Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Why do social networks matter in teaching and learning?

Alec Couros asked this question on his blog, and is looking for lots of answers. Here's mine:

Hi Alec,

No time for video. I barely know how, and I'm on vacation. But the networking I do online has changed my life, and I'd love to share.


How the Internet Made Me a Mathematician and an Editor


I've been teaching math at college level for over twenty years (mostly here).
I have a son who was in a 'freeschool' (defunct now)
And I wanted to help out with math there.
So I started reading Living Math Forum, to think about how to teach kids.

On Living Math Forum
I learned about Out of the Labyrinth: Setting Mathematics Free,
by Bob and Ellen Kaplan.
I read it and loved it.
Their website, themathcircle.org,
Mentioned their summer Math Circle Teacher Training Institute.
I went. It was amazing.
I met Kate, Jesse, Ben, Amanda, and a few others (who don't do the online thing).

After following Kate's wonderful blog for a while, I decided to start my own.
I also started connecting locally with math circle folks, like Josh Zucker who runs the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival,
And Paul Zeitz, who wrote The Art and Craft of Problem Solving.

I also began a monthly math gathering in my home,
Which was videotaped by Jeremy Stuart and Roy Robles
As part of a film on homeschooling they're producing.

If I think of a mathematical problem I'd like to work on,
I know all these people have my back.
When I get stuck,
They'll be there.

I've solved a problem I was stuck on for decades
(And got my solution process published),
And then a problem inspired by the game of Spot It.
(Each pair of cards has exactly one matching picture -
How do they do that?!)
I've explored Pythagorean triples.
I've built a stellated dodecahedron out of Polydrons.

And then there's our book,
Playing With Math:
Stories from Math Circles, Homeschoolers, and Passionate Teachers
.
I've gathered 35 authors together to share their stories
(Which I mostly found through my internet connections).
Due out this fall.

None of this could have happened even ten years ago.
Math is in my life in a way it never could have been before the internet.
I saw that when I taught linear algebra this year -
I had a blast teaching some hard material,
And I think my students had fun learning it.

4 comments:

  1. What a great journey thus far, Sue. The Internet definitely is my PD of choice. Out of the Labyrinth was the only book I bought at the famous Powell's Bookstore in Portland with a gazillion books. A month later, my superintendent photocopied one whole chapter from the book for me with a note: Have you seen this book? :)

    I didn't know about your Math Salon. What a lovely idea and video. You looked wonderful in it, Sue. And I look forward to reading Playing with Math. I just bought Tanton's Solve This last night since Paul Zeitz recommended it.

    Thank you, Sue.

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  2. Thank you, Fawn. I will definitely be using some of your ideas. I've been thinking about getting my calc II students to build up the volume of rotation ideas from a stronger basis, by having them derive the area of a circle. (They like to mix up area and circumference...)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I forgot about the math book, but now I'm remembering a conversation we had about math and story (and how I use the elements of literature with word problems).

    Your blog (along with David Wees and Dan Meyer) shaped my approach to teaching math.

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  4. Thank you for letting me know that, John. That means a lot to me.

    ReplyDelete

 
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