danaleeling

Monday had been spent entirely out on the sidewalk using only a poster pad and a sketch of an argument that the shape was parabolic. Tuesday I started on the sidewalk with premarked distances of 3, 6, 9, 10, and 11 meters on the upslope into the Learning Resource Center. Five stopwatches were handed out and three runs were made consecutively I then asked for a data from two of the runs.  Desmos I entered the raw data in the field for the two runs but did not run a regression. I could see that the second run was reasonably symmetric and decided that would do for the rest of the lecture. This approach of a cold open in the field brought the class to the classroom by 12:14. This is the reverse order deployed in fall 2022 where I started with theory in the classroom to predict what would be seen. That approach brought the class to the sidewalk at 12:30. I think this sequence this term works better as the data provides numeric values for the quadratic equation. The data was sketch onto ...

This term I have tended to more often start class outside of A101 both in SC 130 and in SC/SS 115 than I have in prior terms. In part this stems from trying to make the classes more active. In part this is a logical response to the return to pre-pandemic course capacity. The island has both Covid and influenza on island, outdoor classes provide for a healthier air space.  There wasn't the opportunity to really capture many photographs what with a large group and many plants to see. I began at the oahr (Premna serratifolia/Premna obtusifolia) and then walked over to the topwuk (Premna serratifolia/Premna obtusifolia). From there I headed down to the Volkameria inermis, Ocimum tenuiflorum, and Scaevola taccada. On the way we passed Terminalia catappa and Morinda citrifolia.   The class is larger than it has been in a while and gets strung out along the rout e Then I headed into Paies. At the base of a Mangifera indica I found Haploteris elongata and Asplenium polyodon. Sinc...

Once again I began the week plus on acceleration by asking the students what will happen on a time versus distance graph if the RipStik starts from rest and goes faster and faster. The layout was as in the prior term. Timing marks were set at Fibonacci distances of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8. Once again this worked well in terms of my ability to sustain an acceleration of nearly 0.5 meters per second squared. Maintaining a linear increase in velocity beyond eight meters seems like it would not be possible for me. I started on a push off from the usual post. Once again hindsight has suggested that the first meter is being covered too quickly. Athina Viola between the five and eight meter mark Desmos The speed into the first meter mark is a tad high against the downstream data points. The velocity, however, is still nicely linear in its rate of increase.  Desmos has powerful value reference notations as seen in the use of t₁[5] to pull the value of the fifth element of t₁ in the table seen ea...

Spring 2023 began with 1550 students on the Instructure Canvas platform week one versus 1919 students the previous term, fall 2022.  In week two of spring 2023 this number increased by 23 to 1573 students, still a 346 student drop from the fall term. This drop in the number of students directly impacted the number of page views on the platform spring 2023 versus the same point in the term fall 2022. Page views are a proxy statistic for engagement on the platform and includes page views for all users on the platform. The drop in the number of students was on the order of 18% while the drop in the number of page views was on the order of 29%. The factors, if any, driving the larger percentage drop in page views are unknown. Page views may not be linearly related to users on the platform.  Scaling each term against the term's maximum number of page views indicates that the page view drop from week one to week two is larger in a relative scale than in past terms. One theory is tha...

Week two opened on Tuesday with a white board lecture introduction to seedless vascular plants. The goal was to begin to prepare students for a new format for test one. Test one is being redesigned based on the final examination fall 2022 . In the redesign the questions are in Instructure Canvas as a Classic Quiz, but the plants are those encountered in the field. Questions are a mix of multiple choice and fill in the blank. Question stems include... What phylum does this plant belong to? What is the name of these features? What is the frond shape? What is your local name for this plant? Is the green part of this plant diploid or haploid? The small brown stalks with capsules produce... This plant is used for... What is the scientific name for the photosynthetic spikes on the stem? The goal on Tuesday was to introduce the vocabulary and concepts that I would be using on Thursday out on the field. The course has returned to its pre-pandemic capacity. With 26 students in the field, not ev...

The week began with a 30 meter constant velocity RipStik run. This term the exercise was started on the sidewalk and remained on the sidewalk. A poster pad and the tablet allowed calculations to be made and graphs to be generated. Desmos Start for the Monday run was at the usual location at the west end of the south faculty building. Timing marks were set every three meters. The tape measure was routed on the north side due to a puddle at 18 meters. Convective cells were bringing heavy rain showers and downburst driven wind gusts. Wednesday operation of the split timing chronograph was covered in the A101 classroom. The setup necessary in Desmos was also covered. The same 30 meter stretch was used for walking. Students then graphed their data using Desmos. In retrospect the regression equation should have been covered for both the x₁ y₁ case and for the t₁ d₁ case. A reminder that Desmos is both character and case sensitive would have been prudent, and that RMSE = 0 means character or ...