How To Save Tweets?

Posted on August 11, 2014 by emrefirat

Whether you are using Twitter for educational purposes or not you might want to save your tweets for future. According to experts life of a tweet is approximately 30 minutes. This means when you share something amazing, useful, shocking it will be lost in the deep waters of Twitter. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could save your tweets and reach the content whenever you want? This way you can share your messages again. There is a practical way to do this. You can simply archieve your tweets under Settings menu.

This method is fast but not very efficient. I personally would like to have my tweets in a spreadsheet or in a word processor. Currently there are lots of tools which can do that for you but I don’t use any of them. I use IFTTT – If This then That which is simply this:

IFTTT is not only for Twitter. It can be used for many websites and apps. I have created following connection – called recipe for myself: If I tweet, then a row to a spreadsheet in my Google Drive is automatically added. I have also created this recipe: If I tweet, then it is appended to a document in my Google Drive. With these recipes my tweets are automatically stored in a Google Spreadsheet and in a Google Doc. With IFTTT it is possible to create different recipes and connect Twitter to other services such as LinkedIn.

What I like in IFTTT is it is a versatile system. There are lots of possibilities and you are limited to your imagination. For example there is a recipe in which you get a notification to your Android device when an astronaut enters space! If you are interested in IFTTT go to ifttt.com and start exploring recipes which will ease your life but first don’t forget to download the app to your mobile device from here https://ifttt.com/mobile

Introducing GeoGebra Dynamic Mathematics Software – Part 2

Posted on July 18, 2014 by emrefirat

In my previous article I tried to explain the reasons behind why GeoGebra is so popular all around the world. As I explained before, it ensures the interactivity in the lessons and enhances the teaching and learning of mathematical concepts. However, using it appropriately and effectively is more important than knowing what it is. In the second part of my article, I will provide examples of the use of GeoGebra in different areas.

Activity 1. Please follow the instructions listed below:

Click on the following link to download latest version of GeoGebra. GeoGebra’s official website.

Write “(x^2+y^2-1)^3 – x^2y^3 = 0” into the input bar and press enter. Be aware that you have already constructed a curve on the window easily.
Right click on the curve and select $C:\Users\Hp\Desktop\Adsız.png$ Object Properties from the popup menu.
Click on the Color found in the second place in horizontal menu and choose the “red”.
Click on the Style found in the third place in the horizontal menu and set the value of $C:\Users\Hp\Desktop\Adsız.png$ Line Thickness Slider for 9. Be aware of the changes on the curve in terms of color and style.
Click on the twelfth icon in the Tool Bar. Use Zoom In Zoom Out and Move Graphics View to get the clear view of the curve.
Click on $C:\Users\Hp\Desktop\Adsız.png$ Close which is in the upper-right corner of the child window to close it.
Click on File located on the upper-left corner of the GeoGebra parent window.
Choose $C:\Users\Hp\Desktop\Adsız.png$ Save from the drop down menu.
Name your GeoGebra file as Activity 1 and save your file.

Figure 1. Plotting graph of (x2+y2-1)3-x2y3=0 in GeoGebra

Now you are finished. Below, you can see some other examples I created to represent how GeoGebra can be used in different areas.

As you can see from examples GeoGebra can be used to encourage discovery and visualize mathematical concepts. I’d like you to take a moment and try to find areas at which GeoGebra can be used to enhance learning. If you visit the GeoGebra forum site you can find examples, teacher discussions and many more useful resources.

I came to the end of my article here. I’d like to add that I am one of the researchers who make studies on GeoGebra. I have just completed my thesis study which aims to develop worksheets including activities similar to Activity-1 so that high school mathematics teachers can use GeoGebra appropriately and efficiently in teaching and learning of geometry.

Finally, I would like to thank Emre Fırat for his helpful comments and sharing my article on his blog.

Hamide Akkoca, MA
Mathematics Teacher-Researcher
Tarsus American College
Email: hamideakkoca@gmail.com
Web: sites.google.com/site/mathematicsedutr

colAR Mix Augmented Reality App For Kids

Posted on June 29, 2014 by emrefirat

When it comes to babies, toddlers or kids I’m against using the drawing/painting apps on iPad or any other digital device. I think kids should do their painting activities in an old-fashioned way where they use all of their senses. I believe it is the right way to follow for a healthy brain development (actually I have read lots of articles and books about this but I’m not going to discuss it now). BUT it is also a fact that digital devices offer activities which can not be done in real world and these activities are also beneficial for kids’ learning and brain development.

This fact creates a dilemma so in order to find a balance I developed a 9:1 ratio rule for my son; 9 activities with pens, paper etc. and 1 activity with iPad (a carefully chosen one). While I was trying to stick to this rule I came across with augmented reality (AR) technology. I was really impressed with the idea (and the Aurasma app). It was simple; open your mobile device’s camera and look around through the screen of your device. Whenever the camera sees a trigger image the AR app starts an animation onto that image. This way you can see the altered/augmented reality through the screen. After spending sometime with Aurasma app I realized that this was just a beginning. Think about Google Glass and AR together. You liked the idea right? But let’s not digress from our topic.

Now I’m presenting you colAR Mix augmented reality app, an AR app for kids. It is a very brilliant application of AR technology. It combines real world no-technology painting activities with technology (where real world activities outweigh technology). It is very easy to use; go to their website and download print pages for painting. Take the printed pages to the kids and let them start painting the pictures with regular pens. Then open the colAR Mix app on an iPad or an Android device and give it to the kids. When they show their paintings to the camera magic happens and their paintings come alive!

Actually the magical things going behind are very simple. The print outs are trigger images for the app and the app developers defined an animation for each image. Also they enriched the animations with additional action buttons which are also animations. If you are confused please take a look at the following video which demonstrates how the app works.

