Designing GeoGebra Applets to Maximize Student Engagement

Author(s): Teo Paoletti, Ceire Monahan and Madhavi Vishnubhotla

Source: The Mathematics Teacher, Vol. 110, No. 8 (April 2017), pp. 628-630
Published by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5951/mathteacher.110.8.0628
Accessed: 19-03-2017 05:25 UTC

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted
digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about
JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://about.jstor.org/terms

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and
extend access to The Mathematics Teacher

This content downloaded from 128.122.230.148 on Sun, 19 Mar 2017 05:25:24 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
TECHNOLOGY
tips
Teo Paoletti, Ceire Monahan, and Madhavi Vishnubhotla

Designing GeoGebra Applets to

Maximize Student Engagement

G
eoGebra is a free tool that
has the potential to change
both how and what we
teach in mathematics. Geo-
Gebra allows teachers and
students to explore various mathemati-
cal ideas either through the full applet
(https://www.geogebra.org/graphing)
or by sharing applets via GeoGebra’s
Materials site (https://www.geogebra.
org/materials/). It has many capabilities,
including allowing students to graph
functions, draw and change various
geometric shapes, solve equations, and
complete other algebraic procedures.
Although all of these features make Geo-
Gebra a potent tool, the full applet can
be overwhelming to a novice user and
can create distractions for students.
Teachers should consider what tools
are (and are not) important for students
Edited by Robert Lochel
Technology Tips offers a forum for innova-
tive uses of technology in the teaching
and learning of mathematics; it appears
in every issue of Mathematics Teacher.
Manuscripts for the department should be
submitted via http://mt.msubmit.net. For
more information, visit http://www.nctm
.org/mtcalls.
to have access to in order to develop the
mathematical ideas the teacher intends.
In most cases, students do not need
to use all of GeoGebra’s features and
tools (e.g., “Conic through 5 Points,”
“Reflect about Circle”). In fact, if all
the features are available, students may
become distracted exploring what these
do. To prevent such distractions, Geo-
Gebra allows teachers to restrict access
to features when sharing an applet on
the GeoGebra Materials site. This site
has thousands of publicly shared applets
created by other educators.
In this article, we offer suggestions
for teachers on how to create GeoGebra
files that maximize students’ engage-
ment with mathematical ideas while
minimalizing potential distractions. We
describe how to create and share Geo-
Gebra files that limit features that may
create potential distractions. Through-
out, we give the pedagogical reasons
behind our decisions.
GETTING STARTED
WITH GEOGEBRA
The easiest way for teachers and stu-
dents to access the full version of Geo-
Gebra is to go to its website (https://
www.geogebra.org) and click the “+”,
then Start GeoGebra. Before creating any
applets, teachers should create a Geo-
Gebra account to ensure they can save
and share their work. To save or share
GeoGebra files, teachers can create a
unique GeoGebra account or link their
Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or Twitter
accounts to GeoGebra.
CREATING A GEOGEBRA APPLET
We designed the Exploring Quadratic
Functions applet to let students (1)
explore how changing the parameters a,
h, and k, of a quadratic function in vertex
form (i.e., y = a(x – h)2 + k) influences
the dynamic graphical representation
of the function and (2) investigate the
points of intersection of the parabola and

Department editors
Heather Lynn Johnson, heather.john-
son@ucdenver.edu, University of Colorado
Denver; Steve Phelps, sphelps@madei-
racityschools.org, Madeira High School, Cin-
cinnati, Ohio; and Robert Lochel, rlochel@
verizon.net, Hatboro-Horsham High School,
Horsham, Pennsylvania
Fig. 1 Create and adjust the parameters on a slider.

628 MATHEMATICS TEACHER | Vol. 110, No. 8 • April 2017

Copyright © 2017 The National Council of This content
Teachers downloaded
of Mathematics, Inc.from 128.122.230.148 on Sun, 19 Mar 2017 05:25:24 UTC
www.nctm.org.
All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributedAll use subject
electronically or into http://about.jstor.org/terms
any other format without written permission from NCTM.
a line defined by the rule y = c in rela-
tion to the solutions of the equation c =
a(x – h)2 + k. To create an applet, first
click the Graphing Calculator option. We
created sliders for the variables, a, h, and
k. To create a slider, click the Slider tool
(fig. 1), and then click on the screen
where you want it to appear. This action
makes the Slider screen appear, allow-
ing you to change the parameters of the
slider. We named the slider h and used a
minimum value of –10, maximum value
of 10, and increment of 0.1. We followed
a similar procedure to create sliders a
and k. Fig. 2 Define a parabola with parameters and change its properties.
After creating the sliders, we defined
a parabola, typing y = a*(x – h)^2 + k
(note that GeoGebra automatically
represents the 2 as an exponent) in the
input bar in the Algebra window on the
left side of the screen (fig. 2). GeoGebra
created a thin black parabola labeled
c. We changed the color and thickness
of the parabola as well as removed the
label. To change these features, right
click on the parabola itself, which opens
the Object Properties window. Click the
checkbox next to Show Label in the Fig. 3 Create a perpendicular line and name it using the function rule.
Basic tab to hide the label, change the
color of the parabola in the Color tab,
and change the thickness of the parabola
by moving the Line Thickness bar from
2 to 5 in the Style tab.
Next, we defined a dynamic point on
the vertical axis by choosing the Point
tool on the top toolbar and clicking on
the vertical axis. We colored this point
orange and named it C, again using the
Object Properties options described
above. To define the line y = c, draw a
perpendicular line at C from the verti- Fig. 4 Build dynamic equations in the text option.
cal axis. First, choose the Perpendicular
Line tool (fig. 3), click on the point C, tion appear. You can use Object Proper- the window. Then continue typing the
and then click on the vertical axis. Use ties to name these points (we named rule, using the other variables where
the Object Properties tool to change them A and B) and to change their color appropriate in order to have a dynamic
the thickness and color of the line, and and thickness. rule on the applet that shows students
use the Show Label option to make the Finally, we designed the applet to how the rule changes while the slid-
functions Value visible (fig. 3). This show the different coordinate values ers a, h, and k move. We used the same
value dynamically changes as the point of A, B, and C and the functions rule process to define the points A, B, and
C is dragged. as dynamic text. To do this, click the C in the screen, in each case changing
Next, define A and B to be the points Text tool on the toolbar, then click on the colors to match the corresponding
of intersection of the line y = c and the the screen where you want the text to geometric object using the Object Prop-
parabola. To do this, move the point C appear. To make the text dynamic, click erties screen.
so that the line and parabola intersect. first on the Advanced tab, then on the Before sharing the applet, ensure
Choose the Intersect tool on the top tool- GeoGebra symbol (fig. 4) to access the that all of the mathematical text is fixed
bar and click the parabola and the line, variables defined in the applet. Type on the screen so that students cannot
which will cause both points of intersec- “y =” and click on the a variable in (intentionally or unintentionally) drag

Vol. 110, No. 8 • April 2017 | MATHEMATICS TEACHER 629

This content downloaded from 128.122.230.148 on Sun, 19 Mar 2017 05:25:24 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

Fig. 5 Share an applet.
this text around, creating a potential
distraction. To ensure that these objects
cannot be moved, right click on them
and then click the Fix Object box for
each one.
SHARING AN APPLET
We used many tools to create this applet;
but because most of them could be dis-
tracting for students when using the
applet, we removed any screens we did
not want students to access. To do this,
click on the Menu bar (Step 1 in fig. 5),
then File, and then View. (In this case,
we removed the Algebra screen on the
far left by selecting the Algebra checkbox
to make this left column disappear.) To
share the applet without these tools,
click Menu bar, then click File, and then
Share (fig. 5).
Clicking Share takes you to a screen
that asks you to save the file. (This
prompt happens only if you are already
DO YOU HAVE
SOMETHING TO ADD?
Share with readers and the Editorial Panel your opinions
about any of the articles or departments appearing in this
issue by writing to Reader Reflections. Letters should be
sent to mt@nctm.org.
630 MATHEMATICS TEACHER | Vol. 110, No. 8 • April 2017
This content downloaded from 128.122.230.148 on Sun, 19 Mar 2017 05:25:24 UTC
logged in.) You will need to name the
file and select the visibility settings of
the applet. GeoGebra provides a variety
of ways to share a file, including work-
sheets that allow you to add texts, links,
videos, images, and questions before and
after the applet. To create a new work-
sheet, click on the GeoGebra symbol,
which opens a new window. Using the +
Add Element button below the applet, you
can add, for example, text both above
the applet (to give students instructions)
and below (as guiding questions for stu-
dents to explore).
After selecting the settings, you will
need to choose a visibility option: Private
(only the creators can see the applet),
Shared with Link (anyone with the link
can access the applet), or public (anyone
can find and use the applet through Geo-
Gebra Materials). For the applets we use
with our students, we generally choose
Shared with Link option.
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Using the resulting worksheet
(https://www.geogebra.org/m/fnpVzVSf),
students can explore the influence that
the parameters a, h, and k have on the
graph and investigate the relationship
between the points of intersection of the
line y = c and the parabola and the solu-
tions to the equation c = a(x – h)2 + k.
EMPHASIZING THE MATH
While we created this applet for teach-
ers to use, we hope this article will give
teachers insights into how GeoGebra
applets can be designed and used to
influence how mathematics is taught as
well as what mathematics is emphasized.
Our goal was not to detail every feature
of GeoGebra but to give ideas about how
to create sharable applets. For instance,
a teacher can create similar applets for
other function classes (e.g., absolute
value functions). More generally, by
knowing how to create dynamic points,
sliders, and text, teachers can begin to
create a multitude of applets for various
mathematical concepts.
TEO PAOLETTI, paoletti@
mail.montclair.edu, teaches at
Montclair State University. He
is interested in student learn-
ing in the context of middle
and secondary school math-
ematics. CEIRE MONAHAN,
monahanc4@mail.montclair.
edu, a former middle school
teacher, is a graduate student
at Montclair State University
in Montclair, New Jersey. She
is interested in mathematics learning for
middle school teachers and creativity in
mathematics at all levels. MADHAVI
VISHNUBHOTLA, vishnubhotm1@mail
.montclair.edu, a former high school
teacher, is a graduate student in math
education at Montclair State University
in Montclair, New Jersey. She is inter-
ested in understanding students’ learn-
ing of geometry through dynamic geom-
etry software.