Category Archives: Math Software

Arranging Addends is an interactive puzzle that I designed on a long bus ride through Alaska. The goal of the puzzle is to arrange the circles and the six numbers (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32) so that three conditions are met simultaneously: The sum of the numbers in the green circle is 21, … Continue Reading ››

Advanced Mathematics, Educational Technology, Math Software

Discovering the Angle Sum and Difference Identities

February 20, 2014 Scott Steketee 2 Comments

In my Advanced Methods class at Penn’s Graduate School of Education, my students are working in groups to create shared lesson plans using an inquiry approach. For a number of reasons it can be challenging for these pre-service teachers to identify appropriate topics for student inquiry, but sometimes the brainstorming they do turns into something … Continue Reading ››

Elementary Mathematics, Geometry, Math Software

A Hidden Polygons Puzzle

January 28, 2014 Daniel Scher Leave a comment

Take a look at the two groups of shapes below. Both groups contain an equilateral triangle and a square. Now imagine that you showed students each group and asked them to identify the shapes. Do you think students would do equally well in naming the shapes in group A and group B? Continue Reading ››

Advanced Mathematics, Math Software

Wait for a Date

January 16, 2014 Daniel Scher Leave a comment

Consider the following probability question: Two friends arrange for a lunch date between 12:00 and 1:00. A week later, however, neither of them remembers the exact meeting time. As a result, each person arrives at a random time between 12:00 and 1:00 and waits exactly 10 minutes for the other person. When the 10 minutes have passed, … Continue Reading ››

Geometry, Math Software

A Pythagorean Tree Grows in Your Web Browser

January 6, 2014 Daniel Scher Leave a comment

A little over a year ago, the Museum of Mathematics opened in the heart of New York City. One of my favorite exhibits at the museum is the Human Tree. When you stand in front of the Human Tree screen and wave, your arms are replaced by images of … Continue Reading ››

Common Core, Educational Technology, Math Software

Discovery by Dragging

December 13, 2013 Scott Steketee Leave a comment

A few days ago I led a webinar on the Common Core and Sketchpad for Sketchpad beginners, and I showed four Sketchpad activities aligned with both the Content Standards and the Standards for Mathematical Practice. I mixed it up a bit … Continue Reading ››

Educational Technology, Math Software

Aligning Objects in Sketchpad

December 5, 2013 Scott Steketee Leave a comment

I recently got a question from a question from a user about how to line up text objects. The question was both about lining up objects on a page, and about lining them up from one page to the next, so that when you switch pages things are in the same place on every page. As … Continue Reading ››

Educational Technology, Math Software

Learn to Multiply Like No Bunny’s Business

October 16, 2013 Daniel Scher Leave a comment

It started with an unassuming bunny that hopped along a number line. In 2011, our team at KCP Technologies released Sketchpad Explorer for the iPad, making it possible for teachers and students to interact with desktop Sketchpad models on their iPads. We were thrilled to bring the iPad’s … Continue Reading ››

Math Software

Picturing Functions and Functions of Pictures

October 10, 2013 Scott Steketee Leave a comment

I’m excited to be making my first presentation of the 2013-14 school year next week in Baltimore. Daniel Scher and I are presenting Picturing Functions and Functions of Pictures. We'll be discussing the connections between pictures and functions. These connections are even richer than I realized when I first began to work with pictures in Sketchpad. In the … Continue Reading ››

Math Software, Uncategorized

Collaborating on an Extension to a Little-Known Theorem

October 4, 2013 Scott Steketee Leave a comment

[Today's post is from Steven Fuchs, with whom I recently corresponded and whose enthusiasm was sufficiently infectious that I pressed him to share it here. --Scott]

One day late last spring, while teaching at St. Thomas High School in Houston, I noticed in a book a figure demonstrating Monge’s Theorem. (Don't look this up … Continue Reading ››

Sine of the Times