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Technology Review Section Editor: Alex Moore

In this section, we feature websites, online manipulatives, and web - based applications that are appropriate for K - 12 mathematics instruction. We are looking for critical reviews of technologies which focus on both the benefits and limitations of using these tools in a K - 12 mathematics classroom. The following articles were contributed by Kristin McKitrick

Rojas from Prince William County Public Schools and Alexander Moore from Virginia Tech.

ometric figures and create transformations using the software ’ s tools (see Figures 1 and 2). Desmos also has Desmos Activity Builder, which allows educators to create their own activities or use activ ities that are already created on the teacher Desmos site (see https://teacher.desmos.com). Desmos pro vides support using introductory videos (see https:// learn.desmos.com/geometry). Desmos Geometry builds conceptual understanding for definitions, postulates, and theorems through visual manipula tion. Students investigate and develop their mathe matical reasoning and spatial visualization of ge ometry concepts as they make sense of Geometry, which increases student engagement. Finally, all of these features are easy to use even with a cellular phone, so that students with a wide array of devices can have a positive experience using Desmos. In what follows, I provide an overview of several Desmos Geometry features and how they can be used in the classroom. Additionally, I provide a

A Review of Desmos Geometry Kristin McKitrick - Rojas At the start of the 2017 - 2018 school year, Desmos brought geometry tools to the North American edu cational landscape under the name Desmos Geome try (Desmos, 2019). Like GeoGebra, Desmos is free, dynamic, and an easy to use mathematics soft ware tool that provides online calculators, geome try tools, and much more (see Table 1). The im portance of using dynamic technology, like Des mos, during instruction is explained in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Focus in High School Mathematics Reasoning and Sense Making Geometry (NCTM, 2007), which states that student exploration is the first step in making sense of geometry. Geometric reasoning goes beyond conjec turing; it involves finding inductive and de ductive ways to make sense of relationships among and within geometric objects. The tasks in which students engage, the class room environment and tools available, and the nature of the classroom discourse all play parts in developing students ’ sense making and reasoning. (NCTM, 2007, p. 2) Further, dynamic software like Desmos Geometry supports students as they progress through the Van Hiele levels of geometric understanding, which can be used in instructional practice when students learn geometric concepts (VDOE, 2016). Accord ing to the Virginia Department of Education, “ the Van Hiele theory of geometric understanding de scribes how students learn geometry and provides a framework for structuring student experiences that should lead to conceptual growth and understand ing ” (VDOE, 2016, p.7). The developmental levels are: Level 0) Pre - recognition, Level 1) Visualiza tion, Level 2) Analysis, Level 3) Abstraction, and Level 4) Deduction.

Table 1: Products and Resources of Desmos and GeoGebra

Figure 1: Desmos geometry tools - Construct and Desmos geometry tools - Transform

Desmos Geometry allows students to construct ge

Virginia Mathematics Teacher vol. 46, no. 2

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