App-smashing with Desmos

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On Friday, we learned the basics of slope - how to find slope from a table or a graph. Today, I wanted to reinforce the concepts and help them make the connection between the table and the graph, so I designed an app-smashing activity for my students using Desmos, Skitch, and Showbie. 

First, I walked the class through completing the worksheet (see left). They were basically picking random numbers to help them build their own personalized input-output table. Their choices for boxes A and B became their first ordered pair. Then their choice for C and E became their rate of change for the x-coordinates, and their choices for D and F became their rate of change for the y-coordinates. They completed their input-output table and found the slope. They then completed the same thing on the opposite side of the worksheet so they had two input-output tables to work with. The only stipulation I gave them was that if they chose the same signs for E and F on one side, they had to choose different signs for the other side (so they ended up with one positive slope and one negative slope).


Next, they opened up Desmos and I walked them through how to recreate their two tables that they had just created on paper. I had them change the graph to be a connected line with points instead of the default of just the points being displayed. They needed to make sure the axes were labeled in increments of 5 so it was easier to count the rise and run. When both tables were set up, they took a screen shot to save it to the camera roll.

The next step was to open up Skitch, import the screen shot, and label the following things: the change in the x and y values in the tables, the rise and run of each line, the slope of each line, and whether the slope is positive or negative. I asked them to color code the labeling so the color they used for the table and the line matched.Then they tapped share and saved the image to the camera roll again.

The final step was to go into Showbie, open today's assignment, and tap the + sign at the top right to add the photo from the Photo Library. They just had to tap done, and it was submitted to me.

It sounds like a lot of steps, but everyone did well with the process. A few students actually finished the whole project by the very end of class. Most of them will finish it up in the first few minutes of class tomorrow. They really liked working with Desmos, so I will be definitely planning some other app-tivities with it in the future.