It has been two weeks since I established my GAME plan. In my original plan, I decided to devote one hour at least biweekly researching and noting digital tools I can use to upgrade some of my lessons. Each month, I plan on using one of the tools I studied to revamp an entire lesson. Therefore, if all goes according to my GAME plan, I will have twelve new, technology-rich lessons to share with my students.
This week, I continued my exploration of Geogebra, a popular mathematics application. I commented in one of the discussion posts that I was particularly excited with the way this technology handled vectors; so impressed in fact, that I have decided to add this technology to my AP calculus lesson on vectors for next year. It can certainly help my students to see the actual vectors (position, velocity, and acceleration) after we have used calculus to derive them.
In response to the questions this week, I had no problem finding information and resources concerning Geogebra. Although I downloaded the user’s manual, I have found the online tutorials that exist all over the internet much easier to follow.
The only modification I will make to my GAME plan is to intensify my research. Rather than explore a new technology biweekly, I will attempt to do this at least once a week. I believe my original plan on modifying one lesson a month, however, remains a realistic goal; therefore, I will not be altering my strategy for this portion of my GAME plan.
As I explore Geogebra, new questions abound. For instance, how could I use it in my geometry classes? There are of course a number of features in the application that are applicable toward geometry as well. Also, what is another technology to explore after I have researched the limits of Geogebra? For this question, I reach out to my colleagues since this is where I heard of Geogebra in the first place.