Creating Interactive Worksheets with TI-InteractiveAuthor(s): Shannon Driskell and Robin RiderSource: The Mathematics Teacher, Vol. 100, No. 9 (MAY 2007), pp. 612-615Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27972349 .

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TECHNOl^Y

Creating Interactive Worksheets

with Tl-lnteractive

ing parameters, thus enabling students to make connections among multiple representations such as graphs, tables, and symbolic expressions. Although information can be interpreted from static images of these representations on a worksheet or overhead transparency, software that allows for user interaction can aid students in making connections

among different representational forms

(Yerushalmy2005). Students (and teachers) may make

connections in different ways, depend ing on their pre-existing knowledge. The

beauty of interactive learning environ ments is that they acknowledge that "there exists a diversity of knowledge

webs in which people make connections as a result of new computational tools:

they see things they couldn't see; con nect things that couldn't be connected; represent things that were hitherto

unrepresentable. [With these new

tools, connection?always a key math ematical objective?becomes a possibil ity" (Hoyles, Noss, and Kent 2004, p. 323). Connecting graphical, tabular, and

symbolic representations in algebra can be enhanced by interactive worksheets and applets. This tip describes how teachers can make their own interac

Since this is my final "Technology Tips" column as editor, I wish to thank everyone who contributed

a Tech Tip or a Surfing Note this year. I would also like to thank my co-editor, Robin Rider, and Ruth Casey, our liaison from the Editorial Panel, for their collabo ration in preparing each column this year. Please continue to support this column by sending your ideals to Robin, who will be the editor for the next volume year.

In this month's tip, Robin shows how to create interactive worksheets with and

without sliders using Tl-lnteractive. The

"Surfing Note" this month includes a link to www.cut-the-knot.org, which includes .

many Java applets on a variety of math ematical topics and concepts.

Many teachers use Tl-lnteractive strictly as a productivity tool to type symbolic expressions and to generate graphs for

quizzes and tests. Although this tool is excellent for thepe purposes, representa tions produced in this form are static, and students must interpret them men

tally. The software's pedagogical value lies in a teacher's ability to create inter active worksheets with which students can explore important mathematical

topics by pulling on sliders and chang

612 MATHEMATICS TEACHER | Vol. 100, No. 9 ? May 2007

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Connect Hie Dots - Slope Intercept Form

DoeMeClk? on invariables below TJy to milch your line with the data

points given. Thea answer the questions that follow. When you ere flushed* print the entire

assignment (including graphs and equations) and

ivi b:--2

Equation

y-x-2

Fig. 1 Tl-lnteractive worksheet with sliders that control parameters

Connect the Dots - Slope Intercept Form

DonWc Click on ?e variables bdow to diange the line. "By to match your fine with the date

points given. Then answer the questiona that follow. 'Whenyouarefitashed^t^ii? theentke assignment (including graphs and equations) and hand in?

Fig. 2 Tl-lnteractive worksheet with math boxes in which students can enter values

tive worksheets using Tl-lnteractive (v.

1.3) to enhance students' mathematical

understanding and connections. Tl-lnteractive can be used to produce

worksheets with sliders that control

parameters (fig. 1) or math boxes in which students can enter values (fig. 2). Students can then control parameters and explore what happens to a graph, equation, or table as parameters change.

To make an interactive worksheet such as the ones shown in figures 1 and

2, the most important thing to remember is that the variable must be positioned in the Tl-lnteractive worksheet before the graph or math box it is linked to is created. Otherwise, the objects will not have an associated variable connected with them and a blank coordinate grid will appear. First, I will discuss how to make the interactive worksheet using sliders, as shown in figure 1.

TIP 1: INTERACTIVE WORKSHEETS WITH SLIDERS Click on the Slider button

on the toolbar to open the slider control

properties box. Define the variable that the first slider will control, e.g., m. Set the initial value, maximum value, minimum

value, and step amounts for the variable. To change the width or length of the slider as it appears in the window, click on the Appearance tab. This tab is also where the user can deselect the Show Variable utility (by default, the variable is shown with the slider unless this utility is deselected). One Hmitation to the Show Variable utility is that it only shows the value of the variable when the slider is selected. I prefer to deselect Show Vari able and create a math box in which the variable is defined so that the variable will

always be displayed in the document, not

just when the slider is selected. To insert a math box with a slider so that the vari able will always appear in the document, click on the Insert Math Box button

on the toolbar. Enter the variable name as it was defined in the slider (i.e., ra) in the math box that appears. On the TI

Math Palette, go to the bottom and set the input to HIDE INPUT and the out

put to SAME LINE. Remember the text box must be positioned after the slider in the document in order for the value of the variable to appear.

Once the slider properties have been

defined, press the Okay button at the bottom of the slider control properties box. To change a slider, right click over the slider, and the slider control prop erties box will appear. Insert a second slider using the process described above with the variable b.

Now that the sliders are in the

document, they must be connected to a graph, a table, or a math box. After

inserting the sliders and defining the

variable, the next graph or math box that uses each variable will be connected

to the sliders. To insert a graph, click on

the Graph button on the toolbar

and define the function using the vari ables from the slider. Note: TMnterac tive requires operators between vari ables. So, to graph y = mx + b, with the variable ra defined by the slider, there MUST be a * between the ra and the x.

Thus, in the section the user would have to type m*x.

