The importance of being accessible: The graphics calculator in mathematics education

The first decade of the availability of graphics calculators in secondary schools has just concluded, although evidence for this is easier to find in some countries and schools than in others, since there are gross socio-economic differences in both cases. It is now almost the end of the second decade since the invention of microcomputers and their appearance in mathematics educational settings. Most of the interest in technology for mathematics education has been concerned with microcomputers. But there has been a steady increase in interest in graphics calculators by students, teachers, curriculum developers and examination authorities, in growing recognition that accessibility of technology at the level of the individual student is the key factor in responding appropriately to technological change; the experience of the last decade suggests very strongly that mathematics teachers are well advised to pay more attention to graphics calculators than to microcomputers. There are clear signs that the commercial marketplace, especially in the United States, is acutely aware of this trend. It was recently reported that current US sales of graphics calculators are around six million units per year, and rising. There are now four major corporations developing products aimed directly at the high school market, with all four producing graphics calculators of high quality and beginning to understand the educational needs of students and their teachers. To get some evidence of this interest, I scanned a recent issue (April 1995) of The Mathematics Teacher, the NCTM journal focussed on high school mathematics. The evidence was very strong: of almost 20 full pages devoted to paid advertising, nine featured graphics calculators, while only two featured computer products, with two more featuring both computers and graphics calculators. The main purposes of this paper are to explain and justify this heightened level of interest in graphics calculators at the secondary school level, and to identify some of the resulting implications for mathematics education, both generally, and in the South-East Asian region

Graphics calculators in upper secondary courses

This paper has been produced on request of the Secondary Education Authority, as part of a process of considering the potential impact of graphics calculators on upper secondary school courses. The paper provides background on this matter for the Authority and for committee members, including syllabus committees that may be affected by the decision to permit the use of graphics calculators in Tertiary Entrance Examinations

Teaching and Learning Data Visualization: Ideas and Assignments

This article discusses how to make statistical graphics a more prominent element of the undergraduate statistics curricula. The focus is on several different types of assignments that exemplify how to incorporate graphics into a course in a pedagogically meaningful way. These assignments include having students deconstruct and reconstruct plots, copy masterful graphs, create one-minute visual revelations, convert tables into `pictures', and develop interactive visualizations with, e.g., the virtual earth as a plotting canvas. In addition to describing the goals and details of each assignment, we also discuss the broader topic of graphics and key concepts that we think warrant inclusion in the statistics curricula. We advocate that more attention needs to be paid to this fundamental field of statistics at all levels, from introductory undergraduate through graduate level courses. With the rapid rise of tools to visualize data, e.g., Google trends, GapMinder, ManyEyes, and Tableau, and the increased use of graphics in the media, understanding the principles of good statistical graphics, and having the ability to create informative visualizations is an ever more important aspect of statistics education

Agile thinking in motion graphics practice and its potential for design education

Motion Graphics is relatively new subject and its methodologies are still being developed. There are useful lessons to be learnt from the practice in early cinema from the 1890's to the 1930's where Agile thinking was used by a number of practitioners including Fritz Lang. Recent studies in MA Motion Graphics have accessed some of this thinking incorporating them in a series of Motion Graphic tests and experiments culminating in a two minute animation “1896 Olympic Marathon”. This paper demonstrates how the project and its design methodology can contribute new knowledge for the practice and teaching of this relatively new and expanding area of Motion Graphic Design. This would be not only invaluable to the International community of Motion Graphic practitioners, Educators and Researchers in their development of this maturing field. But also to the broader Multidisciplinary disciplines within Design Education. These methodologies have been arrived at by accessing the work of creative and reflective practice as defined by Carol Grey and Julian Marlin in Visualizing Research (2004) and reflective practice as defined by Donald Schon (1983). Central to the investigation has been the approach of Agile thinking from the methodology of "Bricolage" by Levi Strauss "The Savage Mind" (1966)

Engineering Education Improvement Opportunities Using Computer Games

This paper deals with differences between thinking styles of the new generation and previous one affected by information technologies in framework of engineering graphics education in Riga Technical University. This article deals with specific aspects of engineering graphics teaching and key principles of the educational computer games. Recommendations are offered for improvement of engineering graphics education and quality of teaching using computer games. Various models of games are offered according to intended learning objectives

Computer Graphics Education at the Faculty of Informatics of Kansai University

This paper describes the Computer Graphics education at the Faculty of Informatics, which is newly established in 1994, of Kansai University. This faculty focuses on inter-academic research and educational fields related to "information," which involves science, engineering, sociology, economics, politics, and so on. Recently, Computer Graphics has been playing an important role in visualizing several kinds of information, so that fundamental education in Computer Graphics will be required in every field. The resulting educational problem in this faculty concerns the different motivations, goals, backgrounds and skills of students should be educated equally in the same classes. To solve this problem, a multi-modal curriculum involving one lecture and two laboratory sessions for 3-D Computer Graphics has been established as the most effective way to diseminate knowledge and skills for all students. The hardware and software environments for laboratory sessions are considered, and the validity of the educational system is evaluated in the preliminary laboratory session and private seminar using a high-end graphics system during 1995

Blood Sugar, Your Pancreas, and Unicorns: The Development of Health Education Materials for Youth With Prediabetes

Background. The obesity epidemic has led to an increase in prediabetes in youth, causing a serious public health concern. Education on diabetes risk and initiation of lifestyle change are the primary treatment modalities. There are few existing age-appropriate health education tools to address diabetes prevention for high-risk youth. Aim. To develop an age-appropriate health education tool(s) to help youth better understand type 2 diabetes risk factors and the reversibility of risk. Method. Health education tool development took place in five phases: exploration, design, analysis, refinement, and process evaluation. Results. The project resulted in (1) booklet designed to increase knowledge of risk, (2) meme generator that mirrors the booklet graphics and allows youth to create their own meme based on their pancreas’ current mood, (3) environmental posters for clinic, and (4) brief self-assessment that acts as a conversation starter for the health educators. Conclusion. Patients reported high likability and satisfaction with the health education tools, with the majority of patients giving the materials an “A” rating. The process evaluation indicated a high level of fidelity and related measures regarding how the health education tools were intended to be used and how they were actually used in the clinic setting