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January 31, 2006
Exercise @ Case
Let's face it...a blog title just isn't cool unless it has @ Case following it.
Between juggling a handful of classes, a ridiculous number of extra curiculars, and a social life (or so I hope), finding the time to exercise can be very hard. The freshman 15 turns into the sophomore 20 and before you know it, you're living off a diet of cold pizza and Code Red while downing a starbucks latte between your classes. How can you keep in shape? Where do you even begin?
Might I suggest Exercise
I hope to put up some:
Google Maps Enhanced Running/biking/hiking Maps
Exercise schedules
Cool links
The running/biking/hiking maps are going to be the cool part (if I can get it to work). People might be more interested in running if they see where other people run. It also would allow you to calculate your mileage.
Users will be able to "click their path" and then save it and add some comments about the path, such as "I hope you like hills" or "this path is very bike friendly".
Please head over to the wiki and start adding content!
Posted by bec at 11:07 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 25, 2006
Legible Variables for Educational Mathematics
Anyone who has taken a calculus course has been there. "Is that 5s+2td or 55+2+d?"
No matter how legible the instructor's handwriting, some characters simply aren't a good choice when trying to keep things simple. So which characters are best when writing equations?
a,b,e,f,g,h,k,m,p.r,w,y,z,A,B,E,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,P,Q,R,T,W,Y,Z
Why didn't the other characters make the cut? Here is, in my humble opinion, the most compeling reason for each:
c - it looks like a left parenthesis
d - between 2-10% of the US population is dyslexic. I often switch b and d, so I choose b only
i - looks too much like the number 1
j - looks too much like the number 1
l - looks too much like the number 1
n - looks too much like the letter h
o - looks too much like the number 0
q - dyslexic equivalent of p
s - looks like an integration sign
t - looks like a +
u - looks like a Union symbol
v - looks like a union symbol
x - looks like a multiplication symbol
C - looks like a left parenthesis
D - looks like the number 0
F - looks like the letter T
O - looks like the number 0
S - looks like the integration symbol
U - looks like the union symbol
V - looks like the union symbol
X - looks like the multiplication symbol
If we all just stopped using these bad letters, I would guess math related test scores would increase on average 5-8% due to the decrease in careless mistakes.
Posted by bec at 05:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack