Happy and sad event

The guys on the Plato website today have announced that they will be winding it down stating that Platowa had achieved its objectives. I think all of us in the teaching profession in WA have a big thank you to say to these guys and what they have achieved over the last four years (especially in making the union a relevant body again). If Marko was president of the SSTUWA even a hardened anti-unionist like myself would join.

It has been amazing to watch technology used in a way that achieves an outcome, and equally amazing to see people put their jobs on the line over an ideal and principle. Agree with them or not you have to appreciate their efforts. It will be interesting to see if a lobby group like this will ever again be as powerful within the teaching fraternity (are you watching this space MAWA?).

If and when Plato is retired, I will miss reading the forum about WA education from the minds of teachers, parents and interested parties. Without it, we would not have seen into the politics of teaching. I am glad that they feel they have achieved what they set out to do. It is rare in life that we have time to reflect upon actually reaching our goals.

Four days to go...

The countdown is on to the next break.. four days to go.

The last week of term is a time of wind down, with students in upper school focusing on their ball on Thursday and those in year ten disappearing on holidays before the end of term.

I'll gather in the last of the test results from this term and celebrate getting through another week eight of term. For me, week eight is always a milestone, each week eight signals getting through the goals of a term and getting that much better at teaching.

One interesting experience last week was a student that despised my teaching method last year actually sitting for two hours with me conquering a topic - at her request. Hopefully she can keep this up - it would be wonderful if she could, the re-engagement of a student into education is something that should be celebrated, too often students are lost in year 10, on the verge of starting a run at university. It signalled what we all know deep down, that a student should never be given up on, you need to be on the lookout for ways and means to repair damaged rapports.

The last week was a good one, with many signs of students understanding what senior school is all about, smiles and students seeing success in their progress.

I'm really looking forward to the break.. and some baby time. She's growing up so fast. Now that we've figured out that the expressed bottle is causing the colic.. she's another baby (and a wee bit quieter and happier!)

We reached a few milestones with the blog too, 1100 visitors this year (the same amount as the whole of last year) and over 3300 pages read. Many thanks to those that have left words of encouragement.

:-)

Three steps forward...

There are times when I wonder, 'what have we been doing for the last two weeks?' My year tens are at this stage right now. We've been going through linear algebra for two weeks and it's clearly beyond a good dose of my students.

There are a number of issues:
a) They have weak self esteem and give up before trying
b) They have a low work ethic
c) Their algebra skills are weak-non existent (transposing to find c in y=mx+c is heartbreaking)
d) Their operations are weak (explaining gradient in terms of rise/run leads to all sorts of issues)
e) Their understanding of negative numbers is suspect

So I have two choices, teach them the topic and hope that the students get something from it to help them on their next iteration of learning or try and fill the gaps that 9 teachers before me have tried to fill with limited success.

Current thinking would say cater to individual differences and backtrack. I'm not sure that this is the right thing to do. By teaching the topic it gives the students an opportunity to 'get the gist' of what is being achieved (associate linear algebra with lines and equations, learn about gradient and slope, be able to find the y intercept and the like) and then hope that when they do 1B or 2A next year they can use this knowledge to properly participate in class.

I don't know.

Ten Tips for Practicum Students

I remember being on practicum and had my collection of nightmares and successes. After recently having a practicum student, it reminded me of some of the things I learnt while on practicum. There are lots of things that you are told at uni, but here are some of the more obvious that you may not be told.

1. If you are going to talk to the class, ensure that all students are ready to listen. Don't talk until you have full attention of everyone in the class. Create a spot at the front of the class so that students know that you are waiting to start.
2. Don't talk to the board while writing on it. There aren't any students behind it to hear you.
3. If your practicum teacher tells you to do something, do it. Write it down so you don't forget.
4. Appreciate your practicum teacher. The $12.50 per week and the aftermath is not worth it. They are doing it for the right reasons.
5. Don't have another job outside of school whilst on practicum. You are making a hard job harder.
6. Don't get lazy or cocky.. when you think you are prepared, prepare a little more.
7. Make sure students have been taught enough to complete any task you set them.
8. Do any exercise/task yourself first before you give it to students.
9. Have a clear introduction and conclusion to your lesson (keep an eye on your timing!).
10. Take praise and criticism well from students and peers. Reflect, learn from mistakes and grow thick skin where required.
11. Be rested, eat well and look after yourself.

