FIYS Recreational Mathematics

Fall 2015

Blog post instructions

The first blog post

Here is the list of chapters and dates on which you have to blog in the course's blog. The numbers in red are the chapters you have to read from the textbook and the numbers in blue are the dates you have to post your blog posts.
For the first blog post, you have to read the assigned chapter and write a post containing at least 500 words and at most 1000 words. The main purpose of this assignment is to read carefully and critically.
Your blog post will consist of:

A summary of the chapter. For this summary it would help to answer questions such as "what is the chapter about?" and "what is the main concept or idea the author is communicating in the chapter?".
Your thoughts on the chapter. Some motivating questions are "was the chapter interesting?" and "was the chapter surprising?". You should also include questions the chapter raised for you.

Your assignment also includes reading the chapters the other students write about and comment on at least 4 blog posts (the blog posts will go up between October 5 and October 16). To insure that you don't leave all comments to the last minute, you should post each comment on different days. This means the day you post it is different for each comment you make. The last day to comment is October 19. The comments you write should be written seriously and contribute to the discussion. The comment has to be a well-written post of at least 200 words. Your blog participation grade will depend on the quality of these comments. When commenting on a post about a chapter in the book, you need to read the chapter yourself as well. An example of a good comment would be a question the reading raised for you. Another example would be a comment describing what you think about the reading or a comment regarding whether you agree with the student’s blog post.

The second blog post

Here is the list of chapters and dates on which you have to blog in the course's blog. The numbers in red are the chapters you have to read from the textbook and the numbers in blue are the dates you have to post your blog posts.
For the second blog post, you have to read the assigned chapter and three references cited at the end of the chapter.
Your blog post will consist of:

A brief summary of the chapter. For this summary it would help to answer questions such as "what is the chapter about?" and "what is the main concept or idea the author is communicating in the chapter?".
For each of the three references you picked, find something you wished the author had included in his chapter.
For each of the three references you picked, find something you are happy the author ommited in his chapter.

Your assignment also includes reading the chapters the other students write about and comment on at least 4 blog posts (the blog posts will go up between October 5 and October 16). The first comment on a blog post has to be given within 3 days of the post. The comments you write should be written seriously and contribute to the discussion. The comment has to be a well-written post of at least 200 words. Your blog participation grade will depend on the quality of these comments. When commenting on a post about a chapter in the book, you need to read the chapter yourself as well. An example of a good comment would be a question the reading raised for you. Another example would be a comment describing what you think about the reading or a comment regarding whether you agree with the student’s blog post.

The third blog post

Here is the list of dates on which you have to blog in the course's blog.
For the third blog post, you have to find a subject on your own and write about it. The assignment has the following rules:

First, pick a mathematical subject. It can be a cool puzzle, an interesting game (that involves thinking), an application of mathematics to some field (maybe an application of math to sports) or an exciting theorem.
Once you pick your subject, find three references to give you background on that subject.
Send the subject and the three references to my email at least 7 days before your blog is due (for example, if your blog is due Nov. 12, you have to send me the information by Nov. 5). I will then approve the topic, if it is suitable. If not, you have to find one right away. I suggest, you have three subjects in case I don't approve one of them.
Once you have my approval, write a blog post talking about the subject. You can think of how Martin Gardner wrote his essays (each chapter in the textbook) as inspiration. Your blog post should be between 800 and 1200 words. No longer and no shorter. You are welcome to include pictures and you should include bibliography.

Your assignment also includes reading the posts the other students write and comment on all of them by the last day of class (December 9). The comments you write should be written seriously and contribute to the discussion. An example of a good comment would be a question the reading raised for you. Another example would be a comment describing what you think about the reading or a comment regarding whether you agree with the student’s blog post (and why).