Presents the Fibonacci sequence in a format that is readily implemented using the table and list features of the Texas Instruments TI-82 graphing calculator or a spreadsheet. Includes questions and investigations that can be explored using these tables and lists. (MKR)

Presents a spreadsheet used to record online searches at the University of Kentucky's decentralized library. The spreadsheet is described by fields, and its advantages and disadvantages as a tool for accounting and for gathering information about database usage are discussed. Seven figures showing sample spreadsheets and usage patterns are…

Investigates potential uses for spreadsheets that generate graphical representations, and explores complex sheets that can be used purely as demonstrations, which require far less time and expertise than writing equivalent computer programs. Includes several spreadsheet examples using Microsoft Excel. (JJK)

Reviews the current state of electronic gradebook software programs. Discusses what they can do, their use and their shortcomings, and database management and electronic spreadsheet programs. (SR)

Describes a method for inducing a theoretical model of a series of events that occur in an ongoing process. A data analysis method that transforms narrative data into event histories is explained, a spreadsheet display that compares event histories is described, and future research is suggested. (17 references) (LRW)

Discusses a method that uses spreadsheets to calculate the exact distribution of the sum of two or more discrete random variables with arbitrary distributions. Demonstrates how this method can be used to investigate several problems that would be found interesting at the elementary level. (Author/ASK)

Explores a birthday-related problem that asks about the probability of having people with the same birthday in a room. Utilizes spreadsheets to work on the problem and discusses related teaching issues. Contains 20 references. (ASK)

Explores how students interpret algebraic notation and what teachers can do to support appropriate interpretations. Presents two research-based strategies and concludes that in the face of reform and technological advances, finding a definition for symbol sense takes on added significance. Contains 22 references. (ASK)

Describes the use of spreadsheets as an alternative means of teaching complex mathematical concepts through simulation using the topic of the statistical power of tests as an example. Through the simulation it is possible for the learner to explore the design factors that influence power. Also provides a simple way of calculating power as a…

Highlights work done in a variety of preservice and in-service mathematics teacher education courses to help teachers use commonly available spreadsheets as an interactive exploratory learning tool. Discuses several examples of teachers' subsequent use of spreadsheets in their own teaching. (Contains 11 references.) (Author/ASK)

Designs a set of spreadsheet-supported activities to examine how preservice and inservice teachers behave in an exploratory computer setting, thus providing clues capable of informing the design of other learning opportunities using this technological tool. Describes the content of the activities devised and some of the strategies used by teachers…

We describe a simple undergraduate exercise involving the titration of a weak acid by a strong base using a pH meter and a micropipette. Students then use their data and carry out graphical analyses with a spreadsheet. The analyses involve using mathematical concepts such as first-derivative and semi-log plots and provide an opportunity for…

In science, inquiry is used as students explore important and interesting questions concerning the world around them. In mathematics, one contemporary inquiry approach is to create models that describe real phenomena. Creating mathematical models using spreadsheets can help students learn at deep levels in both science and mathematics, and give…

If larger and larger samples are successively drawn from a population and a running average calculated after each sample has been drawn, the sequence of averages will converge to the mean, [mu], of the population. This remarkable fact, known as the law of large numbers, holds true if samples are drawn from a population of discrete or continuous…

Todd Lee and colleagues share some of the common technology "pranks" and peculiarities from the three most common technology tools used in our classrooms: Microsoft Excel, graphing calculators, and The Geometer's Sketchpad. The "Surfing Note" includes a link to a collection of funny math cartoons from the Carolina Biological Supply Company.