Presta - digitization

  The
mathematics — digital camera
connection

With the advent of inexpensive digital cameras and camcorders, amazing hands-on mathematical adventures become possible for every student!

"Students are not immigrants to technology like many
of us, but rather they are natives to technology."

Students have a real chance to explore nature and the world around them from a mathematical viewpoint. Like only a few technologies, the digital camera and mathematics are perfectly matched for making connections.

Students can answer for themselves questions such as:

    1. Is the Houston Astrodome actually round?
    2. What is the height of a building?
    3. What is the volume of an egg?
    4. What is the slope of a roof? of a windshield?
    5. How many gallons of water does that water tower hold?
    6. Is that really a catenary?
    7. What is the area of a polygon?
    8. What is the ratio of semi-major and semi-minor axes.

Faculty can introduce and connect math concepts with students in new ways that can enrich mathematics appreciation with a simple and inexpensive tool. Just about anything that can be measured can be measured can be analyzed from a variety of viewpoints: arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and calculus. Students also learn first hand the importance of coordinate systems and the value of system scales. Students will also learn firsthand the importance of multiple sampling.

Not only that, students learning and useage of common, everyday software will be enhanced as never before.

Contents

Students learn Math and technology
Project requirements
Project ideas
Completed projects
Using Digitizer 1.3 - Basic instructions for Digitizer 1.3
Digitizer 1.3*
Image samples

Before you begin...

*Digitizer requires the Flash player, a free download. If you do not have Flash player installed you can still run the executables. Also, version 1.3 does not run on all browser versions of the Mac. Finally, to import files you may need to give the Flash Player permissions to import files.


Other digitizer products - good software, but at a price.

 

The chambered nautilus is shaped like a spiral. But what kind of spiral?

 

 

 

 

©2002-06 G. Donald Allen