Visualization Tools

            Visualization tools have been created because humans have no natural mechanism for visually representing ideas apart from mental images and dreams, which can be very difficult to communicate. Necessarily, they help people to visualize ideas and share those images with others.

In the classroom technologies are available and have proven useful for visualizing mathematical ideas and concepts. This is because, on a human level, visual images are effective facilitators of meaning. For many people, visualizing something helps them to make sense of it. This is especially true for the abstractness of mathematics. Furthermore, the ability to visualize ideas will prove particularly useful in clarifying and correcting common misconceptions of mathematical concepts. On a technological level, visualization tools automate some of the manual processes for creating images for those that lack the artistic skills necessary for generating original images.

There are two predominant roles of visualization tools. The first is interpretive, which helps “learners view and manipulate visuals, extracting meaning from the information being visualized.” The second role is expressive, which “helps learners to visually convey meaning in order to communicate a set of beliefs.”

In mathematics, dynamic geometry software (DGS) such as Geogebra, Geometer’s sketchpad, and Cabri Jr. app help learners to construct and manipulate geometric objects. Learners are also able to make conjectures about the relationships of objects and then test them for correctness.

I teach high school geometry but I am sad to say that I have never used any of these DGS packages. I hope to explore them in coming weeks to make my lessons more effective for all of my students.