To show a tabular representation with the graph, choose the

button above the graph in the graph window before closing the window. The

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function table window will open. TI Interactive allows the user to display the function defined in the table or to turn

off the display of the symbolic expres sion defining the function by clicking on

the Hide Function button

The user also can select the table start and step values by clicking on the Table

Setup button

located in the function table window. When the user closes the window, the

program gives prompts for the table to be saved on the worksheet. To have the table appear on the worksheet, dynami cally linked to the slider and the graph, choose yes. Closing the graph window

places the graph with the table on the worksheet.

To have the symbolic expression displayed with the graph and/or table, insert a math box by clicking on the

Math Box button on the toolbar

and typing in the symbolic expression to be displayed using the variables defined

by the sliders (e.g., y = m* + b). A sug gestion here is to hide the input and show the output on the same line. The input

will be the variable name, y = m*x + b, and the output will be the value of that

variable, y = 3* + 4, for example. The

input and output controls are located at the bottom of the TI Math Palette box. Close the graph window or math box win

dow, and the sliders should be connected to the symbolic expression. The graph, table, and symbolic expressions should

change when the sliders are moved. The position of the representations

can be moved around the page to make the worksheet more aesthetically pleas ing. The default of Tl-Interactive is to insert a graph, table, or math box inline with the text. Right-clicking on the object brings up a menu in which the user can select "floating with text around" and then move the object any where on the page that is desired. For the interactivity to work, the object

cannot be placed before the defined vari

ables, and the sliders or the math boxes

defining the variables used in the other

representations must appear before all other objects using those variables.

TIP 2: INTERACTIVE WORK SHEETS WITH NO SLIDERS Instead of allowing students to have access to a slider, teachers might want to have them input a number and explore what happens to the graph, the table, and the symbolic expressions. To do this,

individually define each variable (i.e., m

and b) using a text box by clicking on the Text Box button on the tool bar

typing the variable name, selecting the

button, and typing the desired default value of the variable. A suggestion in the case of interactive textboxes is to select the input as plain text and to hide the

output text. For example, if the variables defined are m and b and their initial val ues are 0, the text boxes should look like m = 0 and b = 0. One other adjustment teachers may want to make is to turn off the Math Palette window so that it will not appear each time a student changes the math box. With the text box selected, right click over the text box and select Hide Math Palette or press Ctrl M.

Next, insert the graph and/or table (as defined in the steps for sliders) that will be connected to the variables. Be sure to use the same variable names in the func tion that were defined in the text boxes.

Students should be able to double click on the variable to change the value, which will in turn change the objects connected to it. When students double click on the math box, they can back

space and change the initial value to their desired choice. If students single click on

the math box and press backspace, the entire box will disappear. At that point, students can click on the Undo button

or choose Undo from the Edit pull-down menu. To insert a horizontal line across

the page, go to the Insert pull-down menu and choose Math Section Break.

USING INTERACTIVE WORKSHEETS After an interactive worksheet is cre

ated, it must be opened on a computer with Tl-Interactive installed. It can be

uploaded to the Internet, but the soft ware does not have the ability to pro duce a Web applet or be saved to html without losing its interactivity. Anyone using the worksheet such as the one

listed above must have the software installed. Tl-Interactive was designed for use in a computer lab setting, where Tl-Interactive is installed on each of the

computers in a lab, classroom, or on the school's network. Used in this manner, teachers can develop worksheets and then have students work through the sheets as the teacher facilitates and trou bleshoots student questions. Students

type answers directly on the worksheet, and teachers can grade the worksheet

electronically?no paper required. Worksheets can also be used for dif

ferentiated instruction for students who work independently and like to work ahead or for students needing extra remediation. While a teacher is working with other students, these students can

complete a worksheet, typing on it from the computer screen and saving it to a

designated folder for the teacher to grade later. Since Tl-Interactive is also a word

processor, it makes it simple for students to save their worksheets and for teach ers to grade electronically, without hav

ing to print. Interactive worksheets are perfect

for students who are visual learners. The dynamic nature of the software allows students to see mathematics in action rather than just in static images on the board or on paper. The ability for students to type on the worksheet from the computer and save their file

electronically makes it easy for students and for teacher grading. Thus there is much to recommend their use in today's classrooms.

Anyone who has Tl-Interactive can

open and explore the interactive work sheets in figures 1 and 2 by visiting personal.ecu.edu/riderr/ti/LINEAR EQUATIONS.TII.

614 MATHEMATICS TEACHER | Vol. 100, No. 9 ? May 2007

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REFERENCES Hoyles, Celia, Richard Noss, and Phillip

Kent. "On the Integration of Digital Technologies into Mathematics Class rooms." International Journal for

Computers in Mathematical Learning 9

(January 2004): 309-26.

Yerushalmy, Michal. "Functions of

Interactive Visual Representations in

Interactive Mathematical Textbooks."

International Journal for Computers in Mathematical Learning 10 (December 2005): 217-49.

Surfing Note

There are mor? than 700 math Java applets at www.cut-the-knot.org. This site was created by Alexander Bogo

molny for those "teachers, parents, and students who seek engaging math

ematics,'- and it covers mathematical

topics ranging from arithmetic to cal culus. This onlin? site hosts a variety of resources and puzzles for teachers of all grades, as well as math clubs and students. While the site also offers dis cussion boards of mathematical topics, this is not a site at which students can

get help with their homework. *?

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