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Excelets: A Discovery Learning Tool for Revitalizing College Algebra

Excelets: A Discovery Learning Tool for Revitalizing College Algebra. Scott A. Sinex Dept. of Physical Sciences & Engineering Prince George’s Community College. Presented at MMATYC 2008 at Howard Community College. Why Excel?. Ready off-the-shelf software Found in the work-place

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Excelets: A Discovery Learning Tool for Revitalizing College Algebra

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  1. Excelets: A Discovery LearningTool for Revitalizing College Algebra Scott A. Sinex Dept. of Physical Sciences & Engineering Prince George’s Community College Presented at MMATYC 2008 at Howard Community College

  2. Why Excel? • Ready off-the-shelf software • Found in the work-place • Found on home computers too • Easy to use by students • Can it be an interactive learning tool? (no marcos or VBA programming, just computation via formulas)

  3. ...as a tool in math and science • Great for handling, graphing, and analyzing data • Easy transforming of data such as taking the log • Regression and goodness-of-fit • So a great tool for mathematical modeling of data and presenting graphs Pre-set calculations & graphs – just add data Using Excel for... Scientific Data

  4. ...so now to Excelets! • Excelets are interactive Excel spreadsheets • A Java-like “Javaless” applet! • A simulation of a mathematical model or an illustration of a simple concept • A tool for higher-order thinking and illustrating science process • and a tool that is easy to construct!!!!!

  5. …so how do you use Excelets in college algebra? • Create an exploratory learning environment • The mode of questioning guides the student • Mathematical modeling of data • Investigate the behavior of functions …and with constant use of numerical, visual, symbolic, and verbal perspectives!

  6. Is stack height proportional to the number of cookies? http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/cookies_stack.xls

  7. Can you learn linear regression in 5 minutes or less? http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/regression.xls

  8. How are the temperature scales on a thermometer related? http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/temperature_scales.xls

  9. Is sea level changing? Will this cause any problems? http://mvhs.shodor.org/CAST2008/earth/inundator.xls

  10. How does that variable influence the quadratic function? http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/quadratics.xls

  11. …and some periodic functions as well http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/periodic_data.xls

  12. science Model Simulation excelets As a learning tool... • Active engagement of students • Numerical experimentation • Derive the ideal mathematical model • “What if” scenarios • Science processes • predictions • graphical interpretation • conclusions • random and systematic error (ideal to real) See Investigating Types of Errors

  13. Some final thoughts… • Engages students in higher-order thinking • Interpretation/Analysis/Synthesis • Engages students in algebraic thinking • Variables/Patterns/Representations • Engages students in science process • Hypotheses /Predictions/Conclusions • Reeks of meeting national standards in mathematics, the sciences, and technology • AMATYC/MAA/NCTM/NAS/NSTA/ISTE

  14. The “How to” resources... Developer's Guide to Excelets: Dynamic and Interactive Visualization with "Javaless" Applets or Interactive Excel Spreadsheets <http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets> Tutorial, instructions, and a variety of interactive Excel spreadsheet examples Resource list for mathematics and science

  15. More info... • Scott Sinex – ssinex@pgcc.edu • See course webpages and publications http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex • Webpages embedded in PowerPoint – get LiveWeb (http://skp.mvps.org/liveweb.htm) Thanks for coming today too!!!

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