How well does it work?
The directions on the website explain it all. Graphing Stories is straightforward and user-friendly for both teachers and students. All a teacher needs to do to use this website is pass out the handout and either assign certain videos for the class to watch or allow the students to choose their own. For its purpose it is well designed; however, I wish there was an applet on the website that allowed students to generate graphs on the computer (e.g. Function Carnival).
Are the written materials well organized and useful?
There is little written materials on the website. The directions are three simple lines and the video activities are pretty self-explanatory. Graphing Stories comes with a handout that goes along with the videos. There are drop down menus at the top of the screen that allow the user to sort the videos based on most downloads, recently added, types of graphs, and subject matter of the video. An upside to this site is that it does not need much explanation for students to accomplish the task and gain a better understanding of graphing the relationship between two variables. The lack of directions allows the teacher to determine how to best utilize this resource for their students' needs. Teachers can decide to let students determine which videos to analyze or they can be more methodical about it and choose specific relationships to investigate.
What are the purposes and goals for using this technology? Does the technology
reach this goal?
The purpose of Graphing Stories is for students to analyze a clip of a 15 second activity and draw a graph that describes proportional relationships between a given variable and time. The website gives students a chance to view the video a few times and record their graph before revealing the correct answer. The technology also gives the teacher the opportunity to take a step back and allow students to explore this concept. Graphing Stories definitely reaches its goal of student led explorations of relationships between two variables. In my opinion this resource is best used for the eighth grade unit dealing with linear function and examining proportional relationships in different ways. It can also be used, though, at the high school level to continue a discussion on relationships between two quantities and changes in slopes of a graph. Although the technology might not be as exciting or manipulative as some others that we have examined in class, it does accomplish its goal of giving students a different way to look at graphing and relationships between real-life things.
Is the technology relatively easy to use?
When first looking at the website, students may be unsure of what they are supposed to do. After a brief teacher explanation of the directions, it could not be easier to use. The directions are simple, the videos are interesting, and the students can see the answer at the end of the video.
Does this technology enhance or extend the teaching and learning process for the
intended mathematics concepts? How and why?
In our 8th grade math class last year, we spent several days discussing how to analyze graphs representing speed vs. time, distance vs. time, or height vs. time. A great deal of the activities involved identifying or matching which graphs with certain scenarios. This website gives students a more interactive experience dealing with these types of problems. Students have the ability to draws the graphs of the short video activities as they are occurring and can check for accuracy at the end. The video even graphs the relationship as it replays the clip at the end of the movie. By doing this, students can see how the activity in the clip relates to the graph in a more obvious way. The videos provide students with more concrete proof of the relationship that occurs between a specific variable and time. Though upper level math classes (i.e. high school math classes) may not be able to benefit from this website as much as a middle school class can, I think that high school teachers can still use it to help show relationship and different rates of change in graphs.
The only major downside I see to this website is that it is not as interactive as many of the other applets presented in class. The students are required to use pencil and paper to graph the relationships. With this being said, I still believe that this technology enhances the learning process for students.
Would you recommend this product for purchase to a school? Why or why not?
The website and the handout that comes along with it are free. With that being said, I definitely think that this technology helps students better understand the proportional relationships between two variables. It's purpose may be specific and directed at particular mathematical concept, but it works well to better explain that objective to students than the typical pencil and paper class lesson. Teachers who are creative and think outside the box can use this website for other things as well (e.g. physics). I recommend that teachers, especially middle school math teachers, examine this website and incorporate it into a lesson dealing with linear functions and rate of change.
The directions on the website explain it all. Graphing Stories is straightforward and user-friendly for both teachers and students. All a teacher needs to do to use this website is pass out the handout and either assign certain videos for the class to watch or allow the students to choose their own. For its purpose it is well designed; however, I wish there was an applet on the website that allowed students to generate graphs on the computer (e.g. Function Carnival).
Are the written materials well organized and useful?
There is little written materials on the website. The directions are three simple lines and the video activities are pretty self-explanatory. Graphing Stories comes with a handout that goes along with the videos. There are drop down menus at the top of the screen that allow the user to sort the videos based on most downloads, recently added, types of graphs, and subject matter of the video. An upside to this site is that it does not need much explanation for students to accomplish the task and gain a better understanding of graphing the relationship between two variables. The lack of directions allows the teacher to determine how to best utilize this resource for their students' needs. Teachers can decide to let students determine which videos to analyze or they can be more methodical about it and choose specific relationships to investigate.
What are the purposes and goals for using this technology? Does the technology
reach this goal?
The purpose of Graphing Stories is for students to analyze a clip of a 15 second activity and draw a graph that describes proportional relationships between a given variable and time. The website gives students a chance to view the video a few times and record their graph before revealing the correct answer. The technology also gives the teacher the opportunity to take a step back and allow students to explore this concept. Graphing Stories definitely reaches its goal of student led explorations of relationships between two variables. In my opinion this resource is best used for the eighth grade unit dealing with linear function and examining proportional relationships in different ways. It can also be used, though, at the high school level to continue a discussion on relationships between two quantities and changes in slopes of a graph. Although the technology might not be as exciting or manipulative as some others that we have examined in class, it does accomplish its goal of giving students a different way to look at graphing and relationships between real-life things.
Is the technology relatively easy to use?
When first looking at the website, students may be unsure of what they are supposed to do. After a brief teacher explanation of the directions, it could not be easier to use. The directions are simple, the videos are interesting, and the students can see the answer at the end of the video.
Does this technology enhance or extend the teaching and learning process for the
intended mathematics concepts? How and why?
In our 8th grade math class last year, we spent several days discussing how to analyze graphs representing speed vs. time, distance vs. time, or height vs. time. A great deal of the activities involved identifying or matching which graphs with certain scenarios. This website gives students a more interactive experience dealing with these types of problems. Students have the ability to draws the graphs of the short video activities as they are occurring and can check for accuracy at the end. The video even graphs the relationship as it replays the clip at the end of the movie. By doing this, students can see how the activity in the clip relates to the graph in a more obvious way. The videos provide students with more concrete proof of the relationship that occurs between a specific variable and time. Though upper level math classes (i.e. high school math classes) may not be able to benefit from this website as much as a middle school class can, I think that high school teachers can still use it to help show relationship and different rates of change in graphs.
The only major downside I see to this website is that it is not as interactive as many of the other applets presented in class. The students are required to use pencil and paper to graph the relationships. With this being said, I still believe that this technology enhances the learning process for students.
Would you recommend this product for purchase to a school? Why or why not?
The website and the handout that comes along with it are free. With that being said, I definitely think that this technology helps students better understand the proportional relationships between two variables. It's purpose may be specific and directed at particular mathematical concept, but it works well to better explain that objective to students than the typical pencil and paper class lesson. Teachers who are creative and think outside the box can use this website for other things as well (e.g. physics). I recommend that teachers, especially middle school math teachers, examine this website and incorporate it into a lesson dealing with linear functions and rate of change.