Stevens, I Tech Review
Save the Zogs
Purpose and Target Audience
Purpose: The purpose of this technology is to learn about linear equations and the lines they create. Students play a game to that is intended for them to explore the following questions:
What happens when the slope is zero? What effect does the y-intercept have on the position of the line?
Target Audience: 6th-8th graders
What happens when the slope is zero? What effect does the y-intercept have on the position of the line?
Target Audience: 6th-8th graders
Mathematical Standards (CCGPS) and Alignment with Common Core
Save the Zogs supports Grade 6 Common Core Math Standards in Expressions and Equations
as well as Grade 8 Math Standards under Functions.
Mathematical Standards (CCGPS) Addressed by “Save the Zogs”
as well as Grade 8 Math Standards under Functions.
Mathematical Standards (CCGPS) Addressed by “Save the Zogs”
Technology Discussion
How well does it work?
Overall the technology works well. The structure of the program is well done and there are appropriate limitations for the graphs that students can create so that the student can explore within the bounds of the program. Moreover, the program gives varying scenarios that enable the student to explore various linear equations and develop an understanding behind slopes and slope intercepts. As students progress through the levels, the linear equations the student must consider become more complex (e.g. increasing/decreasing the slope, shifting the lines up and down by changing the y-intercept.
Another benefit of this program is that it considers the relationship between linear equations and their corresponding graphs in both directions. Not only must the student be able to determine/write the linear equation for the line they wish to form on the graph based on the location of the Zogs, but they must also be able to identify equations that describe the different lines.
Furthermore, students must consider the relationship between the Zogs (points on the graph) in order to write choose or create linear equations that correspond to this relationship. A student can use the "tracking controls" to find which line they think passes through the most Zogs on the screen, but then the student must translate this line into a linear equation.
However, considering the technical aspects of the program, sometimes the user needs to press the "Next" button twice to move to the next screen. Also, sometimes the sliding slope goes opposite of traditional slope direction (i.e. it drags the slope from the bottom of the screen left to right). Furthermore, slopes can only be integers.
Are the written materials well organized and useful?
The directions are clear and specific about the purpose of each level. The learning goals and achievements are given at the beginning and end of each lesson. There is feedback if the user responds incorrectly. Initially, helpful hints are given and the student can retry the level, but the correct line is drawn in after 4 incorrect tries. However, there is no explanation for the correct solution provided when this occurs.
Examples of Hints:
1. Have you used the tracking controls to find the best line?
2. What's the slope of your line? Does the line move uphill (positive) or downhill (negative)?
3. Choose two points on your line and calculate the slope.
What are the purposes and goals for using this technology? Does the technology reach this goal?
The purpose of this game is to teach students about linear equations and their graphs. Yes, the technology reaches this goal by allowing students to determine the relationships between points and progressively leading the student to writing and graphing linear equations in y=ax+b form.
Is the technology relatively easy to use?
The directions are clear and the concept of the game is fairly simple and intuitive. The slope slider can be a little finicky.
Does this technology enhance or extend the teaching and learning process for the intended mathematics concepts? How and why?
This technology has the potential to extend teaching and learning by allowing the students to explore several examples while noting the relationships they see. Be wary of the tracking controls, though. The student has the ability to avoid any sort of reasoning between the relationship of the Zogs on the screen. This can be done if the student simply uses the tracking controls to create a line and then uses memorized rules of linear equations to determine the linear equation (e.g. rise-over-run). This could lead to a student simply memorizing the y=ax+b form and not enable the student to extend the learning process of the concept.
When exploring linear relationships, it is important for students to develop a sense of the proportional change between quantities. This can easily be done by considering linear relationships between quantities such as traveling a constant velocity and creating a distance/time graph. Since this graph is merely a map where x and y refer to position and do not stand for any other quantities, students may have difficulty interpreting graphs when another context is provided. It may cause students to focus more on the shape of the line and not the relationship between two points on the line. That is why a teacher should maintain the focus of the game as an exploration between the relationships between the points and not a reliance on procedural methods for find the equation for a line going through two (or more) points.
Overall, I would rank the game as high in mathematical and pedogogical fidelity for its adherence to equations of lines and its ease of use, but lower in cognitive fidelity without some guidance from the teacher to focus on the relationships between the location of the Zogs.
Recommendation?
