MOOCulus!

If you are reading this as a Calculus teacher, and you don't understand the title of this post, let me be the first to introduce you to the wonderful world of MOOCulus!!  It is the most amazing website I have found thus far for using in my AP Calc class.  Since it is a creative commons website, and a creation by some fabulous people at Ohio State University, it is all free to play around with and explore.  This is exactly what we did today in Calc.

My students had taken their first set of notes on Limits.  Now, I create my own notes and videos because I like to have that "relationship" with my students, and have them know that I am equally invested in what we are doing.  My videos might not be as entertaining as those on MOOCulus, but my students enjoy them.  After watching the notes, I wanted the students to practice what they had learned.  So I had them enter the MOOCulus exercises on limits. You know you have scored a great day when the students say "that was fun!"  I love it when my plan actually works.  Actually I think the best quote all day was "why don't these laptops have a caps lock button so I can type in DNE?" and then followed up with their own response "first world problems".  This practice set had students typing in x-values in order to see the limits of a function graph from both the left and right of a given value.  It made them write their answers in 3 decimal places so we had to discuss how they could get their answers in that form (rounding).  One remarkable note: Calculus students may still have trouble rounding correctly to 3 decimal places.  HOWEVER, they figure it out real quick when they can't get the computer to say "that is correct".  They will not quit until they have gotten "that is correct. next problem" and then see their progress bar increase.  It was as though they were playing a math video game.  They were upset if their progress bar didn't go up enough.  This made me laugh inside.  (insert evil voice in head): I have them doing limits and being competitive about it....a new subject that they really don't have conceptually in their head, but they are working like crazy to get the problems correct!  AWESOME!!  When they finished "playing", what I really mean is learning, I then led them to another Limits website (created at Cal State LA) to complete the problems using drop down boxes.  I liked the practice in this order because completing the 1st set made the 2nd set easier.  They had developed a decent understanding by then.  When they were finished, I had them switch to a "paper version" (aka their worksheets) to do some more limits solving.  It was a perfect blend and I was pleased with the use of class time today!  I plan on using more of MOOCulus this week to reinforce more about limits.  Some days the lesson is so fun that I wish I were a student in my class...today was one of those days!

AP Statistics:  I have realized that much of what I have always done in stats is non-lecture based.  It's just not possible (in my humble opinion).  And the technology component has ALWAYS been there because we rely on the graphing calculator so much.  It was fun today to "mess with their heads" by making them create a named list in the calculator, transfer data into it and then seemingly erase ALL of the data before we got to graph it (especially because they had just entered all 30 data values by hand).  When you show them that the named list is still in their calculator, they are amazed. I'm going to believe that the quote "that is SO SICK" is a good one!  SO MANY things to learn about this technology tool.  I LOVE this time of year, where they know so little about this tool and I get to teach them.  Later, they become so expert with it, that I only get to laugh at how fast they all enter data and I just hear buttons being pushed rapidly.  For now, it's gasps at what the calculator just did (as I lead them through the button pushing) that makes me smile.  I enjoy listening to them and hearing things like "how do you....?" and "I always forget that".  I even have to lecture them about taking the calculator away from their neighbor and simply pushing the buttons for them (pet peeve of mine).  People only learn when THEY do the button pushing.  I enjoy making that point with them.  It's fun teaching them to THINK about what the graph should/does look like. Weaning them off "what does your window look like?" and telling them that they HAVE TO become expert "hamster trainers" (a name I give to their calculators--"the hamsters").  I even tell them that they can add hamster trainer on their resume' after this year (would definitely generate a funny discussion in an interview!).

It's days like today that I think I would probably show up and do this "job" even if I didn't get paid!