Kentucky Academy of Technology Education

Geometry in the Real World

Core Connections

Geometry is often the most feared math class of every high school student. It is a class in which most students are not able to see its applications for their everyday lives. However, there are many fun and exciting ways to discover geometry in every aspect of the "real world".

The most basic of all geometric concepts, shapes, can be seen from the time you open your eyes and look at a circular clock until we brush our teeth at night in front of a rectangular mirror. More complex three-dimensional shapes can be found even before we leave the house in the morning in a cylinder shaped coffee can and cube shaped tissue box.

Geometric principles are also the foundation for many careers. Architects use geometry as one of their guiding principles. Every time a building is constructed or a room is designed, geometry is used. Engineers also use geometry on a daily basis. It takes geometry to design every machine, bridge, and city. Geometry is in everything we see! The following article explains in depth reasons why teaching geometry is important in your curriculum.

Jazzing It Up in the Classroom

Core Connections

Jazz has been described as the music of the soul. Whether past or present music. Jazz is the only art form created by Americans and is an indelible expresssion of our genius and promise.

In the film JAZZ - A Film By Ken Burns, Ken describes jazz music the following way:

Jazz has offered a precise prism through which so much of American history can be seen - it is a curious and unusually objective witness to the 20th Century. It is the story of two world wars and a devastating Depression - the soundtrack that helped Americans get through the worst of times. Jazz is about sex, the way men and women talk to each other, and negotiate the complicated rituals of courtship; a sophisticated and elegant mating call that has all but disappeared from popular music in recent times. It is about drugs and the terrible cost of addiction and the high price of creativity. It is about the growth and explosion of radio and the soul of great American cities - New Orleans (where the music was born), Chicago, Kansas City and New York (where it grew up). It is about immigration and assimilation and feeling dispossessed and the music that came to the rescue. It is about movement and dance and showing your behind. It's about entertainment - the frequently dismissed but sacred communion between artist and audience. It's about solitude and loneliness and the nearly unbearable burden of consciousness. It's about suffering and celebration - it's hugely about celebration - and tapping your feet.

Ken has used his study of jazz and brought it into the classroom for todays teachers to be able to teach students about this wonderful art form.

http://www.pbs.org/jazz/classroom/

PDA's In The Classroom

Instructional Illuminations

Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) were once viewed only as an organizational tool for busy executives. Today they are becoming a staple in many classrooms. As the prices of PDA"S become more reasonable for classroom use, school systems are seeing them as an alternative for the One Computer Classrooms. The following is just one example of a teacher taking advantage of this evolving technology.

Twice a month, with PDAs in hand, Ruth MacLean's sixth- and seventh-grade Life Sciences classes at the King Middle School hit the streets of Portland, Maine, to conduct valuable pollution research for the community. Using their Palm handhelds, donated through the Palm Education Pioneer Program (PEP), equipped with GPS locators, cameras, and temperature gauges, the children gather real-time water-temperature data from precise locations around the city, where runoff water from the streets is directed into streams.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,15154,00.asp