Transforming functions with Geogebra *UPDATE

Here is a quick transformations of functions app I made with Geogebra for my C3 class. The aim is to use transformations of standard functions (including absolute value) to find the function shown. It's too big to fit properly here, so follow this link to it.

*UPDATED

Also, transformation starter activity:

 

and answers:

Lesson sketch: Online Bearings Game gets 360 times better!

Here it is:

Here is the address for the pupils and to go fullscreen (recommended): http://globalracing.overthefence.heliohost.org

Features:

• Warm-up level, which aims to give pupils a basic idea of bearings (including bearings above 180 degrees). <--Btw. I had to remove features from this section to make it less fun (so pupils would want to progress).
• Three main levels, which progress by getting fewer instructions, requiring more accurate measurements AND increasing the complexity of the scale used. 
• Ability to race whole classes against each other (more on this later).
• 'Extension' level where reverse bearings are practiced (with high score board).
• New 8-bit graphics style.

Racing:

1. To set up a class to race go here: http://globalracing.overthefence.heliohost.org/admin and enter the details on the 'Create a class' form. 
2. Have all the pupils play the game on a different computer. Whenever they complete one of the main three levels they will be asked to type in their 'team name' and 'class code'.
3. They can choose the team name, but make sure they type in the exact class code you created in step one.
4. On a computer with a projector, go back to: http://globalracing.overthefence.heliohost.org/admin and enter the details on the 'Race an existing class' form.
5. On the next page, you are given a list of students to include/take out (this feature is mainly to avoid having somebody choose an inappropriate team name). Choose the teams to race and click 'Race'.
6. Wait for it to load, put it on the big screen, click 'Go'.
7. Watch the magic.

(Btw. If you want to try out adding teams and watching races you can use 'ras' as the school code, and choose races made 'All time')

Why remake this:

I attempted this previously but stopped, a little frustrated, as my knowledge of programming ran out. Learning PHP allowed me to add the data-sharing between computers.

More than that though, I wanted this to be a proof-of-potential; that Maths based computer games don't have to be awful.

My reasons for disliking most games is documented here, and I thought it might be nice to see how I did against my own list:

• Multiple maths skills used in inceasingly difficult combination - Skills involved: bearings, angle measurement, map scales, reflexes, knowledge of shortest route techniques, reverse bearings. Definitie progression between levels.
• Intrinsic reasons that the skills are necessary - Not entirely clear in the main levels unless you know that bearings are still used by boats. The reason is more obvious on the 'extension' level.
• Maths skills are not painful to implement; that game mechanics/input methods do not get in the way, there is flow - I don't like how awkward the protractor is to move around and it does slow things down quite a bit. However, it is an essential part of understanding bearings, and the rest of the game flows fairly well.
• Rewards; feelings of mastery, leader boards, progression of story, new, fun in-game abilities - Different levels have you using the same knowledge of bearings in different and interesting ways, there is competition and feeling of mastery/progression. No real story, but there is a certain satisfaction in saving more people than last time.
• Any additional difficulties or constraints to the maths problems are introduced in a way that feels natural and unvontrived - Only having ten moves is a meaningless constraint. I included the constraint to gently encourage pupils to move away from guessing angles and in to measuring them. This and the other constraints, however, are standards seen in many popular computer games and my hope is that they are pervasive enough to be accepted by pupils.
• The maths problems involved are at least interesting, if not also fun -
  The game is to use and understand bearings correctly. Take away the bearings element and the game is no longer interesting.

 

Please let me know if you find any bugs or have any ideas how the game could be bettered.

Interactive: Polyrhthmic fractions

I've been coding again! See my latest maths game below...

I was inspired by how some of favourite musicians (Joanna Newsom)
overlap simple rhythms containing quarter, sixth and eighth notes and make something that is subtly complex and interesting. The above version is a much more advanced version of these polyrhythms.

I thought that this was an interesting way to look at how fractions add up. I also wanted the game to be a little more informal and sand-boxy than the last, so it allows you to try things out and see what works. Have a play:

 

Direct students to a fullscreen version with this memorable address: thedrummer.rocks.it

Its not perfect. Some of the problems are solvable, others aren't (because my original file has corrupted!!!)

• there's no way to tell which achievements you've done (i was implementing this when the file corrupted)
• you can't save and share your beats, which would have given an incentive to make a good one.
• the tradeoff with it being informal and intuitive is that its gamable and you can get away with using little fraction knowledge - I would solve this by having a worksheet of questions to answer (but only once people have already got in to playing the game). It feels like a cheap cop-out though. What could I have done to make it organically more challenging/rigorous? I would love your thoughts on this.

Interactive: Live Distance-Time Graph Creator

For a recent gifted and talented session I ran, I created This Excel File, which creates a distance time graph live. I gave pupils a pre-made distance time graph and pupils had to recreate it by walking across the room. I used it last week and it worked really great; pupils loved getting up and trying to time their movement. I'm sure it could be used in plenty of other ways too.

 

Setting up the room

• Make a clear path along the length of the room.
• Lay strips of tape in parallel lines spaced one meter apart across the length of the path.

Using the file

Open the file and click 'Enable Content' at the top.

Sheet1 - Creating the distance time graph

• Press reset to delete old values and set the view.
• The 'S' Column contains the timing of the 'Original' line. Change these for a different target graph. (Edit: Times have to be written in this format to work - hh:mm:ss)
• The 'T' Column contains the distance values that are shared between the 'Original' graph and the pupil graph. Change these if your room is a different size.
• Press prime to activate the distance time graph creator.
• Once primed, press enter (on the numeric keypad) every time the student steps across each line of tape, and a new point on the graph will created. (Note: first point created is at (0,0) and also starts the timer)

Sheet 2 - Working out speed
 

• 'View' sets the view
• Each button below this creates the triangles needed to calculate average speeds, but currently must be clicked in order (from top to bottom) for them to work. I will fix this eventually; at the moment the file is limited to my one use session, but I'd love to expand this to be a more multi-purpose graphing tool.

Bearings game: UPDATE

My bearings game now has three levels and instructions on its own site. Clicky

I also thought I'd show you what the race bit of the game looks like: