Dear Geometry Teacher,

ESchool and I would like to invite you to join us in I-MATH! What, you may wonder, is that?

I-MATH is a Professional Development Class for teachers in Hawaii. The class will be taught through email and the internet, a Distance Learning Class, September of 2000 through May of 2001. In this class, teachers will learn how to integrate technology into mathematics classes, primarily for geometry classes, but with some algebra 1 and 2 applications. So what will you learn?

Let me try and describe it to you. Imagine a classroom in which you can show your students clear and accurate geometric diagrams that help them visualize triangles in all shapes and sizes, polygons, parallel lines, all in color and accurately drawn.

Imagine then, that the students themselves can draw and manipulate the figures, and experiment, interactively, to discover their properties! Hard to imagine? If your computer can view Java Applets, click on the link below to experience interactive geometry:

If your computer can't view Java Applets, let me try to describe it. The drawing below is a diagram of a triangle with 3 altitudes. When we are teaching altitudes in geometry, we usually find that students don't have too much trouble drawing or visualizing altitudes in acute triangles, as shown below.

But students do have a bit more trouble with right and obtuse triangles. With a program called The Geometer's Sketchpad, a student can click on the vertex A and "drag" with the mouse, and the triangle changes from acute to right to obtuse, as in the series of drawings below. But using the Geometer's Sketchpad software, the student can watch it move.

 

So what's the point? The point is that this allows students to interact with geometric figures and investigate their properties. It allows them to become involved, to learn, and to discover geometry. It motivates discussion, and can be used to lead into a reason to write proofs of these properties.

Now imagine that your geometry students, having become excited about geometry, can expand their knowledge of the subject by exploring fascinating websites on the internet, showing them interesting applications of mathematics, and exploring new mathematical ideas.

Imagine your students creating their own geometric explanations and projects, and publishing their own work on the internet! For an example, please visit some of my own students' projects on the Math Forum web site:

Using this tool, and the vast resources of the internet, teachers can create Connected Classrooms where students explore and create a very dynamic geometry. For more examples, please visit the following websites: