Thanx http://www.donorschoose.org! (using donors to get equipment for my PC Classroom)

I finally have a brand new Sharp XR-32X Multimedia DLP XGA Projector that produces 2500 lumens with a 2200:1 contrast ratio.  Thank God, we can now view my Smart Notes without going blind. Here's my donor site, http://www.donorschoose.org/calcpage2010

This is all thanx to http://www.donorschoose.org where I posted last year that I needed a new projector for all my Smart Board and YouTube work.  Two kind donors surfaced during the summer and funded the project. I confirmed the order in September, but the original item was out of stock.  I ordered the Sharp projector and got it in October.  However, its been sitting in a box until now as we didn’t have the right ceiling mount.  So, thanx also go to the Tech Dept for finally making me a decent mount!

I will be completing an online thank you packet this week on http://www.donorschoose.org which involves my students writing thank you letters to the donors and my taking pictures of them using the projector with my Smart Airliner Slate.  I also have to get permission slips from the parents to display these pictures on their site.  Once this packet is complete, I get more points enabling me to ask for more funding!

Learning with Technology,

calcpage@aol.com

SHADOWFAX: Meeting VII postponed due to make up week (trials and tribulations of using openMPI and g++ on a Fedora based cluster)

Today's Aim: g++, where fore art thou, g++?

Tonight's Reading: Building Parallel Programs, Chapter 7

This Week's Research: installing g++

Attending Thurs: JeremyA, SteveB, DevinB

This Thursday we will take stock of what we've done and what needs to be done.  For example, we got a Hello World program (hello.c) working over our Fedora based cluster using openMPI and gcc.  This is a great accomplishment!

However, when we tried to do this with C++ (hello.cc) we found that g++ was not installed!  I did not realize that the 64-bit Fedora 11 CD we used for installation had GNU GCC with only gcc installed.  Usually, GNU GCC has gcc, g++, gf77, etc.  A lot of room on the CD is taken up with GNOME and Compiz.  So, we tried to yum install gcc but found the mirrors were down or missing or blocked???

Happy Clustering,

calcpage@aol.com

http://mathforum.org/kb/profile.jspa?userID=32552

---

SHADOWFAX: Meeting VII postponed due to make up week (trials and tribulations of using openMPI and g++ on a Fedora based cluster)

Today's Aim: g++, where fore art thou, g++?

Tonight's Reading: Building Parallel Programs, Chapter 7

This Week's Research: installing g++

Attending Thurs: JeremyA, SteveB, DevinB

This Thursday we will take stock of what we've done and what needs to be done.  For example, we got a Hello World program (hello.c) working over our Fedora based cluster using openMPI and gcc.  This is a great accomplishment!

However, when we tried to do this with C++ (hello.cc) we found that g++ was not installed!  I did not realize that the 64-bit Fedora 11 CD we used for installation had GNU GCC with only gcc installed.  Usually, GNU GCC has gcc, g++, gf77, etc.  A lot of room on the CD is taken up with GNOME and Compiz.  So, we tried to yum install gcc but found the mirrors were down or missing or blocked???

Happy Clustering,

calcpage@aol.com

http://mathforum.org/kb/profile.jspa?userID=32552

---

SAGE: Breaking up is hard to do! (No Calculus Research Lab this year...)

I'm trying to drum up some interest for my new Calculus Research Lab (CRL), aka Scientific Computing Lab with SAGE to enhance the understanding and retention of AP Calculus.  We tried to get a section, starting in September, to meet every other day complementing the Calculus classes (AB & BC) that meet every day but we had an epic fail re scheduling.  The course was approved way too late last year for guidance to schedule the students properly. 

So, I thought I'd ask the current Calculus students to add CRL (meeting everyday) to their schedule now, for the Spring semester only, after Midterms Week.  There seems to be plenty of interest, but these students' schedules are already jammed!  The PC Classroom is only available periods 2, 3 and 5.  Luckily, I'm "off" those periods too, but too few students are (I'm never off as I do research and linux tech support when I'm "off").  I need a section of at least 10 students or the powers-that-be will not reschedule it.  I looked at the schedules of all my Calculus BC students (I don't teach the AB section) and found a lot had Lunch or Gym 5th period.  I thought there would be some flexibility there.  I suppose these students don't want to give up lunch.  


Well, neither do I....


Maybe I should be more like one of my heroes who said:  "do first, ask later!" Of course, that was Grace Murray Hopper.  In other words, I could start teaching these topics in other classes and sneak it in that way?  This is exactly how I got Linux in my school. I just decided to install it one day (1995?) and acted all apologetic when they told me I wasn't supposed to do it. By then it had been so entrenched in my AP CompSci curriculum  that they couldn't get rid of it! Of course, the powers-that-be had all kinds of arguments against Linux:
(1) "isn't it copyrighted?" no it's copylefted,
(2) "isn't it expensive?" no it's FLOSS,
(3) "what about tech support?" you're looking a him..... 


I have a "Computing Independent Study" class that meets once a week after school where we are playing with Clusters. We also do research on using various scientific computing environments (SAGE, Octave, R) in a PC Classroom setting.  Hence the approval to run a "Calculus Research Lab".  Maybe we could start these topics there?


