The Applets Box

Hello and thank you for being interested in my products! I am an enthusiastic mathematician bringing more than 20years of teaching experience. I am an advocate of digitizing education as I believe that enriching the ‘old school’ approach with new means of technology helps students grasp the most difficult concepts, especially when it comes to math or science. One of the key elements in this new era of learning is using the right software to make engaging applets. Through these, teachers can present their topics interactively and dynamically, and students are free to discover autonomously and at their own pace the underlying ideas. Of course, I am also aware that not all educational topics need to be digitized. My experience shows that the over usage of technology in presenting simple ideas and basic facts bears the risk of making students being bored and disengaged. Said that I cautiously select the math and physics concepts to make sure that my applets will be valuable tools and points of reference for both teachers and students during the learning process. I also try to accompany my applets with suggested guides to help teachers and students navigate through them. Something like a fundamental lesson plan and a few instructions. Of course, this is only a suggestion and everyone is free to follow their method of teaching even to flip their classroom by letting students discover the basic ideas of the applet beforehand at home. Moreover, as I mostly follow the Common Core State Standards for mathematics, I try to give the standards that are fully or partially covered in each math applet that I make. However, many of them may touch upon the mathematical standards of other curricula too. The physics applets are mostly aligned with NGSS but they may as well reflect the standards of other curricula. Please note that initially, there will be only math applets. Applets for physics will be created and uploaded in a second phase. But please feel free to ask for a specific one if you already have an idea about it. To be able to see and play with the applet you will need to download and install the free software GeoGebra on your computer or tablet if you haven’t done this before. The process is straightforward and quick: The link is https://www.geogebra.org/download from which you can download GeoGebra Classic5 (this is the version that I also use). Please note that in many of the applets that I make, I allow zooming and panning to provide some flexibility to the user (teacher or student). I also carefully choose the elements that are selectable to protect the applet’s layout from being distorted by any unwilling move or action. However, if by any chance something goes wrong with the applet (e.g.the layout is ruined after zooming in, or some labels are misplaced etc.) please send me back the applet with a quick description of the problem and I will either fix it and send it back to you or send you a new copy. Finally and more importantly: I welcome any queries or suggestions you may have and I really value your ideas on what kind of applets would work best for you and your students in your class. So, if you have a specific idea or request for an applet that would stand out in the class, please throw me a message and I will do my best to make it. You won’t have to buy it; this is just a good opportunity for me to enrich my store with quality products which will be sold sooner or later. :) Happy teaching and learning! The Applets Box