Captivating

I finally received the copy of Captivate that I ordered in June. I guess part of the problem was a version change about the time I ordered it, as well as Macromedia being purchased by Adobe.

I have been doing the tutorials and visiting the developer's site to collect some tips and tricks. The plan remains the same in that I want to use Captivate to create a lesson on the binary number system.

I usually spend at least a period or two at the beginning of each school year on binary numbering and number systems in general. The Hexadecimal numbering system is also covered in the curriculum and used extensively in computer science. I talk about numbering systems in general to scaffold up to the concepts of hexadecimal.

I make a big deal about zero and how it has a special function as a place holder. Zero is a "magic" symbol that makes all number systems work. I try to make a real distinction between numbers and quantities. I drive home the point that several symbols together represent a quantity. For example, when we see the symbols 10, we think of the quantity ten, but in fact, using different numbering system it could mean quantity two, three, four, or sixteen.

Next, I let numbers or symbols that represent a specific quantity represent something else. I use an example from US history, the story of Paul Revere. Most US students can complete the phrase, "One if by land, ____ ____ ____ ____." (two if by sea) This illustrates that quantities can represent something else if it is decided before hand what those numbers will represent. I then ask how much more information could have been communicated if they had used more than two lanterns. Perhaps we could communicate that the British were coming by land to the North, or by sea to the South. The students then pickup on the point that, if determined ahead of time, anything can be represented if we have enough "lanterns."

These are the concepts that I'd like to develop with Captivate.