Awhile back I posted some scripts for defining and populating 'newgeom', a database of polyhedra in Sqlite.[1]
The idea of a classroom database is not new. Enter http://myschool/ms_purky/geom/polyhedra/?poly=tetrahedron and get some view, courtesy of Django. http://myschool/mr_duffy/geography/usa/capitals/?state=OR and get whatever view of Salem (our state capital). What's somewhat intriguing about our Gnu Geometry approach is hinted at in this volumes column: sqlite> select greekname, shortname, volume from Polyhedra; Tetrahedron|tetra|1 Hexahedron|cube|3 Octahedron|octa|4 Rhombic Dodecahedron|cell|6 Cuboctahedron|cubocta|20 Through the close of the 20th century, most children were not exposed to such a simple treatment, continuing their entrapment in a "2D" (planar) world. Moving "beyond flatland" was one of the hallmarks of new millennium curricula, thanks in large degree to H.S.M Coxeter, aka the King of Geometry, who paved the way with his clear explorations and elucidations of the polytopal realm. [2] With the advent of powerful personal computers and their ability to render colorful, rotatable shapes in perspective, many teachers discovered exciting new ways to revive both geometry and geography as subjects of passionate interest. Fractal geometry and cellular automata (both branches of chaos mathematics) likewise fed this revival, as did the publication of global data for civilian use (a geographic application). Other news: We're continuing to plan for OS Bridge, a new open source conference in Portland where I will likely show off some XOs during one of my talks, still quite exotic in this neck of the woods). [3] Kirby [1] http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/2008-September/008756.html [2] http://www.amazon.com/King-Infinite-Space-Coxeter-Geometry/dp/0802714994 http://www.rwgrayprojects.com/synergetics/intro/dedicate.html [3] http://controlroom.blogspot.com/2009/01/os-bridge.html http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/01/saving-children.html _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list [email protected] http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
