AUTOGRAPH 3: inspiring the juniors (11-16) with dynamic software

Abstract

This will be a chance to experience classroom activities using the dynamic, selectable objects in Autograph. This hands-on workshop will offer lesson plans covering a wide variety of topics for ages 11-16 (using Autograph's “Standard Level” of operation).

There will be practice in creating and selecting objects, setting up animations, using the ‘slow plot’ feature and the various zoom controls. Also, the relationship between Autograph and standard Office packages will be explored, including importing data from Excel, and exporting images and tables of data to Word.

Delegates will be able to explore the use of Autograph with an Interactive Whiteboard or with a Tablet laptop, using the built-in scribble and rub-out tools and the on-screen keyboard (with the special 'Arial for Autograph' font of everyday mathematical symbols).

Delegates will be able to test whether they believe that the use of software such as Autograph can increase the student’s understanding of mathematics, and whether such understanding is longer lasting as a result of exposure to dynamic images.

Autograph’s simulations and animations will be used to bring key introductory concepts to life, including graphs, trigonometry, vectors and transformations.

Applications in statistics will also be explored dynamically, including data handling for practical coursework tasks, and useful visualisations of the tricky concepts of discrete and continuous data, and frequency density.

Autograph resources, including a growing number of ‘Flash’ Turbo-Demo tutorials, can be found on: http://www.autograph-maths.com