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Origins | The Site - Prime Academy | Learning Center
Site dedicated In Memory of Chis Heimann, my friend.
“I knew that I was not alone. At that exact moment, I had my wife, Christy, with me. We quickly reached out to our immediate family to spread the word. We reached out not in search of pity or more tears, we reached out because we knew that we were going to need even more help from them than they had already given. I began to text my Galesburg clan, my Knox buddies, the family-friends who needed to know right away. I then started reaching out to friends from work, extended family, and all people I knew would positively support us during what was to come.” Chris Heimann
My daughter, Amy, is a outreach worker / counselor and secondarily a facilitator for the self-directed online curriculum at Galesburg North computer lab. GHS North is the alternative school for Galesburg High School, Galesburg, Illinois. Shown on the right is their beloved first campus. It was closed by the school district because of building life safety remodeling costs. Now North is located in the east wing of the main high school.
Knowing that I had taught math courses at the local college and had written an eBook / print book on algebra fundamentals she asked me specifically for algebra and geometry help. She said that almost all of North’s students were struggling with the self-directed online algebra and geometry curriculum. The Prime Academy | Learning Center is the result.
Things have improved. Galesburg North was able to hire a full-time math teacher. The students no longer are dependent on the online algebra and geometry curriculum. My hope after getting time for the students and instructor to adjust is that I can get together with the new instructor and see how I can help. I am a big advocate of using technology to help with instructions but realize that all instructors are not necessarily such advocates.
Like Khan Academy, what started as one person tutoring his cousin, one person figuring out how to help local students struggling with their math, has grown into the the Prime Academy | Learning Center. Just as stated at Khan Academy, "A few great people can make a big difference." Great people, that is what the students, staff, teachers, and principal of Galesburg North High School are. With the North students and staff help, it is hoped that this site can become the catalyst for math help for all students and learners no matter their location, background, or economic situation.
I think my daughter’s quote, “We live in a society where we give all students the opportunity for an education. Many of our GHS North students have traveled a tough and winding road; however, they have decided to work hard and complete high school. GHS North prides itself in creating a safe family environment for its students and staff. There is a pride at our school that you can feel as you walk through the front door” gives us some insight into the student’s goals and obstacles.
The Site - Prime Academy | Learning Center
Shown at the top of each page is the navigation bar for the site. The site fall into six categories: Academy, HP Prime, Algebra, Geometry, Advanced Course Work, and Info. The advanced Course work includes the Trigonometry, Finite Math, and Calculus categories. These categories are represented by the tabs in the navigation bar.
Each category has a unique implementation due to its origins. The category's implementations are explained below.
Pressing the Academy tab loads a self-contained home page that introduces the site. The site is a ancillary site of ComputerLearningService.com. The upper-left graphics icon of Galileo looking into the night sky is a link back to ComputerLearningService.com. The Academy page gives a brief description of what the Prime Academy | Learning Center is about; where to get the free HP graphing calculator apps; how to add a virtual algebra tutor; and using the advance course work tabs to gain additional proficiency and add powerful new functions to the free lite versions of the HP graphing calculator apps.
The HP Prime tab is complete and should help users new to the HP Prime Calculator or HP graphing calculator app get started. Clicking the HP Prime Tab brings up the HP Prime Getting Started Generalities page. The HP Prime is one of the most powerful and feature rich calculator available. The Getting Started - Generalities page is designed to get us started with the HP Prime elaborate interface that is necessary for the feature laden HP Prime.
The HP Prime tab drop down menu links us to the Getting Started - Settings and Examples pages. Use the Settings link to display content that helps us with initial settings, recovery, and updating of the Prime. Use the Examples link to help us get comfortable with using our HP Prime as a tool in our math toolbox. Note that the HP Prime Tab, Settings, and Examples page have a full text navigation line at the top of each page. This is another easy way for us to move between the Getting Started pages.
The Getting Started pages has links to subtopics listed later on the page. Use these links to go quickly to the subtopic area. Press the browser back arrow or function to return to the top of the page. The Academy tab, Trigonometry tab, Geometry tab, Finite Math tab, Calculus tab, and Info tab content pages also have subtopic links.
Instead of the HP Prime tab's full text navigation line at the top of each page, all the menu and content pages in the remaining tabs use a breadcrumb text base menu line at the top of the page. A breadcrumb menu system shows the current page and all the higher level pages. We can use it to return to any previous higher level page.
Another difference from the HP Prime tab is that all the remaining tabs link to a menu page rather than a content page. The Trigonometry, Calculus, Info, and current Geometry, Info tab's menu have a single menu systems where the Algebra and Finite Math tabs have a double menu system. With the drop down menu or drop down, fly out menu we can go directly to a content page. However, you should take a look at tabs with single menu page and double menu pages as we will use the menu pages to display information that is common to all the levels below.
The Algebra Tab comes next. We add content to our Algebra tab from our HP Prime Guide Algebra Fundamentals book. We are including content pages for all the primary parts of our HP Prime Guide Algebra Fundamentals book that help students learn or review algebra. Additional instructions are added to the book's material that make it easier for students to follow the Guides contents that we are including on the page. The Algebra Tab's has drop down and fly out menus that make it easy to go directly to a content page.
To get to a content page, we can use the two level menu systems as well. The top drop down menu allows us to go to a chapter menu. The chapter menu is based on our Kindle ebook and uses the eBook screenshot for the image maps to the chapters. Note that the other items in the eBook's screenshot are not used. The next lower level fly out menu takes us to the topics for that chapter that we are using for the Prime Academy | Learning Center. The lower level topic menu is also based on our Kindle eBook and again uses the eBook screenshots for the image maps to the topics, Note that not all eBook topics are used for the Prime Academy | Learning Center.
The Algebra tab is followed by the Trigonometry tab. It one of the advanced course work categories and will be discussed after the Geometry tab.
The Geometry tab contents original work. The original work is being created for this tab's content pages. Additional geometry content for the Geometry tab is coming. However, since it is being created for the first time, it will take longer for additional content to be available. Look for more geometry content to be available as they are completed.
The Trigonometry, Finite Math, and Calculus tabs can help users who continue their education with additional math courses. The Trigonometry, Finite Math, and Calculus tabs have examples from my Cengage Brooks/Cole Math Tools Guide's calculator pages with additional instructions and screen shots for the HP Prime. The examples from the Cengage Brooks/Cole Math Tools Guide were picked to show how all HP Prime devices, including the Lite / Free, can use the built in CAS system and be extended with CAS Var programs to help with the understanding and solutions of problems presented in these courses.
The Finite Math includes fly outs that further demonstrate the topic in the drop down submenu. The fly out content are youtube videos made with site webpages, Microsoft Onenote, and HP Prime emulator.
The Info tab has has a link to the Link, About, and Work Cited pages. The Links page has links for additional HP Prime information and more examples. This page is the About page. The Work Cited identifies the work that is referenced in our content pages.
Use the link at the HP Prime thread - The Museum of HP Calculators to Prime Academy | Learning Center thread to post your reaction / contibutions to the pages on this site.
Prime Academy | Learning Center
giving every student every chance to learn and understand
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