Awesome hands-on construction; time-comsuming for students to become familiar with.
Community Review for GeoGebra
My Take
Overall, I love using Geogebra in the classroom. It is a great tool for teachers to use during direct instruction, especially for constructing geometrical objects, because I am not much of an artist! It aides with constructing objects to scale, in correct proportions. The students love being able to construct on the computer rather than on paper and without having to use straightedges and making sure everything is perfectly to scale! As far as a FREE tool to use in a mathematics classroom, this website is amazing!!!
How I Use It
During our Geometry constructions unit, we utilized Geogebra to explore how to construct circumscribed and inscribed polygons. With my first class, I attempted to have the students download the full version, but it was taking too much class time so I changed the plan for the rest of my classes. In order to use this website without downloading the full version of the program, my students were able to open the application in their web-browser. Once the program was open, it was also time comsuming to walk the students through the basic capabilities of the program. They were unfamiliar with it and in order for them to work independently, I had to take the time and point out the various tools. Once the students were fairly proficient in using the program, the lesson was very successful! They were able to construct inscribed and circumscribed polygons much more successfully with Geogebra than they have been able to by drawing it on paper in years past! The students also showed a much more deeper understanding of constructions having used Geogebra. This program also works great with students who have difficulty reading various medias because there is not any in-depth reading material that accompanies Geogebra!