It was a pivotal moment. The class really bonded through the shared experience. We were learning new skills from each other—both technical and mathematical.
Tag Archives: zoom
May 28 Day 81: Celebrations Both Belated and Virtual
Tonight we celebrated the achievements of the University of Washington Tacoma mathematics majors. It was a multimedia zoom extravaganza with the faculty leaning in to make it extra special. Just look at the program: There was something for everyone—special videos, Pi Mu Epsilon honor society induction, singing (!?!) , awards, and math(ish) trivia. My favoriteContinue reading “May 28 Day 81: Celebrations Both Belated and Virtual”
May 21 Day 74: Resting Zoom Face
Today was the first day of an MAA Board of Directors quarterly meeting. I tried to get a screenshot to share but honestly, our resting zoom faces didn’t show us in the best light. I fixed it! Now everyone has a smile. What do you think? For MAA friends, can you match the pictures toContinue reading “May 21 Day 74: Resting Zoom Face”
May 11 Day 64: Scientific Method
Ok, I admit it, participant placement in Zoom meetings is becoming a bit of a personal obsession. What started as a puzzle (May 2 Day 55: Start Small) with a cute solution was tested in a slightly larger setting (May 5 Day 58: First Approximation) and found wanting. From observations made while teaching to theContinue reading “May 11 Day 64: Scientific Method”
May 6 Day 59: Interaction Achievement Unlocked
Online remote teaching days that feel the most successful have lots of positive interaction between me and my students. Today was perhaps one of the best in a long while. My students are agile and moved with me as I switch between technologies. Here is today’s inventory: Google slide where students indicated standards they mostContinue reading “May 6 Day 59: Interaction Achievement Unlocked”
May 5 Day 58: First Approximation
The puzzle presented on May 2, Day 55: Small Start gives a first approximation to the participant placement algorithm in a Zoom meeting room. Provided all participants use their cameras, placement seems dependent on the order in which we signed into the meeting except that each person appears in the “second” position of their ownContinue reading “May 5 Day 58: First Approximation”
May 2 Day 55: Start Small
Who hasn’t attended a virtual meetings lately? I have wondered what the zoom algorithm is for placing faces in the photo grid. I know I could probably look it up but that would take all the fun out of the question. As a first principle of puzzle solving, if you can’t see the general answer,Continue reading “May 2 Day 55: Start Small”
April 28 Day 51: Slow Bytes Bite
The internet was pathetically slow during class yesterday. My students said I had a robot voice and everything was jerky. It’s hard to le…le…learn m..m…m…math this way. To avoid sounding like Max Headroom, I closed every application on my machine except the absolute necessities, I ran around the house asking everyone else to suspend internetContinue reading “April 28 Day 51: Slow Bytes Bite”
April 24 Day 47 Part 2. Zooming for Community
People were not supposed to leave until they shared something for which they were grateful. I called out intentional community building–within my neighborhood, within my institution, and within the MAA. We may be physically distant but we are coming together to support one other.
April 20 Day 43: Whiteboarding it
Today I had a positive interaction with my precalculus students and the shared whiteboard in Zoom. We were using transformations to graph basic functions. Starting with a simple power function, they individually contributed by computing points, plotting them on the axes provided, and connecting the dots. The same process was repeated with a related butContinue reading “April 20 Day 43: Whiteboarding it”
Math Belongs to All of Us 