I still have to use a GC in AP Calculus, but I can't say I'm happy about it.  However, I was in at the beginning of the Calculus Reform movement and the Rule of Four (GNAW every problem: solving Graphically, Numerically, Analytically and Wordily) in the early 90s. GCs were the only game in town back then.  BTW, I'm convinced that the low res LCDs in these GCs without color or back lighting that I used a lot for many years contributed to my needing reading glasses now....

Its really hard to pitch this sort of course when everyone else is using GCs, especially if the school has a large investment in class sets of GCs as my school has. Its even harder if you have TI-89s with CAS already.  I say, TI-83s and some Scientific Programming is great in math class, even a TI-89 and some CAS in Calculus is fine. However, take a look what we can do with SAGE in the PC Classroom.  Its like night and day, the GCs look like toys!

I made this exact arguement at our last Superintendant's Day (Election Day in November) where I volunteered to give a presentation entitled: "Look Ma, No Calculator!"  My supervisor loved it!  That's partly why I have a new course approval for a "Calculus Research Lab."  Now I just have to get some enrollment....

BTW, I'm giving a similar talk at LIMACON at SUNY Old Westbury (4/16/2010) if anyone's interested.  I also will be showing how I record all my lessons for YouTube using a wireles mic and PC Tablet (a lot like a SmartBoard).

Also, I think I'll give this presentation at the next T^3 (Teachers Teaching with Tecnology) at Molloy College in Rockville Centre (11/2010).  Do you think TI will be upset?  You see, TI is the main sponsor of T^3, so I don't know if they will appreciate a talk entitled "Look Ma, No Calculator!"  To be fair, the speaker invitation I received from Molloy just yesterday said I could talk about SmartBoards. Also, I do use a TI emulator (VTI) on my PC desktop. 



Teaching with Technology, 

calcpage@aol.com

ROOM429: A Little PC Classroom Remodeling after XMAS Break! (The optimal PC Classroom setup)

OK, I finally broke down and moved my whole room around ... again! 

I moved the front two rows about one foot forward.  Also, I staggered the back row so as to make room in the rear center part of the room for a Teacher Station.  Take a look at the pixs below!  Its almost a PC Podium/SmartBoard setup now.  All I need for a PC Podium is some extra audio/video/internet cables to easily hook up a laptop.  In addition, I wouldn't mind another PC in the Teacher Center so I can have one running WIndows all day and the other Linux.

MMMMMMMMMMMMSSSSSSSSSMMMMMMMMMMMM

(***)(***)(***)(***)          (***)(***)(***)(***)

(***)(***)(***)(***)     P   (***)(***)(***)(***)

                         (***)          (***)

        (***)(***)                           (***)(***)

(***)                                                            (***)

                               TTTTTTTT

                               T

                               T

legend:

(***) = student "wooden" plus "pc" desktops (3ft)

TTTTT = teacher desktops (5ft)

P = ceiling mounted projector

M = marker boards

S = projector screen

Learning with Technology,
calcpage@aol.com

Merry Calculus & Happy Newton's Day!

Merry Christmas

and Happy

New Year 2010!!!

Don't forget that Sir Isaac Newton himself was born on Christmas Day.  So, I'm still celebrating the 12 Days of Calculus.  In fact, the 12th Day of Calculus is January 5th.   Hopefully, my students will have an Epiphany by then and finally understand U-Substitutution!

My favorite Xmas gifts this year were all the latest Paul Nahin books with MATLAB code in them! These books will come in handy as I have my Computing Independent Study kids, CIS(theta), setting up an openMPI Linux Cluster using Sage, Octave & R to solve problems in Applied Math and Physics - ie: Scientific Computing.  

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION: My final project this year after the AP Calculus exam will be to investigate some of the problems from Nahin's Digital Dice using Octave.  Further, I resolve to use Sage and Octave more in class!

I also got a DVDR with dual VCR that I can use to convert old documentaries from VHS to DVD and even Youtube for classroom use!  I tried this some time ago with the following results.

Generally Speaking,




calcpage@aol.com, http://calcpage.tripod.com, http://www.youtube.com/calcpage2009
http://www.zazzle.com/cistheta2008, http://cistheta2007.deviantart.com, http://www.youtube.com/cistheta2007 
http://mathforum.org/kb/profile.jspa?userID=32552

http://www.knoppix.net/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=16    

Size Matters!

Wow, now the story is my cluster is moving with me and I have to picka room.  I was told I'd be going to Room 622 but I complained that is was too small.  Room 429 is 34 ft x 25 ft.  Room 622 is 28 ft x 26 ft.  So, I was told to measure out Rooms 513, 615, 616 and 619 to pick the largest of these.  However, these rooms are all 27 ft x 23 ft! 

So, Room 622 is the least of all evils.  If I had my druthers I'd stay in Room 429.  However, I happened to wander into Room 620 which is not an English room, so its off limits.  Room 620 looks like a one-time Chemistry Lab, but it only has desks, do apparatus and its 30 ft x 28 ft!  This room would be OK.  Lets see if i can persuade the powers-that-be to let me have it.
IDK, how this move is going to happen at all.  The logistics are phenomenal and the funding reduculous....  Maybe it won't happen after all! 



Learning with Technology,

calcpage@aol.com