A 'Dude' With the Right Equation

Math Podcasts Are Cool School Tool

Mike DeGraba is not your typical math teacher. To teach probability, he dresses up as a magician. For a lesson on multiplying polynomials, he becomes Groucho Marx. To divide monomials, he pretends to be a vampire.

What can you expect from a man who wears rock T-shirts to work and keeps his gray hair long and bushy?

His unorthodox teaching methods were just what Montgomery County school system administrators were looking for when casting the lead for their new math cable show and first-ever podcast. They call him the "Math Dude," and they're hoping his antics will get a 21st-century teenager interested in algebra.

"He's going to be a rock star," said Erick Lang, acting associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction of Montgomery County public schools.

Starting with the Class of 2009, all Maryland students will have to pass High School Assessment exams in algebra and data analysis, English, government and biology. School systems across the state are coming up with new ways to prepare students for the high-stakes tests. A chalkboard and textbook will no longer do with today's technologically advanced teenager, school officials said.

"We're looking at ways to make learning more interactive," said Jody Silvio, assistant to the associate superintendent for curriculum.

To film one five- to seven-minute episode, DeGraba delivers his lines in front of a green screen in a studio at the school district's headquarters in Rockville. Later, colorful computer-generated graphics are placed on top of the green screen. Sometimes, different backgrounds are added. In one episode about calculating the mean, for example, DeGraba looks as if he were standing in a bowling alley even though he never left the studio.

"It puts that cool factor to it," Silvio said. "It's that aspect that makes it attractive to 'tweeners.' "

"This is the medium for kids," said Aggie Alvez, the school system's director of communications. "The kids love the graphics. They love the irreverence of Mike. For some kids who don't get it, it's about the way it's presented."

Students can download the weekly shows from the school system's Web site, http://www.mcpsmathdude.org. The episodes can also be seen on iTunes. They air on the school system's cable Channel 33 (Comcast) three times a week (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 6:15 p.m.). About 35 episodes will air during the school year.

"It's algebra on demand," Alvez said. "You can watch it 24-7. You can watch it once. You can watch it 100 times."

School officials are tracking how often students are tuning in. The show on calculating the mean was downloaded 348 times, said Chris Cram, operations manager for Montgomery County Public Schools Instructional TV. Each episode covers a topic around the same time it is being taught in the classroom.