1st #precalcchat Script

Thanks to my partner @untilnextstop, the first Precalculus Chat materialized tonight and this is the link to the chat tweets for anyone who missed them. Tweets about "#precalcchat"

Thank you to all who attended and contributed and we look forward chatting with you and other fellow Precalculus teachers in the following weeks at #precalcchat.

Invitation to a Twitter Chat #precalcchat

All Pre-Calculus teachers, instructors, and professors are cordially invited to the launch of a series of twitter chats that would address everything Pre-Calculus. The first chat is Thursday, August 22nd starting at 8:30 PM. 

Event Title: "1st Week Matters," & it will discuss topics such as syllabi, pre-tests, technology, TIs, opening activities, etc.

Event Time: Thursday, August 22nd starting at 8:30 PM

Event Hosts: @MrLeNadj & @untilnextstop

Event Sponsor: Global Math Department with Cool Initiative of @jreulbach

Event Twitter Location: #precalcchat

We look forward having you and happy new Pre-Calculus school year!

Mr. Le Nadj! Assists with Math Apps

I thought starting the academic semester/year with a bunch of math Apps and strategies for acquiring them might be the best gift I give my fellow math teachers and instructors the world over.

So, within this PDF file I listed all the Apps I currently own, which I hope you can acquire as many of them as possible to make your educational experience with your students a richer experience at least as far as mobile devices technology is concerned.

Please, keep in mind that most of the apps were free when I first got them but some either were removed from the App store or a price was added to them.

Mr. Le Nadj! suggestions regarding app acquirement:

1) Check the app store every two weeks or so and search for new apps dealing with specific topics you are interested in.

2) Sift through the junk by setting the search criteria to be Free & the display to be based on Ratings so that you get the free apps that got the best ratings.

3) Download the chosen app(s) even f you may not think you would need it right away because they may either disappear or become pricy. You still can delete them if need be.

Happy Educational App Year! :-)

Students' Reflections & Citations in Math Assessment (07/09/13 Global Math Department Presentation)

I had the privilege of contributing to the July 9th conference at the Global Math Department site. 

Thank you to Megan Hayes-Golding for facilitating this web meeting and for guiding us (presenters) through the presentation process so professionally and in a very user friendly manner.

My presentation focused on the use of reflections and citations in math assessment and how it should (a) nurture depth in expressing one's thoughts regarding the solution process to a math problem through reflections and (b) foster the scholarly approach to mathematical writing and problem solving amongst our students through citations from the course's textbook, instructor's notes, or peers' presentations.

The conference's recording shows samples of such references and citations. But, after the conference was over, fellow attendees expressed interest in seeing samples of peer citations. So, here are a few examples of such citations.

Note: The student solver name was whited out to respect anonymity & the numbers next to the referenced students (inside oval) denote the problems they solved that their current presenting classmate is referencing. 

Note: The student solver name were blocked out to respect anonymity & notice how this student referenced her peer by stating the date of the referenced student's presentation date. 

Note: The student solver name was grayed out to respect anonymity & the number next to the referenced student (inside oval) denote the problem he solved that his classmate is referencing. 

Notice how the students' methods of referencing vary but the context still helps other students in class recognize the specific aspect of the current problem solution that drew from other sources (their peers in this case.)

A neat outcome of this peer citation and referencing system in general was the start of a healthy and scholarly competition amongst students and students with me (their instructor) as to who ends up being the cited champion as the year progresses (a la Erdos citation number idea.) 

Please, provide your own take on the use of Reflections or Citations in your respective curricula or comment on how you would implement such idea in the future. Thank you