Re: [MATHEDCC] Graph paper FYI
Vern Kays (vkays@RICHLAND.CC.IL.US)
Thu, 26 Feb 1998 17:18:15 -0600
At 02:32 PM 2/26/98 -0800, Kirby Urner wrote:
>>RWW Taylor,
>> Glad to hear someone else sharing my philosophy of the use of graph
>>paper. I too agree that students learn so much more by constructing their
>>sketches (graphs) without graph paper--estimating, measuring,scaling,
>>etc.--as well as grasping the meaning of axes, points, graphs of equations,
>>etc. Perhaps there is a proper place for the use of graph paper--young
>>children in elementary school. But by the time students arrive at college,
>>I feel graph paper is not a luxury which makes graphing easier, but a
>>hindrance which stifles the understanding of the concept of graphing.
>>
>>Pansy Waycaster
>>Southwest Virginia CC
>>Richlands, VA 24641
>>
>>
>
>I wouldn't stop with learning to graph using the calculator or in
>sketch on paper, however. Given the swift evolution of ray tracing
>engines, including in the public domain (i.e. free) such as the
>povray product (www.povray.org), I'm in the business of giving
>students more control of graphical output generally, using math
>to drive the engines.
>
>You can preview my approach via such pages as:
>
>http://www.teleport.com/~pdx4d/quadshapes.html
>http://www.teleport.com/~pdx4d/calculus1.html
>
>(both pages use povray -- and the quadray papers link to a
>lot of public domain object oriented source code).
>
>Students now have the power to work closely with teachers on
>creating their own curriculum materials, saved on intranets,
>made sharable via the internet (perhaps via registration i.e.
>some tuition). HTML, as a kind of symbol manipulation, is
>now trickling down to the early grades and will be part and
>parcel of what a 21st century gradeschooler will be expected
>to master, with an eye towards completing homework
>assignments (e.g. by next week, publish a web page on
>the Bell Curve, taking screen shots from MathCad and
>cut/pasting graphs/equations into your HTML).
>
>Kirby
>Curriculum Writer
>4D Solutions / Oregon Curriculum Network
>
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