About Interactives: Inquiries.link

I would like to start this post with a thank you to members of this site for making both this blog and inquiries.link more sustainable.

I've been asked about some of the toys I've made for interactive math play. I implement them on a site called inquiries.link. This post is a summary of why I made it, what the site is, how to use it, and plans. Heads up – this is more of a down-in-the-weeds post.

Note: I use the words tool and toy interchangeably here - a toy is a fun tool.

The Why

I created inquiries.link for quite a few reasons, but here are a few:

• I want tools for moving beyond the whiteboard or pencil and paper to develop understanding of various concepts (these tools aren't stand-alone)
• I want toys to explore math and art together
• I want to share – these are some of the rabbit holes I have gone down.
  • I can't visualize anything in my head, so I often code, doodle, or manifest patterns through art.
  • Rather than letting a whole bunch of one-off tools pile up, I have started to bring them into a more cared-for form that has longevity, and to create new ones in that spirit.
• I want a site to use while facilitating math groups that doesn't collect data or need a login.
• I have the memory of a goldfish and want an organized archive of learning tools I can go back to.
• I want a place to bring some of the very manual (paper and pencil) activities to a digital version to tinker (knots, circles, hailstones, etc)
• I want a place to put customized explorations that learners request to allow for their investigation (when I work with learners, sometimes they request sliders or ask what ifs that I can adjust to)
• I facilitate in a digital environment – this calls for digital tools
• <insert any other open education, learning generously, human condition here>

The What

Inquiries.link is a collection of digital tools for playing with math. As of the date of this post, here is what exists:

• About 58 tools across seven categories
• The categories are loose — more of a filing habit than a taxonomy. Is a knot tool topology, graph theory, or geometry? Many tools could live in many places.
• Tools are geared towards curiosity.
  • There is a fine balance of not having too many dials, not giving too much away, and having enough. I try to thread that needle with every tool.
  • There are some codes in tools that I haven't figured out how to share yet:
    • Example: if you type "school" on the two-button calculator page, it gives a very specific version of the calculator.
• There are a few ways to wander in:
  • a gazetteer of everything
  • a map
  • a search box
  • a random button that picks for you.
• Most tools don't explain themselves on purpose.
  • They aren't stand-alone tools – I use them for facilitation.
  • I post some of those outlines in the Inquiries series on Fractal Kitty.
• Some tools allow you to configure and share.
  • Logic puzzles
  • Two Button calculator
  • Seeded Flocks
• Everything runs in your browser.
  • I don't run analytics, and there are no accounts.
• The whole site is about 14MB and can be saved for offline or installed as an app
  • This is in beta mode (still testing)
  • This is part of trying to make things more available offline.
• Tools work on touch screens and with a keyboard — built to be mashed on by a range of humans.
  • p5js and canvas are still not ideal for everyone

The How

Here are a few ways to get started and use the site:

• Take a look at the Inquiries series if you want to explore a few concepts and see how the tools might be used.
  • Request a blog post if there is a tool you'd like to have an activity outline for.
• Click the random button on the home page
  • play with whatever dials and sliders that page has
  • be curious and ask what ifs
  • make conjectures
  • see if you can test them
  • make something beautiful
• Use the search to see if something is useful for a concept you are working with.
  • If it's not there, but you think it should be, contact me.
• Please consider not using anything here as a single or initial source. Some of them could take away from the awe and wonder that could be on paper or other mediums first.
• For facilitation, I use most of these tools in flows that might look something like this:
  • pose a question, idea, or visual concept
  • work together on paper or a whiteboard to explore finite cases or ideas around the question
  • get to an understanding or conjecture point in which a tool becomes useful
  • then use an interactive learning tool

Plans, Philosophy, and Approach

Here are a few of my thoughts on plans and where I am at:

• I plan to continue to make tools at a pace that works for me – at some point I might stop.
• I consider myself an artist and educator first. In practice, I want to share toys and have time to play (my cup is full because I dip it into the river).
• I want the world to have open education – I approach both this blog and inquiries.link with that philosophy.
• What I try to bring to the site:
  • Interactive design that has empathy in the equation
  • Toys that bring joy and creativity
  • Tools that don't spoon-feed the math and strip it of wonder
  • Tools that have the right number of dials to inspire curiosity
  • Reasons for conversation and sharing
• An IndieWebCamp concept I am inspired by is Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere (POSSE). The whys of POSSE apply to inquiries.link:
  • reduction of 3rd party dependence
  • ownership - owning the site that I use for embeds
  • archival and search
• I believe there is some obligation when we are part of a community to not disappear. I am still working on how to publish the editable source materials.

The Tech (details)

As of the date of this post, the site has:

• SvelteKit
  • Reusable components and layouts
• Typescript
• p5.js
• D3
• Cytoscape.js
• Tone.js
• Lucide icons
• The font is Inter.
• It's under the Blue Oak Model License, with a best-effort to credit sources on the about page.
• The libraries and fonts keep their own licenses (third-party licences are noted on the about page)
• Service workers make it available offline (still in beta).
• I'm still deciding how to publish the source for editing.
  

I've done my best with the stack above, but am not a software engineer by trade. I come from systems engineering, models and simulation, learning design, and STEM education. I am open to conversation about the stack.