Reaching for a Star

My father-in-law gave me this awesome quote and I thought I'd share it.

I'd rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are;
because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star.
I'd rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far;
for a might have-been has never been,
but a has-been was once an are.
Milton Berle

I'm going to give this quote to my students when I get back from spring break.

Free Virtual Calculator

PLEASE NOTE: THE CREATORS OF THIS SOFTWARE ASKED THAT ONLY OWNERS OF TI 83'S AND 84'S USE THIS PROGRAM. (I ACTUALLY THINK THE MORE THIS PROGRAM IS DISTRIBUTED, THE MORE BUSINESS TI WILL MAKE) THE LINK BELOW IS NOT MY WEBSITE.

http://www.cecisafadi.com/virtualti/ti83.htm

Do you have a virtual calculator on your computer? It is easy to download. Follow the instructions on the website and you will have yourself a TI 83 on your computer and for the data projector in a snap. The best part of this is if you have a IWB, then you can have a student model the keystrokes that you should use when using the calculator. If you are not too techie, then ask someone who can help you to take these steps. It will not take too long. With a restart about 10 minutes.

Here is what I did to get the calculator on my laptop:
1. Make a folder called "Virtual TI83" in the Programs folder
2. Click the "vti.zip" file and all of the files should show (if you don't have a zip program, there is one at the bottom of the website "unzip32-312.exe" that you can install to be able to unzip the files)
3. Put the unzipped files into the folder "Virtual TI83" from step 1.
4. Download "ti83 Plus v1.03.rom" to the folder "Virtual TI83" from step 1.
5. Go to the folder "Virtual TI83" and click on the "vti.exe" file to start the program. It will ask you to set the ROM calculator version and then you will be ready to go.
6. When using the calculator and you would like to turn it off, right click while you are pointed on the calculator, and click on Exit without saving state or Exit and save state.
7. Now make a shortcut for your desktop. I do this by right clicking on the "vit.exe" file and sending it to make a shortcut on the desktop.

The Human Ambigous Case

Today was something new for me. I put a masking tape angle on the floor. It was an acute angle. Then I had a tall person and a short person volunteer for the activity.
I had the tall person on the ground in line with the acute angle already on the floor. I had the short person forming a triangle with the tall person and the tape on the ground. It was quite a site. The students were really interested in what was happening. Keeping the same vertex, I asked the students to make another triangle if possible. The students found it quickly. I had a third student put masking tape on the triangle positions that were formed. I had the students talk with their partner and write down any observations they had about the resulting figure. We had a rich discussion sharing out their ideas.
Then I formed groups of three with the class. One of the three was to cut out a longer strip of paper, another was to cut out a short strip of paper, and the third was to cut out an acute angle. The were to physically make the SSA example with their paper Side, Side and Angle. All groups worked well with this and some interesting results occurred. The usual two case scenerio occurred. One group found that theirs did not reach. Another group found that theirs only formed one triangle. Each group of three drew their results on the board.
It gave me a way to describe something mathematical in an easy way. I used language like Side (Anthony) Side (Michelle) and Angle (Acute). After I felt like the students were much more engaged in the process. It took most of the period to do it. We did one problem at the end of the class and that problem went extremely well. I think that moving while learning is important for the brain to remember what is happening.