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- Use of Desmos to engage students in calculusPublication . Bastos, NunoIn the Spring of 2020, Portugal was one of the countries that experienced the first lockdown at all their school levels system and it resulted in a new challenge also for teachers. During the second semester of 2020/2021 a new lockdown was imposed and, with a variety of tools available to teach, it was important to try different approaches at classes. From one hand it is desired to use digital tools accessible through the devices that students are most familiar with and, from another hand, that those tools were able to create a stimulating environment. Desmos, a free platform, was used in a different way since Desmos combines features of graphic calculators and classroom activities (Activity Builder). This platform was initially thought for use in mathematics, there are already many activities carried out on this platform ranging from the area of history to the area of languages. This platform allows the creation of free digital activities that are elaborated according to a pedagogical philosophy. One of the ideas behind that philosophy is the fact that students can be right or wrong in different ways since not all responses in the learning process need to have the usual "right" or "wrong" label. This platform allows students to give personalized feedback (and the quality of feedback can allow students to remain motivated); allows anonymous sharing of some student responses in a sequence created by the teacher, and it can enhance the debate of concepts and opinions. Compared with several quizzes platforms (e.g. Kahoot!, Quizizz, etc) Desmos have the possibility of writing mathematical expressions by the students in their answers and, in fact, facilitate students' answers during that semester. In this paper is presented some activities in calculus topics such as integration, sequences and ordinary differential equations using some of the Desmos Activity Builder tools. One of those tools is the “card sort” that transpose to the digital the easy activity to stack cards. Some analysis is made about the students' responses. At the end, the students considered the Desmos environment as dynamic and attractive, and mentioned that it facilitates learning.
- Active learning during the covid-19 pandemic - A triple experimentPublication . Santos, Vanda; Hall, Andreia; Bastos, Nuno; Caridade, CMRIn recent times, the debate on active methodologies has been intensified with the emergence of strategies that can favor students' autonomy. The active, dynamic and constructive environment can positively influence the perception of teachers and students. One of the ways to achieve this is through the use of technologies that enhance learning. Due to the pandemic situation, the use of technologies was imperative and essential. Three higher education institutions were involved in an active learning project, involving diversified technologies and methodologies to enhance the learning of mathematics. In the University of Aveiro, the experiment involved all the 1st-year students enrolled in the course “Complementary Mathematics II” during the second semester of the academic year 2020-21. These are students of a master’s program for pre-service teachers, preparing to become primary school teachers and mathematics and science teachers, grades 5 and 6. At the Institute of Engineering in Coimbra, the students who attended this experiment were students of Mathematical Analysis I, from the undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering. In the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, the students involved in this experiment were students from the Preparation Course in Mathematics (which aims to prepare candidates over 23 who wish to apply to an undergraduate degree in Business). The methodologies used were applied during three distinct phases and according to the students’ profile, related to each course. The methodologies used were very diverse: team-based learning; flipped classroom; peer teaching; think-pair-share and exposition followed by exercise practice; problem-based learning and inquiry-based learning. The technologies were also very diversified: Desmos, Kahoot!, Quizizz, GeoGebra, Excel, OneNote, Google Docs, Zoom, Miro, Wolfram alpha, Powerpoint, calculators and videos. The use of a wide range of methodologies and technologies made it possible to teach during the lockdown imposed by the pandemic situation, and simultaneously motivated the students. In addition they provided opportunities to adapt the learning process to the diverse knowledge and learning styles of students, and increased their involvement.