It is the beginning of summer, which is my busiest season of
the year. Baseball, soccer, extended child care days and event planning keep me
on my toes. On top of the added responsibilities, I am also taking summer
courses that will aid me in realizing my goal of becoming a teacher. I often
find myself wishing that I could build an exact replica of myself to accomplish
half of my tasks or to offer another set of arms and a lap on those days that
the children in my care need more one-on-one time. A computer for a brain would
also aid in remembering important dates and keeping a tight schedule. All of
this thinking ties into the base ten conversions I encountered in my course
this week.
The
first time I took a math for elementary teacher course, I was attending Saint
Cloud State University for Special Education. I remember struggling through the
course and acquiring a D despite my efforts to understand the base conversions.
When I realized I needed to tackle this concept again, I was nervous that I
would fall short again. When I first studied base conversions, we did not have
a clear system defined for us in order to convert the bases and it left me wondering
why this was even important. Fast forward 19 years and the need for base
conversion is apparent in the binary and hexadecimal systems required for
computing and digital technologies. In using the binary codes, a zero represents "off" or no current and a one represents "on" or to allow current. The use of base two in computer science and electronics is reason enough for students to acquire the ability to perform base conversions. The bit system that is built from these binary digits determines the transmission and storage available in our computers and other digital electronic devices. The hexadecimal system (base 16) lists memory space in a two digit number versus several binary digits. As I work from my laptop to create this post, I not only see the value of the programmers responsible for my computer and software, but also the students who have a future in programming. By teaching base conversions, students will have a better understanding of the technology that surrounds them and some may find a future occupation in programming. Maybe one of these students will be able build and program the "robot replica" I could so badly use this summer!
Bring on the conversions!
