Introduction: Thaddeus Wert

[Fractad]

Hello everyone,
I am a high-school math teacher who has been into fractals since the late 80's. I remember programming an Apple IIGS and letting it run all night just to plot a simple Mandelbrot set!

I currently teach a 3-week "Fractals and Chaos Theory" mini-course that is fairly popular with my students. The final three days are spent using Tierazon to create their own fractals. We display them in our school's library, and they generate a lot of interest.

I'm not nearly as artistically gifted as the others in this forum, but I sure do appreciate the beauty of your work. I'm looking forward to learning a lot from you all.

[heneganj]

Excellent introduction welcome to the forums Fractad!

[Jules Ruis]

Dear Thaddeus,

I am very interested in your course 'Fractal and Chaos Theory'. Can you inform us where it is to find on internet?

It is good to have some teachers in this  Forum society.

[matera]

It's good that you can use fractals in the classroom. Teaching is important, and when you can inspire your students and make learning meaningful, you are an artist of the mind.

[Fractad]

Dear Thaddeus,

I am very interested in your course 'Fractal and Chaos Theory'. Can you inform us where it is to find on internet?

It is good to have some teachers in this  Forum society.

Thanks, Jules. I don't have it online, but we start at the very beginning with complex numbers and function iteration. We use TI-83/4 graphing calculators to perform graphical iteration. We even plot Julia sets on calculators before we use computers. I use Winfeed software (http://math.exeter.edu/rparris/winfeed.html) to help demonstrate some basic principles, such as Feigenbaum's classic bifurcation plot. After they all have a (hopefully) good understanding of what a Julia Set is, we explore the Mandelbrot set. By the time I let them use Tierazon, they have a good appreciation of all the calculations involved. I can send you a simple syllabus if you wish, along with some activities using Winfeed that I have written.

Thaddeus

[Fractad]

It's good that you can use fractals in the classroom. Teaching is important, and when you can inspire your students and make learning meaningful, you are an artist of the mind.

Wow, that's a phrase I have to share with my fellow teachers! Thanks much, Matera.

Thaddeus

[Nahee_Enterprises]

Thaddeus wrote:
> Hello everyone, I am a high-school math teacher who
> has been into fractals since the late 80's.   ........
> The final three days are spent using Tierazon to create
> their own fractals.

Hey there, Thaddeus !!   Welcome to the group !!

Nice to see another familiar name amongst the new members joining in.  And glad to see there are still people using Stephen Ferguson's program (which has been a favorite for hundreds of fractal users for many years).