Technology Project Reflection
As we enter a digital world, the technology and online programs available to aide the educational process are ever-present. During my educational journey I have worked with Maple and Mathematica, graphing and data analysis programs, and Geometry Pad, a tool that creates geometric shapes and aids in the construction of proofs. This semester I was introduced to Geogebra, mathematics software that aids in algebra, geometry, graphing, and statistics. As a future educator, this free program can help increase student conceptual understanding by creating visuals and providing step-by-step calculations on the provided tool bar.
The picture to the right is a snapshot of a lesson that I created using Geogebra. I chose to focus on creating the graph of a derivative function, a calculus topic that requires students to have an understanding of slopes and tangent lines. Furthermore, students must understand that a derivative is a slope or rate of change. Using Geogebra, students are instructed to type a function into the input bar at the bottom of the screen. Then, using the commands provided on the worksheet, Graphing Tangent Lines and Derivative Functions, students were directed to plot a point "A" on the function and create a tangent line to the point as shown in the figure on the right. The next step was to create a point "B" that represented the slope of the tangent line at point "A." Once students have point "A" and the unique point "B," they were able to use the commands on Geogebra to sketch the derivative function. Lastly, students moved point "A" to different locations along the original function and analyzed the derivative at those points. Geogebra proved to be a great visual tool that deepened students' conceptual understanding of derivatives. For instance, students are taught in calculus that the turning point of a function has a derivative of zero. Using Geogebra, they were able to see that the graph of the derivative function lies on the x-axis when point "A" lies on a turning point. Use of mathematics software tools is a great way to differentiate instruction and help students interact with the mathematics that they are learning in the classroom. |