[Edu-sig] More advocacy around Math + Computers in K-12

[Kirby Urner]

I've just published a rather lengthy essay to math-teach @ The Math Forum=
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here: http://www.mathforum.org/epigone/math-teach/whaiflaldkrir

This installment only mentions Python in passing, but what I'm leading up=
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is that we need to draw stuff on the computer screen using coordinate=20
geometry to make a dry topic come alive.  I argue that graphing calculato=
rs,=20
for all their merits, just don't cut it.

Of course there're lots of ways to go about this (I'm probably going to f=
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on Povray, VRML, SVG and OpenGL -- I'm very open to other suggestions) an=
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Python has a role to play in any of them.

My focus in this first installment is more a narrative of where we've bee=
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since the 1980s (Logo, the flavors of OS, advent of the GUI), and what=20
infrastructure choices (in terms of hardware) are now facing many schools=
 in=20
2003. =20

=46rom those of you who spare the time to look it over, I welcome any fee=
dback=20
or related insights, thoughts or experiences.  I'm not a classroom teache=
r or=20
school administrator myself (have been in the past, have friends who are)=
, so=20
one concern of mine is that I remain in touch with reality to whatever de=
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possible -- recognizing that it's a heterogenous situation to begin with,=
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i.e. what's going on in Portland, Oregon may not be representative (but i=
t's=20
still part of what's going on).

Kirby