I really liked this app because it combines real-world and technology activities together and creates a perfect balance. It also encourages kids to create their own augmented reality materials. After some time they will finish watching all the animations and will ask for more. The AR apps, like Aurasma, lets them create a channel where they can upload their own trigger images and related animations or videos or web links and share it with the whole world. For now colAR Mix doesn’t have those features but I’m guessing it will very soon.

You can find the download links of the colAR Mix app in their website www.colarapp.com

Power Up PowerPoint With Office Mix

Posted on May 9, 2014 by emrefirat

We are having an edtech bombardment. Every day a new type of technology comes into our life and we start discussing how we can use it in education. The discussions on devices go along with pedagogical methods like Flipped Classroom or Blended Learning. These methods are not new discoveries so our discussions focus on how we can alter these methods by using latest technologies and software applications.

You might be aware of some screen casting apps like ShowMe or Educreations which let you to create videos for your flipped classroom by recording the screen. These apps can record your voice and ink annotations you make on a blank page. They give you the option to insert pictures and some of them support camera recording as well. This means students will be able to see materials you show to camera or your face on the corner of the screen.

You can use these apps to turn your PowerPoint presentations into videos. Simply save your slides as pictures, insert them into one of these apps, press Rec button and start your lecturing…. but this sounds a little bit tiring; you need to do some technical stuff, you will lose animations and other features of PowerPoint and you will switch to another software which you don’t know how to use etc. Since you already know how to use Powerpoint wouldn’t it be perfect if you could do all these things inside PowerPoint without losing any of the features?

Well, Microsoft has a surprise for you. As of May 7^th, 2014 they released Office Mix add-in. This is a small software which installs itself inside PowerPoint and by adding new capabilities to PowerPoint it gives you the opportunity to turn your PowerPoint presentations into interactive online lessons. How cool is that?

The new capabilities are as follows. You can;

– Record your voice, your face and your ink annotations.

– Create quizzes just like you do in any online polling tool. Moreover you can insert feedbacks, hints into your quiz.

– Make a screen recording. (Assume that you need to show a website or a document you created with another software. Click on screen recording and you will see a new toolbar on your screen. Open the other document and press Rec button. When you are done the recording will be inserted in your PowerPoint as a video. You can prefer to save the video outside the PowerPoint as well.)

– Share your document online with whoever you want to.

Now here are some features you don’t expect to see in Office Mix. First one is you can use the exercises and lessons from Khan Academy and CK12 Foundation! Can you believe that? You can directly reach world’s two major open resource sites within PowerPoint.

The second one is the evaluation feature. Office Mix provides detailed analytics so you will be able to see who have watched your lesson, the time they spent in each slide and how they performed on quizzes. Basically you’ll see everything.

You can start using Office Mix by downloading and installing the add-in from here. If you need more information you can go to How To’s page from here.

Before finishing I’d like to add one last important thing. To use this new tool 100% effective you need a touch screen device. Unfortunately traditional laptops or desktops are not suitable.

Ten Skills Every Student Should Learn

Posted on September 25, 2012 by emrefirat

I read an important article and I want to share it with you. You can read the details form here. The ten skills mentioned in the article are;

1) Reading

Reading is the gateway to all knowledge. Krista Bethke

2) Type

If I could choose one skill that I would love students to learn, it would be the proper keyboarding technique. Anonymous

3) Write

In this day of many people applying for the same job, being able to stand out on paper may just be the skill that gets them through the door for that first interview. Myra J. Collins

4) Communicate effectively, and with respect

I would like to see all my students come into my courses with a consistently good ability to clearly, concisely, and understandably present and explain their own thoughts, arguments, and discoveries. Gary Berosik

5) Question

The skill I think students should learn is asking good questions. This is a component of critical thinking that allows students to begin formulating their own ideas. Elly Faden

6) Be resourceful

To be independently resourceful. Students should learn how to find and use resources around them to assist in their learning. Finding things out on your own boosts your learning and makes it stick! Gabrielle Schoppa

7) Be accountable

Lifelong learners need to know their own capacity and what is out there to find and learn. Accountability/responsibility allows students to be lifelong learners. Don Lyon

8) Know how to learn

9) Think critically

10) Be happy

I think last three are clear enough. My vote would go for number 8 if I had to choose one of them. If a student is fully aware of how he learns then it will be easier for him to improve his other skills.

10 Free Organizational Tools for Students and Teachers

Posted on August 10, 2012 by emrefirat

Just a few weeks are left till the start of the new school year. As a part of the digital kit you might be recommending to your students, personal planners shoudl take some priority. Using these tools students will be able to organize their study materials online, make it easily accessible, collaborate and share links and resources with one another and above all improve their scholarly achievement.

Here is a list of such awesome planners you might share with your students. Please share with your colleagues.

10 Free Organizational Tools for Students and Teachers.

Mathalino.com – Online Engineering Mathematics

Posted on July 12, 2012 by emrefirat

Mathalino.com is a compilation of solved engineering problems from different sources. This website targets the following engineering subjects:

College Algebra
Plane and Spherical Trigonometry
Plane, Solid, and Analytic Geometry
Differential and Integral Calculus
Differential Equations
Advance Engineering Mathematics
Engineering Economy
Engineering Mechanics
Strength of Materials

The content of each subject is like a summary of the core part. This is a great source for those who want to see the main parts of a subject.

The authorÂ Romel Verterra is a licensed Civil Engineer in the Philippines. You can find further information atÂ http://www.mathalino.com/about

THE "SHIFT" IN EDUCATION

Category Archives: Resources For Students