Geoboard for Visualizing Geometry

Looking back over this past semester of my first ever blog, I found myself musing about the intersection of technology with the physical world of learning. Here at school, in concert with our one to one iPad roll out, we've seen huge popularity among our younger students of the Japanese toy called a Kendama. A deceptively simple wooden toy involving a ball to toss and a handle to catch it on, this decidedly non-technological device has taken over our Lower School. Everywhere we turn, kids are practicing, playing, and challenging each other to new tricks. I've been delighted to see the appeal this simple toy has for our digital generation and how it is bringing kids together. (Yes, adults are playing with them, too, but not with the same dedication.)

It is funny how similar the Kendama situation feels to the atmosphere around the iPads. Our community members are also at varying levels of mastery of the iPads and are experimenting with new tricks of all kinds. So, for this week, here is an app straddling the junction of the physical and digital. This is a basic app that does one thing quite elegantly. It is a digital version of the old style peg board that one can stretch rubber bands on to create shapes. With two different resolutions, it lends itself to various levels of student.

At a basic level, it is good for exploring simple shapes and the concept of area since you can choose to fill in the shapes. 

On the higher resolution, one can start exploring similarity, symmetry, transformations, and the Pythagoren Theorem.

The app is nice and easy to use as well as being free. Enjoy!

As I prepare to sign off for the 2013 calendar year, I'd like to thank you all for reading and commenting! If there's an app you'd like to see reviewed or a task you'd like me to try to find an app for, let me know!

Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for a Wonderful 2014!