 | 
Tips and Tricks for
Beginning Fractal Theory :)
Dear
World, Most
of the maths in our syllabuses (That's right, there are no syllabi)
is between 3 000 and 500 years old. So let's get the students exploring some really,
really new stuff link FRACTALS! |  |
|
What
is a fractal? - basically a mathematical way of trying to describe the shapes
in nature. | | Let's
get a little awe and wonder happening in our classrooms. |  The
Mandelbrot Set |
|
Ideas
for classroom activities: *
To save
yourself a little time, set the following homework - What
is a fractal? Who was Mandelbrot? How do you make a fractal? How do fractals relate
to coast lines or leaves of trees? Are fractals really the geometry of nature
or just pretty pictures on a computer screen? Why or Why not? Why couldn't Shrek
or other 3D movies be made without fractals? Discuss this homework at whole class
level and admit that you have no idea what fractals are. The kids will love telling
you all about them :)
* Visit the playground to look for examples of fractals eg the trees against
the horizon, hills against the horizon, the edge of the clouds... *
Write ecphrastic poetry asking questions of a variety of fractals. *
Compose a fractal photostory from
fractals generated in Fractalus. Pretty impressive hey?
Tips
and Tricks: *
Start Fractalus / File/Load Parameters/Gallery and Experiment your little heart
out :) *
Left mouse drills into the fractal, right mouse drills out.
*
Take screen dumps of fractals that the students think are fantastic (print screen
button) and save them to a common folder for printing or future work. *
Make a wall display of colour printouts of fractals generated in Fractalus in
a place in the school where they will lead to discussion. Fractal
Generation Software
Download Fractalus for free and
have a heap of fun exploring
infinity in the very small. |
|
| 
