
I start with the black polygon, then I ask students “what if I add 3 to the y?” Then I can use Desmos to quickly verify their thoughts. “What if?” machine – Desmos gives me the ability to quickly verify conjectures from my students.Desmos emphasizes this by allowing you to observe these all at once. An equation can also be seen as a table of values and as a graph. An important part of math is understanding that some things can be represented in several ways. Connect representations – I was admittedly very bad at this when I started teaching.The following are some creative ways I use the Desmos graphing calculator in my class: I set up a tablet in her normal seat, gave her the class code, and she got to participate in a class activity even though she was thousands of miles away. I once had a student on vacation ask if she could do a Google Hangout because she didn’t want to miss the Desmos activity we were doing in class. Not only do I love Desmos, but so do my students. I try to be honest with myself and make sure I am not being impressed simply by the technology itself, but rather by what the technology enables my students to do (see student art pics).


As an educator, I try to be very deliberate in my choice of classroom tools, especially with technology. There are numerous reasons why I use all of the various Desmos tools in the classroom. Over the years, Desmos has grown to include a variety of tools, and, as the company has grown, so has my passion for using it. I found several online graphing calculators that I liked, but eventually chose to stick with the Desmos graphing calculator. I started using Desmos several years ago because I was sick of doing so much graphing by hand (Algebra 1 teacher problems!).

I have been an educator for 19 years, all of which have been in middle school and predominantly Algebra 1.
#Desmos graphing activity free#
Teaching is definitely something of a craft to me, and my favorite tool is Desmos, a free tool for teachers. Every good craftsman has his or her favorite tool.