Ok, it was eleven.. shoot me.

:-)

Variables on the classpad

There has been some confusion about how to define variables on the classpad in my class. Here is what we have discovered.

If we use a variable found under the mth tab -> var on the soft keyboard (the variables that are italicised) it is treated as a normal pronumeral in algebraic equations (multiplication is assumed with adjacent pronumerals). The x,y,z on the keypad is also treated this way.

eg x = 10, y=20; therefore xy=200

The multiplication sign is automatically added.

If we name a variable using the abc tab in the soft keyboard(the variables that are not italicised) then we are naming a variable that has multiple letters.

eg xy =10; x & y are undefined.
m = rise ÷ run



Potential Gotcha!

We have to be careful not to confuse functions defined under the mth tab (eg. trig ratios) and variables that we have created when using NumSolve. One of my students entered this on their calculator.

Cosθ=adj÷hyp

It would return the fractional value adj÷hyp rather than the value for theta. This is because the student had defined a variable "Cosθ" by typing Cos via the soft keyboard rather than entering the function Cos via mth->trig->Cos.


Superscripts and Subscripts

Later on students will want to use subscripted characters when creating variable names. One example is the gradient formula.

m=(Y2-Y1)÷(X2-X1)

The subscripts are found in the soft keyboard under abc->math at the bottom of the screen. Superscripts are on the line above it. Only numbers at this stage (more will be possible as more fonts are released) can be superscripted or subscripted as far as I can see.



Here is a link to other CAS calculator posts.

Trigonometric equations and the CAS calculator

There are lots of ways of solving trigonometric equations on the Classpad but I have avoided using Trisolve as it takes away the thinking aspect of trigonometric equations. Instead I focussed on setting up equations in eActivities with the intent to complement them with the Geometry section later.

eActivities are a great place to store frequently used equations. In this instance, I wanted to keep all of the trigonometric and circle equations in one place ie sine, cosine & tan ratios, sine rule, cosine rule, sector, segment equations, circumference, area.

To do this I opened an eActivity from the main menu.

Then I started a new eActivity by going File -> New. Then I saved it by going File->Save. I called it Trig Formulae.

So then I inserted a Numsolve strip to hold my equation.

Once the strip was added I used the soft keyboard to name it the Sine ratio. Then I pressed solve to put the equation in.

Using the mth tab in the soft keyboard and then selecting the Trig option at the base of the soft keyboard I entered 'sin('. Directly below the mth tab, the theta button can be found and then closed the bracket. Don't type the word 's' 'i' 'n' using the soft keyboard as it won't work - it will treat it as s x i x n.

Then using the 2D tab, I created a fraction and using the var option entered o ÷ h. I hit exe, then closed the equation using the x at the top left hand corner of the window.

I then tried it out using the example opp=7, hyp=14, theta = ? I left theta blank, made sure the angle was selected (with the dot next to it coloured in) and pressed solve in the toolbar. Viola, theta = 30°. If you get some weird answers check that the calculator is set in degrees mode. If the answer is still weird, reset the calculator and it seems to work.

Update (25/3/09): After using this with the class for a few days (especially with radians) I noticed a few strange results where the calculator would return unexpected answers (eg for the above example -330°). To fix this, set the Lower bound to 0 and the upper bound to 180 (for degrees) or pi/3.14159 (for radians) and the results will appear as expected.

I then set about putting in the cosine ratio.

It's a great tool for things like the cosine rule where students find it hard to transpose equations and forget negative signs or for circle, segment and sector equations that are commonly forgotten.

Here is a link to other CAS calculator posts.