I would recommend this tool provided the teacher moves the focus from learning procedures to determining relationships. It has great potential for allowing students to focus on the relationships between points rather than using memorized rules to construct linear equations. The many examples also give students a stronger sense of how the numbers in the linear equation affect the resulting line on the graph. Furthermore, the website provides free games for students that include a variety of mathematical topics from pre-algebra to geometry to ratios and percentages.
Overall the technology works well. The structure of the program is well done and there are appropriate limitations for the graphs that students can create so that the student can explore within the bounds of the program. Moreover, the program gives varying scenarios that enable the student to explore various linear equations and develop an understanding behind slopes and slope intercepts. As students progress through the levels, the linear equations the student must consider become more complex (e.g. increasing/decreasing the slope, shifting the lines up and down by changing the y-intercept.
Another benefit of this program is that it considers the relationship between linear equations and their corresponding graphs in both directions. Not only must the student be able to determine/write the linear equation for the line they wish to form on the graph based on the location of the Zogs, but they must also be able to identify equations that describe the different lines.
Furthermore, students must consider the relationship between the Zogs (points on the graph) in order to write choose or create linear equations that correspond to this relationship. A student can use the "tracking controls" to find which line they think passes through the most Zogs on the screen, but then the student must translate this line into a linear equation.
However, considering the technical aspects of the program, sometimes the user needs to press the "Next" button twice to move to the next screen. Also, sometimes the sliding slope goes opposite of traditional slope direction (i.e. it drags the slope from the bottom of the screen left to right). Furthermore, slopes can only be integers.
Are the written materials well organized and useful?
The directions are clear and specific about the purpose of each level. The learning goals and achievements are given at the beginning and end of each lesson. There is feedback if the user responds incorrectly. Initially, helpful hints are given and the student can retry the level, but the correct line is drawn in after 4 incorrect tries. However, there is no explanation for the correct solution provided when this occurs.
Examples of Hints:
1. Have you used the tracking controls to find the best line?
2. What's the slope of your line? Does the line move uphill (positive) or downhill (negative)?
3. Choose two points on your line and calculate the slope.
What are the purposes and goals for using this technology? Does the technology reach this goal?
The purpose of this game is to teach students about linear equations and their graphs. Yes, the technology reaches this goal by allowing students to determine the relationships between points and progressively leading the student to writing and graphing linear equations in y=ax+b form.
Is the technology relatively easy to use?
The directions are clear and the concept of the game is fairly simple and intuitive. The slope slider can be a little finicky.
Does this technology enhance or extend the teaching and learning process for the intended mathematics concepts? How and why?
This technology has the potential to extend teaching and learning by allowing the students to explore several examples while noting the relationships they see. Be wary of the tracking controls, though. The student has the ability to avoid any sort of reasoning between the relationship of the Zogs on the screen. This can be done if the student simply uses the tracking controls to create a line and then uses memorized rules of linear equations to determine the linear equation (e.g. rise-over-run). This could lead to a student simply memorizing the y=ax+b form and not enable the student to extend the learning process of the concept.
When exploring linear relationships, it is important for students to develop a sense of the proportional change between quantities. This can easily be done by considering linear relationships between quantities such as traveling a constant velocity and creating a distance/time graph. Since this graph is merely a map where x and y refer to position and do not stand for any other quantities, students may have difficulty interpreting graphs when another context is provided. It may cause students to focus more on the shape of the line and not the relationship between two points on the line. That is why a teacher should maintain the focus of the game as an exploration between the relationships between the points and not a reliance on procedural methods for find the equation for a line going through two (or more) points.
Overall, I would rank the game as high in mathematical and pedogogical fidelity for its adherence to equations of lines and its ease of use, but lower in cognitive fidelity without some guidance from the teacher to focus on the relationships between the location of the Zogs.
Recommendation?
I would recommend this tool provided the teacher moves the focus from learning procedures to determining relationships. It has great potential for allowing students to focus on the relationships between points rather than using memorized rules to construct linear equations. The many examples also give students a stronger sense of how the numbers in the linear equation affect the resulting line on the graph. Furthermore, the website provides free games for students that include a variety of mathematical topics from pre-algebra to geometry to ratios and percentages.
Activity
Allow the students to go to the website and to play the game for 10 minutes or so (you can also assign the students to play the game for homework and come to class so they are immediately ready to jump into answering the questions). Ask the students to answer the questions in the handout (in groups or individually) on a piece of paper. (Note: You can also project the questions on the screen.)
Questions (pdf)
Questions (.docx)
Questions (pdf)
Questions (.docx)