Personalising Learning with the iPod Touch

I have just returned from taking an extra maths class with a year 9 group. I am not a maths teacher and my knowledge of Trigonometry is basic. The assignment set involved using a tape measure and an inclinometer to calculate the height of a variety of buildings / trees etc using trigonometric functions. One recalcitrant young man in the back corner of the room, swinging on his chair, scowling and totally disengaged was of course in refusal mode when faced with this worksheet. He didn’t have a pen (as you find with some students) and had never listened to a word in trigonometry classes to this point.

I called him to the front of the room to work with me on my MacBook and iPod touch, sure that I could find a new angle to get the message across. (pardon the pun) Of course, at first he did not want to come to me at all, but when I offered the iPod touch to him instead of a piece of paper, there was no argument. We had a look in the App store together and found ‘Trigonometry’, which replaced the need for an inclinometer and a tape measure. Here is the App we discovered. 

To set the iPod touch up to allow Jesse to perform trigonometric calculations, we had to calibrate the device and enter some personal data. Firstly we needed to let the accelerometer in the iPod touch know which way was up and which way was down so it could gain its bearings. Then we found a ruler to measure Jesse’s height (179cm) and the average distance of his step (70cm…a little less than average for his height, but come on, it’s an effort to make a step) and we entered these into the App. So then, to practice the calculation, we went outside and found a tree, took a number of (Jesse sized) paces and pointed the iPod touch to the top of the tree. The calculation being performed is displayed, as is the calculated height of the object in question. When he was satisfied that the reading was right, we touched the number in the panel at the bottom and it locked in and turned red. So there we had our result..but what did we have?  The instructions (a translation from Japanese ) say, “Incline the iPod touch, aiming at the top of the building, the height of the building is measured”, approximately I suspect, based on how you hold the iPod touch and your line of sight.

What if you want something more mathematically precise, more interaction with the formula which is doing it’s own thing just above the answer and requires no understanding from the user. The was no doubt Jesse was now engaged with trigonometry for the first time, so we pressed on. Let’s see what the YouTube reviews say…we found this.

Here is the App… Trig Solve involves more interaction with the geometry of the shape, but removes the user from the ‘real world’, so possibly both Apps are useful to have on hand on the iPod touch to assist a student in their calculations, or at least give them a kick start.

At the end of the class, Jesse and I had both learned something about trigonometry. I am sure a great Maths teacher would take tools such as these and be able to incorporate them in a meaningful way into their teaching and learning program. I would love to hear the thoughts of some great Maths teacher’s out there, please leave a comment!