Favourite places to eat in Perth

A bit off topic today, but as I live north of the river there are a number of places that I love to eat. There is no real order to them as we like them all depending on what we feel like.

T5 Expresso, Joondalup: Sub $10 breakfast, great coffee, nice people, not too busy. Cosy little place to start the day found in every city around the world, other than Perth. Until now!

Bistro 38: Joondalup Country club. Great buffet during summer and if you can catch one of their special nights with entertainment it's a great time for two. Even their naff Christmas in July was great (where two years of ballroom dancing lessons came second to a drunken wife doing the pointy dance (I'll point at you.. pose.. I'll point at them.. pose...). I think we've sent at least two letters to Bistro 38 complimenting them on their excellent service.

Sensations 43, Ocean Reef: A little restaurant serving pizza, pasta and other cafe dishes. We can go there before 6.00pm with bubs and not have to worry too much about annoying other patrons or go during the day and have a coffee. The owners are lovely once you get to know them, friendly and inviting.

Shennai Tandoori, Ocean Reef: A local restaurant that has great Indian/Pakistani food tailored to the anglified palette. I think we have gone 200 times and ordered the same meal - Papadums, Chicken Tikka, Lamb Korma, Chicken Korma, 2 Naan, 1 large Pilaf Rice - which is enough for dinner and breakfast. Ask for booth 7.

The Grapevine Restaurant, Heathridge: A hearty Italian meal, a little dearer than we usually spend but we always expect to be stuffed by the end of it. Service is great (we're not partial to being in the alfresco area as it tends to be a little hot and loud) and they even drove us home one night when we couldn't get a taxi.

Conti's Restaurant, Wangara: This is a lovely quaint restaurant, we've had many a great anniversary dinner there. Don't be put off by the location. The steak and peppercorns (the carpetbag or 'Madagascar' from memory) is great, as is anything else on the menu. The 'Coles tray' for the vegetables seems strange, but keeps the vegetables nice and warm. I love how the lights dim every so often for no real reason. It's easy to get absolutely stonkered as you spend a leisurely evening.

Friends Restaurant, Perth: This is one of our favourite restaurants, with Clive and Lesley being two of the nicest people in the world. This, to my mind, is what we compare any other restaurant around the world (in fact the only other restaurants we have enjoyed to their level is Francois' mussels in white wine sauce on Melbourne's Toorak Rd and The Loose Box in the Mundaring (insert any dish on the menu here).) Mortgage your house, order some expensive wine and/or Champagne and enjoy.

Cocos Restaurant, South Perth: I must admit it's been ages since we've been, but I have very fond memories of the Tempura Whiting and having coffee overlooking the foreshore. A bit of a place for Perth's movers and shakers (Probably why I haven't been for ages!).

Kings Park Tea Rooms: OMG.. the service is ordinary, but with a glass of wine and a light meal during spring, for a lunch catchup few places are its equal.

There you go.. with the exception of home dinners and family invites which ALWAYS take precedence (coming from a family and extended family of awesome cooks and chefs) this is where we like to go!

Bon Appetit!

Time.

Time doesn't seem to be my friend at the moment. I wake up, feed Mackenzie when I can, go to school, tutor my year 11's, take my classes, wait on the phone for 15 mins, complain to payroll that they forgot to pay me last week (I have to wait another fortnight for it to arrive as it was a stuff up), teach my classes, come home and crash on the couch for 3 hours and here I am. Baby exploding with poop.

I have so much stuff to write..

e-activities in the CAS calculator are a great place to hide all the trigonometry formulas (sine rule and the like) using "Strips" and Numsolve - Updated 22/3 click here to see how.

The verify function in the main pane (bottom cell of the right icon in the toolbar 'f(x)') is a great way of testing what part of an equation has been incorrectly simplified, expanded or factorised.

My polar coordinates and vectors is rusty so I've had to sit and do the exercises in the book..

Tests to write, assignments to mark, programmes to amend..

Need to go back to sleep!