Wednesday, September 30, 2009

30 September 2009

Today in class, we discusses the scheduling component of Criterion I. Our teacher explained that it would be helpful to create it in a table format, show below in shortened form:

Date

Task

Who’s Involved

---

---

---

---

---

---


Tuesday, September 29, 2009

29 September 2009

Our received back our Criterion H today, with our teacher's comments. It was explained that this Criterion needed to explicitly state how the technology would solve the problem. In fact, "How it Solves the Problem" would be a subsection under each technology. I made the necessary edits with this in mind, shown below:

H Analysis and Feasibility Study

Two possible IT solutions are a website or a booklet.
Website:
This website could act as an effective reference tool. Students could visit the site, and find all of the information they need for a certain event. It could be organized by meets, on a main page, with each topic filed under the meet it would be pertinent to. It could have links, so that students could navigate between pages, and go back to the table of contents when necessary. In addition, it could display other information which, although not directly related to the topics, could still be helpful. If, on the website, the days of meets were posted, students could easily access that information as well. It could also be password protected, so that it could be used specifically by the group it was intended for.
Advantages:
It would be easily accessible at the students’ convenience.
There would be no cost involved in visiting the website, as long as the student had internet access; the end-user I am targeting is at least able to access the internet at school, if not at home.
It would be more aesthetically pleasing than a booklet, for I could use things like background color.
The site could be updated if necessary, to clarify on issues or include further information.
Navigation would be simple, and require only a few clicks of a mouse.
There would not really be a limit on the amount of information that could be posted. I could, for example, type out questions used on previous tests as I wanted without using too much space on the web.
Pictures and scanned work could be posted.
It saves paper.
Disadvantages:
There could be times when a student could not access the internet, at which point the site would be useless
For example, there is time for students to study while at the competition, but before the events start, yet there are no computers available for use.
Students might end up simply printing parts of the webpage off, so that they could study on the go.
Teachers would have to make sure all of the math students knew the website’s address.
How it Solves the Problem:
Math students would be able to, whenever they were in need of information on the current math event, could log into this website and find what they need. All the properties they need will be contained within the one website. This will allow them to cut down the time they spend looking for these hard to find properties, and help them do better, overall, when presented with similar properties at math meets.
Booklet:
This would also have all of the necessary information, and would be organized based on meets and events. It would allow students to find all of the formulas and vocabulary needed, and could even make use of an index.
Advantages:
Could be more portable than a website, and taken where needed.
An index could be added, for easy navigation.
Students or teachers could write in the book
Disadvantages:
It would also use a large amount of paper, which is not necessarily environmentally friendly.
It would be expensive to print.
Due to the cost of printing, it might be necessary for there to be only a “classroom copy.” If this were to happen, students could only access it when the teacher was inside their classroom.
Even if it was given to students, it would be difficult for them to carry around.
It could not be edited or added to when published.
How it Solves the Problem:
Students could, whenever unsure of what a formula or property is, could simply flip open this booklet and find the missing information. Furthermore, it could help them study for whatever events they were in, since all of the information would be in one place. This too would make it much simpler to prepare for the meets, and would help improve student scores.
Feasibility Comparison
One important thing to consider is the cost of the project. I am unsure as to whether or not the school would provide the funding needed to print large quantities of booklets, as they have not yet addressed our request for money to purchase t-shirts for new members. In this respect, it would be preferable to choose the lower-cost option.
In addition, it is important to address my skill level in the production of these two technologies. While I have some experience in creating web pages, and have taken an art class (and therefore know some basic, aesthetic things which could be useful in web design), I would be unsure of how to start forming a booklet. I don’t even know what kind of programs would be useful, and would have to spend time figuring that out.
With all of this in mind, I have decided to go with the web page.

Monday, September 21, 2009

21 Septermber 2009

Today, we turned in our Criterion H. Following the format our teacher recommended, I created mine as follows:

H Analysis and Feasibility Study

Two possible IT solutions are a website or a booklet.

Website:

This website could act as an effective reference tool. Students could visit the site, and find all of the information they need for a certain event. It could be organized by meets, on a main page, with each topic filed under the meet it would be pertinent to. It could have links, so that students could navigate between pages, and go back to the table of contents when necessary. In addition, it could display other information which, although not directly related to the topics, could still be helpful. If, on the website, the days of meets were posted, students could easily access that information as well. It could also be password protected, so that it could be used specifically by the group it was intended for.

Advantages:

It would be easily accessible at the students’ convenience.

There would be no cost involved in visiting the website, as long as the student had internet access; the end-user I am targeting is at least able to access the internet at school, if not at home.

It would be more aesthetically pleasing than a booklet, for I could use things like background color.

The site could be updated if necessary, to clarify on issues or include further information.

Navigation would be simple, and require only a few clicks of a mouse.

There would not really be a limit on the amount of information that could be posted. I could, for example, type out questions used on previous tests as I wanted without using too much space on the web.

Pictures and scanned work could be posted.

It saves paper.

