## our class community blog!

### LaTeX

Slightly off topic, but:

For you math folks, I recommend learning $\LaTeX$. It is a programming language in which you can write math notation, and it’s very beautiful. And best of all (for this class), it works on WordPress! It’s not that hard to begin using. And it’s free.

For instance, compare this, written in normal font: f(x) =(1+2+3+4+5+1/2+2^5)/2

with this: $f(x)=\frac{1+2+3+4+5+\frac{1}{2}+2^5}{2}$

It requires a bit of skill and practice but I think the clarity and beauty of the fonts will make the time investment worth it in the long run. Please message me if you want to learn!

### A followup video

I made a second video. It’s a bit shorter and I think it takes advantage of the medium more. Hope you enjoy!

### Math Teacher Blog

“Who Is Chimp Girl?”:  The first blog post I found on wordpress about a lady who is studying to become a math teacher.  She has a tremendous curiosity about the world, and as well as history and other academic subjects.  She knew that many people found math topics like calculus intimidating or boring, so she decided to try it out to see what all the fuss was about.  She fell in love with it, taking on the challenge, and that is how she decided to become a math teacher.  She is looking for new ways to deliver the material to students in a way that is fun and entertaining, even though it would still require a diligent effort on their part.  Since her son is a big fan of monkeys, he inspired her to start making word problems involving monkeys to make math problems amusing and entertaining, no matter how hard they are.  She plans to write about math concepts with monkeys as part of a major math project, and plans to do this with her son.  What inspired me to comment on her blog was her incredible passion and curiosity about math, people, and learning in general, and her desire to make math fun, which is something I am also looking to do.  As I just commented on her blog recently, asking her about what are some of the major lessons she learned for her teaching practice moving forward, and how she intends to deliver the material in a way that is fun and effective, I have not gotten a response yet.

“Dr. Nicki’s Guided Math Blog” : I also found this on wordpress.  I commented on this blog because I was fascinated with the diversity of tools Dr. Nicki included in the blog.  He says that he will include classroom pictures, links to helpful websites, and videos of sample lesson plans, and some lesson plan postings, to help math teachers looking to teach their students more effectively.  He also provides a space for math teachers to collaborate and learn ideas from one another in a sort of mastermind group where teachers can grow together. The other thing I was really intrigued with was that this blog was directed at teachers working to increase children’s mathematical proficiency in the classroom setting of small groups.  It was aimed at differentiating instruction and putting students together in small groups based on learning style, level of mathematical proficiency, and so forth.  It was also aimed at promoting a conceptual understanding of mathematics, not just a procedural one.  Since this is much of the topic of my study since last semester, at School of One where they work in small groups, as well as in two math education classes I am taking right now, I knew this topic would be very much in sync with what I am studying and looking to accomplish as a math teacher.  I commented on Dr. Nicki’s blog post telling him that I found his teaching philosophy and strategy very similar to that of School of One, and I asked him what are some of the ways he decides how to group students together, as well as some of the assessments he uses.  As I have just commented within the last five minutes, he has not responded yet.

### Project Ideas

My main idea is to create a video podcast illustrated a simple mathematical argument or proof. I may do something geometric, or maybe not; my inspiration would be the Khan Academy videos. I wonder if you know about any good tools to draw abstract shapes and text and manipulate them in a video–please let me know if you have any ideas. I wonder if there are any other forms of media that are good for this type of project–perhaps an online slide-show of some sort (with “next” and “previous” buttons so that students can proceed at their own pace).