The Adventure Continues ...

Our adventures in blogging continue....

Watch for 3 new blogs going live September 6, 2006 ...

• Pre-Cal 30S (Fall '06) (Grade 11)
• Pre-Cal 40S (Fall '06) (Grade 12)
• AP Calculus AB 2006-07 (Grade 12)

So Long ...

We had our graduation exercises today. A gentle push into the world for you. I hope you're leaving with the keys to your future in your hand.

I'm so glad we've had this time together,

Just to have a laugh or learn some math,

Seems we've just got started and before you know it,

Comes the time we have to say, "So Long!"

So long everybody! Watch this space in the fall for pointers to new blogs for each of my classes.

Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu, and all those good bye things. ;-)

The end or the beginning?

As the school year comes to a close, do you view it as an end or a beginning ?

Optimization Skill Building

Here are two games I'd like you to spend some time playing to build your spatial visualization skills:

• 3D Tic Tac Toe


• Can You Build It? Yes You Can!
  (Click on the [+] next to the word Explorations. Use the tools to build the illustrated solid.)

Also spend some time refamiliarizing yourself with the properties and formulas for various geomteric shapes and solids.

• An Interactive Course on Shapes


• Interactive Solid Geometry
  

Finally, some reviews and quizzes on solving optimization problems.

• Max and Min of a Function Problems Tutorial


• Distance-time Optimization Problems Tutorial


• Area Optimization Problems Tutorial


• Using Derivatives to Graph Functions Tutorial


• Problem Solving Quiz
  (Do only questions 1-3.)


• Optimization Problems with Solutions and Animations
  (The animations are great! They'll really help you to understand what's going on.)

Email me if you hit any snags. ;-)

Cheers!
Mr. K.

Starting Over--

It's been pretty quiet on this blog. I'm afraid that perhaps in my enthusiasm to join your blog and learn what I could of calculus, I burst into your space instead of entering unobtrusively. Maybe the best analogy is that I was too much like a young kid running into a room excited to share what was going on. I never introduced myself, just started right in. But I'm not a young kid, and a 60 year old woman should know much better! :) I hope you'll let me start over again--

Hi! My name is Lani. My former students called me Mrs. Hall or Ms. Ritter. I hope you might feel comfortable using my first name.

Who am I: I live in Ohio. I am a former classroom teacher; I taught for 33 years in the United States and two years in Ontario, Canada. (My mother was Canadian and I have many relatives in Ontario.) I design online courses for teachers now, working from home on my computer. I cherish the memories of those 35 years and I keep in touch with many of my students. I love to cook, garden, read and walk with my husband and our German shepherd, Harley, in the park.

How did I get here: I learned about your blog from Mr. K . I had emailed him to let him know that I hoped I might become a mentor for some of his students (I miss the interaction with students). Mr. K. agreed that I might become a mentor (even when he learned that I am not strong in math!) and I chose your class!

Why am I here: I hoped to learn some calculus AND I wanted an opportunity to engage young people again in conversations about learning and life.

Now that I think about it, we do a lot of starting over in school and life don't we? I remember when I was young, before computers, I used to start over a lot so my homework would be just right. Thank goodness computers now make it easier to fix those mistakes! I started over when my family moved when I was in the fifth grade; we left New York for Michigan. I started over when I went away to college in Indiana. I started over when I moved to Ontario to teach for two years. I start over a lot when I write, trying to get just the right word that captures what I mean. I start over often when I speak, for the same reason. My list could go on and on. Do you think you'll have a long list too, by the time you get to 60? I wonder if this whole notion of starting over, has to do with learning all our lives?. Do you think?

And so I start over again here, hoping that you'll share some of what you are learning with me. If you're willing, can you explain some of the basic calculus concepts you've learned with me and also what you know of starting over?

Perseverance

Would you agree? Have you had lots of perseverance lately?

The DaVinci Code Quest Sunday

It started last week. Google releases one puzzle each day for 24 days until the movie "The Da Vinci Code" is released in May. So far 7 puzzles have been released. You have to solve the puzzle to reveal a clue. Then you have to answer the clue question(s) to advance to the next puzzle. You can win a prize for solving all 24 puzzles. Now I realize this is all about marketing and they're really just trying to get as many of us as possible to go see the movie but the puzzles are really cool! Google searching often helps to find the answers. One of the puzzle questions can be answered using The Fundamental Principle of Counting and the very first (sudoku-like) puzzle uses a couple of mathematical symbols.

Challenge 1: What is the question that can be solved using The Fundamental Principle of Counting and how do you use the counting principle to find the answer?

Challenge 2: What mathematical symbol is used in the very first puzzle and what number does it represent? (Not the "delta," in a later puzzle it has a different meaning.)

You have to sign up for a Google Homepage in order to play, but that's a free and very useful service. After that you can begin the game. Click on the US button to start 24 days of fun! (Actually, 17 because you could work through the first eight today.) Don't forget to also find the answers to the Challenge Questions above!. ;-)