Disadvantages:

There could be times when a student could not access the internet, at which point the site would be useless

For example, there is time for students to study while at the competition, but before the events start, yet there are no computers available for use.

Students might end up simply printing parts of the webpage off, so that they could study on the go.

Teachers would have to make sure all of the math students knew the website’s address.

Booklet:

This would also have all of the necessary information, and would be organized based on meets and events. It would allow students to find all of the formulas and vocabulary needed, and could even make use of an index.

Advantages:

Could be more portable than a website, and taken where needed.

An index could be added, for easy navigation.

Students or teachers could write in the book

Disadvantages:

It would also use a large amount of paper, which is not necessarily environmentally friendly.

It would be expensive to print.

Due to the cost of printing, it might be necessary for there to be only a “classroom copy.” If this were to happen, students could only access it when the teacher was inside their classroom.

Even if it was given to students, it would be difficult for them to carry around.

It could not be edited or added to when published.

Feasibility Comparison

One important thing to consider is the cost of the project. I am unsure as to whether or not the school would provide the funding needed to print large quantities of booklets, as they have not yet addressed our request for money to purchase t-shirts for new members. In this respect, it would be preferable to choose the lower-cost option.

In addition, it is important to address my skill level in the production of these two technologies. While I have some experience in creating web pages, and have taken an art class (and therefore know some basic, aesthetic things which could be useful in web design), I would be unsure of how to start forming a booklet. I don’t even know what kind of programs would be useful, and would have to spend time figuring that out.

With all of this in mind, I have decided to go with the web page.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

17 September 2009- Criterion H

We also, in class today, talked about writing Criterion H, and how we would format those reports. Our teacher recommended creating it as follows:
Criterion H

IT Solution 1: -----
Advantages: ----
Disadvantages: ---

IT Solution 2:-----
Advantages: ----
Disadvantages:---

Talk About Feasibility: ----
-Time Limit
-Knowledge

Also, answer how technology solves the problem.

17 September 2009 - Criterion G

Today we received back our Criterion G, with our teacher's comments. Upon further review of my Criterion, I realized that I was rather unclear with the terminology, so that the writing got confusing at times to one who was not familiar with the math team lingo. In addition, I tended to rant a little. Below is the edited Criterion:

G Identifying the Problem within a Social Context

Problem: It is difficult for students on the Mid-Pacific Math Team to find all of the information they need to properly prepare for math competitions.

Inadequacies of the Current Situation:

Math team students must spend inordinate amounts of time searching for reliable information they can use to help them study for the seven math competitions, or meets, which occur each school year. For each meet, a student who participates in a required three of the six possible events must take a ten minute test which contains problems pertaining to a specific mathematical category. Nearly all the problems require knowledge formulas or vocabulary pertaining to this topic, and students must sift through the pages of multiple textbooks before they are able to find the information they are looking for.
The fact that the topics are diverse, including problems from the subject areas of Algebra I and II, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Analytic Geometry, further complicates the issue. No one textbook contains all the information needed for a single meet. In fact, not even the textbooks which students are required to have for school include all of the information. Because of this, students must hunt down information, looking through older books which can only be found in the room of one teacher. This information can only be accessed after school, when the teacher is available, a time at which many students have other commitments.

And, as some students compete in events with information they may have never come across before, and have nowhere to access the information, studying is daunting task. While there are old tests, which provide answers to past questions, for students to study off of, students cannot begin to find a mathematical solution if they don’t understand what the questions are asking. Some of the terminology used in the events is such that one must know a good deal of vocabulary just to answer a simple question. As students go against competitors from other schools, knowing even the most basic terminology could be extremely helpful. If there was one cohesive source which contained all of the information needed, students could spend more time solving problems and less time looking for vocabulary.

End-User: Students on the math team of my school, Mid-Pacific.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

5 September 2009

Of the subjects we are being tested on at the first competition, occurring on the 26th of September, I have begun to compile research for the topics: Trigonometric Identities, Sets, and Geometric Angles in a Plane. These are the events that, of the six, require the most knowledge of vocabulary, formulas, and symbols. For Trigonometry, I used as a main resource the book "Pre-Calculus with Limits: A Graphing Approach, 4th Edition" by Larson, Hostetler, and Edwards, copyright 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. I entered several equations into a word document, such as the Double-Angle Formulas, the Half-Angle Formulas, and the like. I used a Sony Vaio Laptop, operating on Windows Vista and the 2007 version of Microsoft Word.
For sets, I used two reputable looking websites: www.mathworld.wolfram.com/ and www.purplemath.com/ Both contained the nessecary information, and agreed with what I had previously learned about sets.
And, for geometry, I actually just wrote up a quick guide on computer paper, using my previous knowledge to explain the basics of angles.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

3 September 2009

Today, I talked to the math team coaches about my project idea. All three seemed to be enthusiastic about the idea, one even mentioning how it could be an extremely helpful resource in the years to come. As the topics students are tested on don't change from year to year, it could remain useful for quite some time.
When talking to them, it did, however, make me realize I needed to begin the basic research for my project. Regardless of what form my final project takes, it's necessary for me to start compiling the information I will need.