Desmos:

DESMOS - IT’S NOT YOUR DADDY’S GRAPHING CALCULATOR!

Do you know that look people have when they are engrossed in an activity on their electronic device?

I don’t mean the glazed-over look they have when they are on a mindless, time-passing app. I mean the look and the energy they have when their minds are captivated and engaged, whether it be while playing an intense game or using some other exciting app.

In today’s technology-centered culture, the apps on these little screens have the power to capture the hearts and minds of people of all ages. This observation is not meant as a concession to the power of technology over people, but rather as a conclusion that these devices can and should be used for engagement in learning as well.

Enter Desmos. Desmos started as a free online graphing calculator (farewell, TI-89!), but has since evolved into a powerful tool for student exploration and learning. On the Desmos platform, teachers have the ability to create and share graphing-based activities and lessons.

I must admit that I was initially skeptical when a colleague introduced me to a Desmos activity called Marbleslides. Our class just finished an introductory unit on graphing linear equations. After we teachers tried the activity for ourselves, we decided to let our classes further explore linear equations by doing Marbleslides.

The basic premise of Marbleslides is this: The goal is to get marbles to pass through four stars by creating a series of ramps for the marbles to slide on. Students create ramps by writing linear equations. In each progressive puzzle, the stars are placed in different and more challenging locations so students have to design more and more elaborate series of ramps in order to get the marble through all the stars. In writing these equations, students learn a ton (whether they know it or not) about the properties of linear equations.

So, what happened when I passed out the Chromebooks and provided students with the code to start Marbleslides?

The first thing to hit me was the deafening silence. A room full of 8th graders and not a peep out of a single one of them... Not for the entire class period...

As I looked around the room throughout the period, here’s what I observed:

Furrowed brows. Puzzled looks of confusion. Intense, determined faces. Moans of agony of from getting soooo close. Squeals of delight and ecstasy upon finding a solution. Curious looks from a student when the teacher unexpectedly projected the student’s solution on the class screen for everybody to see. The palpable pride and joy when the class applauded and congratulated students for their brilliant work of engineering.

After a day of this Desmos activity, I was unequivocally sold on its positive impact on student learning. It was not a direct instruction video, not a flipped classroom lesson. It was not a drill and kill worksheet disguised as a video game in order to entice kids to buy in. It was truly a puzzle, a problem that kids were challenged to solve in unique ways, using what they knew (and also what they didn’t know).

Here are my observations of what Marbleslides did for students:

• It was awesomely engaging.

• It provided just the right amount of frustration, enough to test (and hopefully build) perseverance skills.

• It allowed students a safe place to take intellectual risks. Failed designs provided prime opportunities for learning because the feedback was immediate.

• It allowed students to create something. There are infinite ways of solving each puzzle, but solving the problem required the use of critical thinking skills. The solution also had to be sound from both a mathematics and physics standpoint.

• Imagination and creativity are just as important as mathematical reasoning for engineering a ramp system that allows the marbles to pass through the stars.

• Marbleslides was genuinely satisfying. Watching the line of marbles glide along the ramps you designed and then magically make all the stars disappear was the greatest feeling!

Now that I’ve probably piqued your curiosity, I’m going to open a special Marbleslides session for parents to try. Not to worry, the activity itself is self-explanatory and you do not need to have any knowledge of linear equations to try it. Go ahead, the directions are simple and few. Give it a spin and let me know what you think (unfortunately, there’s no “boss” button in case you get engrossed in the activity and your boss comes by your desk). Ask your student to show you some of the creative solutions that they've already come up with. Better yet, work with your child to tackle a few of the puzzles together! It makes for great family bonding time! Just follow this link and get ready for some math-y/puzzle-y/engineer-y/problem solving fun!

There are currently hundreds of educator-created activities on Desmos covering almost any middle school or high school math topic. Though these activities are initially submitted by users, the Desmos educational team screens the activities, reaches out to the creator, and then edits/hand-polishes the activities before posting them for public consumption. Our 8th grade math team is very excited about the integration of Desmos activities into our curriculum.

Here is an article from KQED about Desmos.