probability with TinkerPlots - Karen Greenhaus
279 - Math and Geography: Using Google Earth to Investigate Mathematics

2. Web 2.0 Tools
157 - Math Journal 2.0: Jump-Start Your Students' Reflections (blogging)
447 - Movie Making in Math
468 - Scan It, Solve It, Show It (QR Codes, BYOD-Bring your own device)
565 - Blogarithms: Converting Number Concepts into Talking Points
586 - Moving Beyond the Right Answer: Developing Students’ Math Communication Skills
707 - Sharing Student Lessons with iBooks Author, iBooks, and an iPad
717 - Effective Use of Virtual Manipulatives: Ready to Create Your Own?
724 - Viral Math Videos: A Hart-to-Hart Conversation

3. Dynamic Learning Communities
143 - PLC: The Practices, the Lessons, the Collaborative
680 - An Invitation to Experience Online Lesson Study Firsthand

4. Math 2.0 Curriculum
141 - Learning Online and Outdoors: Integrating Geocaching into the Mathematics Classroom - Lucy Bush and Jeff Hall - see their article on page 20 of this link
184 - Keeping It Real: Teaching Math through Real-World Topics (mathalicious.org) - Karim Ani
402 - Stories and Technology: Providing Mathematics Opportunities for All
560 - Powerful Online Tools Promote Powerful Mathematics (Illuminations) - Patrick Vennebush
684 - Tools and Technology for Modern Math Teaching - Dan Meyer
685 - Computers in Early Childhood: Getting the Best of All Worlds - Doug Clements, Julie Sarama

All technology related sessions

Previous blog entry on this topic

A Pi Day Mystery

Click above to watch the simulation

My favorite Pi Day activity is the one where random needles dropped on parallel lines lead to an approximation of Pi. Why Pi? Good question. Pi is usually associated with circles. There don't appear to be any circles here. Right? Hmmm. Ponder that question while you watch the needles pile up and the estimate for Pi gets better. Well, at least in theory.

If you are more amibitious and would like to do it with your class see my lesson plan. Also, catch the video of the way one performer does the experiment with taped lines and baguettes.


Related links
Pi Day resources for March 14, 2014 or any day that feels right!

Roger Schank - Cognitive Science & Saving Schools

Roger Schank

Steve Hargadon writes:

Join me Thursday, February 28th, for a live conversation with return guest Roger Schank to talk about his book Teaching Minds: How Cognitive Science Can Save Our Schools, why MOOCs won't save schools or the world, and why everything you think you know about education is wrong.

That's a tall order, and Roger is certainly capable of delivering on all of it-- plus much more. Roger is one of the world's leading visionaries in artificial intelligence, learning theory, cognitive science, and the building of virtual learning environments. He is CEO of Socratic Arts, a company whose goal is to design and implement learning-by-doing, story-centered curricula in schools, universities, and corporations. A fuller, and somewhat amazing, bio is here.

Date: Thursday, February 28th, 2013
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Elluminate). Log in at http://www.futureofed.info. The Blackboard Collaborate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Blackboard Collaborate, please visit the support and configuration page.
Recording:  A full Blackboard Collaborate recording and an audio mp3 recording will be available here and at http://www.futureofeducation.com
Mightybell:  A Mightybell space with interview resources and conversation is at https://mightybell.com/spaces/24921.

I'll be there.

Presenting a Gary Stager Extravaganza

Announcing another major event the week of July 8th -  CMK 2013. I plan to be there and work with other interested math folks on an amazing project. 

If New Hampshire is a draw for you this July then this is one event you can't miss.

(See previous blog about the Logo Conference happening the same time in NY.)