How often have you heard someone say something like, "kids these days can can't do anything without a calculator"? The thinking behind such a statement assumes that if you can't do math with pen and paper or better yet, in your head, then you aren't really doing math. The flawed logic that drives this assumption is that math = calculations. In the TED talk below, Conrad Wolfram correctly asserts that math is not equivalent to making calculations, but something much greater. So often in our math classrooms students spend a great deal of time performing calculations. Why spend so much time performing calculations when we have machines/computers that can do it much quicker and accurately than ourselves. One of the great takeaways from Conrad's TED talk is that math can be used to solve so many interesting real world problems. Formulating a question, identifying a problem and being able to solve the problem using math is interesting and exciting. What is not interesting and exciting (to many) is the calculations. Yet we have students spend hours and hours doing calculations. If computers were integrated more heavily in the math classroom then students could use math to solve real problems instead of just doing calculations. For example, in the video there is a sample exam question which could be posed (on computer, not pen and paper) which is "which is the best life insurance policy?". Students would use the computer to input variables to determine the answer. Let the computer do the calculation and let the students solve the real problem. Conrad Wolfram suggests that math curriculum should be reformed to emphasize computer based math. I believe this would be far more relevant to students lives, more practical, and definitely more interesting. It should be pointed out that this doesn't mean there isn't a place for hand calculations or that they should be forgotten completely. But if it computer based reforms can make students more more interested in math and perhaps help them in everyday life, then I am all for it.
Showing posts with label TED. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TED. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Teaching Kids Real Math With Computers
How often have you heard someone say something like, "kids these days can can't do anything without a calculator"? The thinking behind such a statement assumes that if you can't do math with pen and paper or better yet, in your head, then you aren't really doing math. The flawed logic that drives this assumption is that math = calculations. In the TED talk below, Conrad Wolfram correctly asserts that math is not equivalent to making calculations, but something much greater. So often in our math classrooms students spend a great deal of time performing calculations. Why spend so much time performing calculations when we have machines/computers that can do it much quicker and accurately than ourselves. One of the great takeaways from Conrad's TED talk is that math can be used to solve so many interesting real world problems. Formulating a question, identifying a problem and being able to solve the problem using math is interesting and exciting. What is not interesting and exciting (to many) is the calculations. Yet we have students spend hours and hours doing calculations. If computers were integrated more heavily in the math classroom then students could use math to solve real problems instead of just doing calculations. For example, in the video there is a sample exam question which could be posed (on computer, not pen and paper) which is "which is the best life insurance policy?". Students would use the computer to input variables to determine the answer. Let the computer do the calculation and let the students solve the real problem. Conrad Wolfram suggests that math curriculum should be reformed to emphasize computer based math. I believe this would be far more relevant to students lives, more practical, and definitely more interesting. It should be pointed out that this doesn't mean there isn't a place for hand calculations or that they should be forgotten completely. But if it computer based reforms can make students more more interested in math and perhaps help them in everyday life, then I am all for it.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Robert Lang: The Math and Magic of Origami
Robert Lang does a TED talk on The Math and Magic of Origami. This interested me because my Dad taught me to make an origami cube and a bird that flapped its wings when I was 8 or 9 and I have been fascinated with origami ever since. I liked how Lang showed how math was responsible for the leaps and bounds that have been made in origami. The ways this technology can be used in real life was very impressive from being able to fold panels in order to get them into space or fold a stint to get it into the human body. This could be an intersting way to show students the connection between math and the real world. Lang also talks about Tree Maker, software he developed to create a crease pattern for the base of an origami creation. I would like to try using this as an exploration in a Geomotry and Spatial Sense unit. I think students could get very creative in making their own origami creations. Robert Lang: The Math and Magic of Origami
Adam Spencer
I really like Adam spencer. Maybe it's because he has a Phd in math but chooses to be a morning radio DJ. Or maybe because he is really good at taking complex ideas and making them understandable by most humans (usually in a humorous way). Here is his TED talk on prime numbers. Another great offering is his Book of Numbers where he looks at all the mathematical properties (and oddities) of the first 100 numbers.http://www.ted.com/talks/adam_spencer_why_i_fell_in_love_with_monster_prime_numbers.html
From YouTube
From the TED Site
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