Part of the reason I was never a brilliant math student had to do with the chasm of difference between how I was taught math and how I understood it. Art has always been ‘my thing’ so in spite of all my math teachers’ best efforts to learn by the book, I inevitably accessed the […]
Continue ReadingAs you may know from my past posts, I’m always on the lookout for math apps that are more than just arithmetic. While not a teaching app, I have found another that fits the bill. Math Formulas is a reference …
Continue Reading[This guest post was written by Tom Luce, CEO of the National Math and Science Initiative and a former assistant secretary of Education.] Trading in text books for game consoles may sound like a childhood fantasy, but it’s turning into …
Continue ReadingPhilosopher turned astro-physicist Janna Levin thinks a lot about the origins of the universe. She’s written a non-fiction book, How the Universe Got Its Spots, in which she contemplates whether or not the universe is finite or infinite, or if indeed our universe is one in a multiverse. Janna Levin, mother of two young children, […]
Continue ReadingDid you count thirteen petals on the Black-Eyed-Susan? It’s fun for kids to count petals on blooming flowers “springing” out of the ground. It’s also a lesson in higher math. Last week I attended the NSTA Conference in San Francisco where I met Sarah C. Campbell, author of the picture book Growing Patterns. Sarah presented […]
Continue ReadingWith the advent of the iPhone and iPad, new apps have come out of the woodwork. Educational apps for kids take up a huge piece of the market. And, I swear, half of those are ABC apps. But, among the …
Continue ReadingTwo years ago our family recognized Pi Day for the very first time. At exactly 1:59 p.m on March 14th my son received the decision on his application for admission to the the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His response when he logged on to read the letter: “I GOT IN!” It was a sweet […]
Continue Reading
Hands-on projects are great learning tools for kids, especially when they involve the word ‘secret’. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Pi Day (March 14 or “3.14”) with kids than to help them unlock the circle’s secret and discover Pi! This fun activity uses common office supplies and household materials and is […]
Continue ReadingGather up the kiddies because it’s storytime! Meet Wind, a lonely triangle living on a flat, yet mysterious world. Watch as curiosity compels her to unravel those mysteries and change her world forever… (Warning: Spoilers below the clip!) “Wind and Mr. Ug ” is a shining example of education by stealth. It makes Möbius strips […]
Continue ReadingInspired by the White House’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign, the Joan Cooney Ganz Center issued this challenge: design a mobile app that engages kids while teaching them the STEM skills: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Developers were invited to enter prototypes to win the National STEM Video Game Challenge, with a prize of $50,000 towards […]
Continue ReadingI have very fond memories of high school geometry. Memorizing theorems wasn’t too hard, and solving proofs was like solving the logic puzzles that I did for fun anyway. But the theorems were scattered throughout the textbook, and it was …
Continue Reading
I’m not sure what kind of geeky conversations go on in your households, but a common lament in my house is the lack of quality zombie apps on the market. Rather than listening to this diatribe yet again, I suggested that my son write it all down. Here’s his take on the state of the […]
Continue ReadingLast October, you may have seen a “fact” from your email/Facebook/Twitter friends (you know the ones) that the month would have five weekends–five Fridays, five Saturdays, and five Sundays–and that that happens only once every 823 years. Now the “fact” is showing up again since the same thing will happen in July 2011. But just […]
Continue ReadingMy youngest son is a whiz at math – as long as he can figure out problems in his head. But his uncanny ability to make sense of numbers is lost when he looks at a formulaic math problem. When he was learning long division he could frequently calculate the answer in his head, but […]
Continue Reading“Mathematics is the gate and key of the sciences. …Neglect of mathematics works injury to all knowledge, since he who is ignorant of it cannot know the other sciences or the things of this world.” –Roger Bacon Math is one of those quintessentially geeky things that are often taught so badly that even some of […]
Continue ReadingThe app space is overflowing with math-related apps for preschoolers and early elementary. Shapes, counting, very simple addition. There… are… so… many… Sigh. But what about older kids? They love to play with technology, too. And making learning more fun …
Continue Reading
I was driving my ’58 Plymouth Fury on a long trip out of Boulder, Colorado to a strange town in Maine, when I stopped at a hotel along the way for a needed caffeine boost. A man in glasses and a way with words came over and asked, “So, what do you know about percentile […]
Continue ReadingWe talk about sex, grammar, sci-fi, knitting, baby names, and so much more.
Continue ReadingOk, so there aren’t any adders in the video below, but I wanted to prime you for the other math- and snake-based puns that you’ll find. A friend of mine sent me a link to this video about mathematical doodles …
Continue ReadingMy kids have been having a tough time with math this year. I don’t know if it’s the new concepts or the memorization or just the bigger homework load, but I decided the best approach would be to make math …
Continue ReadingThere’s been a lot written about the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives going on in the United States, on this and many other blogs. If you’re an American geek, you’re probably just as concerned as we at GeekDad …
Continue ReadingDanica McKellar is the author of a series of popular books focused on getting middle school-aged girls into math. This Q&A was supplied to GeekMom by Rebecca Zook. What can parents do to support their daughters in math? From a young age, point out how math is used in everyday life. So if you’re grocery […]
Continue ReadingScience is hot right now. Everywhere I travel parents are in a panic to get their kids interested in science. I guess one day, America woke up and realized our pipeline of home-grown engineers, scientists, and inventors was drying up. …
Continue ReadingI’ve been a geek all my life, but I hated school. Until college, I learned more watching PBS and maxing out my youth library card every week than I ever did in a classroom. I’m worried that my son will have the same experience – he’s only four years old, but he already loves science […]
Continue ReadingThere are many basic math apps out there, but most leave you wanting more. Doing math problem after math problem without levels to clear, goals to reach, or any extras to enjoy can get boring pretty quickly. Enter MathGirlGames and their fantastic apps. The first in the series of their math games for girls was […]
Continue ReadingThere is something very reassuring about seeing the president of the United States work to address something that you see as a significant problem. I can now state from personal experience that it is even more reassuring to observe that …
Continue ReadingThere is sad news this morning. It has yet to be confirmed by the mainstream media, but it seems that Benoît Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry and one of the most famous mathematicians of all time, has passed away …
Continue ReadingSome schools and teachers have a hard time teaching gifted kids, especially if there is little budget for it. Either the kids are done with their work early and have nothing to do, or they aren’t challenged by the work …
Continue ReadingTom Henderson, of the Math for Primates podcast and MathPunk.net, has a Kickstarter campaign to raise money so he can write a Punk Mathematics book. What’s punk mathematics? Well, as Tom explains, punk raises questions, and math finds solutions. Topics …
Continue ReadingEducation on-the-go is always handy. Keeping your kids busy with an app while you’re doing something important seems to be a pretty common tactic among iPhone/iPod Touch users. My kids usually prefer logic games, which are also my favorite, but …
Continue Reading