think about purchasing a Math App from the Education App Store (http://www.apple.com/education/apps/). Unfortunately, I don't own any Apple products, so I am unable to actually try out and test some of these apps, but it really intrigued me that there was a market out there for math-based apps. Not only can you turn your iPod or iPad into a basic calculator, but through these apps, it can be transformed into a graphing calculator, an interactive manipulative to aid in learning algebra or even a "chalk board" that can be used to learn and practice arithmetic.
I can definitely see there being a large potential for these kinds of apps to play a role in the classroom. Students are glued to these kinds of technologies, and if educators can tap into this successfully, students can take materials used in the classroom home for additional practice outside of the traditional textbook homework assignments.
If anyone has any experience using any of these math apps from the iTunes store, I would really like to hear about it.
I am so glad that you brought this topic up and am kicking myself for not thinking of it myself. It seems that many of the students in the classes that I observe for fieldwork don't have any graphing or scientific calculator. Due to lack of funding, the school also does not supply students with calculators which puts them at a grave disadvantage. My teacher showed the class some apple and android apps that replicate scientific and graphing calculators. Though she does not allow phones during tests or quizzes, she did tell students to use the apps for their homework if they don't have a calculator. I downloaded a graphing calculator app myself and was pleasantly how accurate and interactive it was. It was an experience alien to conventional calculators but nonetheless got the job done and even brought the concepts to life with various features. I commend Apple for approving such an educational tool and hope to see more math based apps to help our students as they progress onwards in their academic career.
ReplyDeleteWow this is really a suprise for me. I never knew Apple made such apps and its great to know that Apple is making apps that are useful in education. I'm on the same page as you Justin when it comes to wanting to find out how these apps actually work and if they are in fact useful. I see from Marco's comment above that one of his fieldwork teachers mentioned these apps to her students. If teachers are aware of these apps and I are telling the student to use them in replace of the convential calculator, it can be a very useful educational tool. Graphing calculators are very expensive, so for the students who cant afford to buy one, maybe these apps are exactly what they need. I am now going to research more into these apps and even try to download one myself because I never knew such apps existed until reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteJustin, I am on the same page as you. From all the Apple products, I only own an iPod, and it is way too ancient to gets apps or even Wi-Fi or have a camera. I, too, want to get to know how well these apps work with helping students, etc. After reading Marco's comment and Cara's blog on continuing her discussion about the topic, I can see that the Graphing Calculator App seems to be really successful. In regards to Marco's comment about his fieldwork teacher, it scary to see that these children are being deprived of such a great technology in the mathematics field. Saying this, I am pleased to hear that the teacher introduced this app to her students, so they can get to know the graphing calculator at home and use it for homework. At least they are getting some experience with this technology.
ReplyDeleteJustin, these apps are better than I would ever expect them to be. You mention a graphic calculator, and I have to say that so many times my iPod saved my life when I forgot to take my graphing calculator to school (but I never forgot my iPod, go figure). More than that, when I was taking Linear Algebra and Abstract Algebra courses there were topics that I needed help with, that help came from a app I got from iTunes - Khan Academy. It is a great collection of videos helping with Math. It's very easy to understand, because these videos are made to help anyone. Khan Academy can also be accessed through the website http://www.khanacademy.org/ . Another app I use is reference application that is a collection of many math formulas, it's quick and easy to use and has everything in one place, organized by subject.
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