This site provides an interesting collection of materials concerning the occurrences of the Fibonacci numbers and golden section in art, architecture and nature. Both ancient and modern architecture are explored as well as ancient and contemporary art, film, poetry, music and other miscellany. The material is enjoyable and wide-ranging and makes for interesting reading and exploration. Many links to other related materials are provided.
Type of Material:
Mainly reference material but includes some material for student projects.
Recommended Uses:
Classroom demonstration; student exploration
Technical Requirements:
None
Identify Major Learning Goals:
Demonstrate the interconnectedness of art and mathematics. Resource material for student papers/research on general math and applications. Classroom enrichment for instructors and students. A good motivational tool.
Target Student Population:
General arts students with little mathematical knowledge who want to investigate the surprising appearances of the Fibonacci numbers. Math students wishing to learn more of the underlying mathematics.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Basic arithmetic
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
This site contains a large number of links to related materials that provide breadth and depth to the topical content.
Concerns:
A small percentage of the linked pages were no longer available; the use of a link checker would improve the usability of the site. A link check found 16 links that were broken; this could be potentially frustrating to the end user. Some images (91hc.jpg, 1150-13994.jpg) are hosted offsite (allposters.com). The content will be ineffective if these images are unavailable at the other server. Also, no indication of permission is given. parthenonDIAG.gif occurs at two other sites (http://www.educ.fc.ul.pt/icm/icm99/icm41/curiosidaouro.htm; http://www.jligteneigen226.freeler.nl/Lessen/Verhoging/parthenonDIAG.gif). Author should note permission. Images from Eden Project also reside off site.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The material on this site should provide an effective resource for classroom demonstration with regard to informing students of the many connections between Fibonacci numbers and the arts. The materials are also suitable for student exploration and discovery.
Concerns:
The need to explore a variety of sources for the topical information presented here may tend to create a slightly disjointed effect in readers. The author has other excellent materials at http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibnat.html#golden that include a section on the relationship between Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio. A prominent reference to this site would be a helpful addition on this page.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
No technical difficulties were encountered in the use of this site.
Concerns:
As noted above, there were a number of dead links on the site; the use of a link checker to eliminate these links would improve the overall value of the site. In addition,
following the active links to the sites produced a large number of unwanted pop-up ads as a result.
Creative Commons:
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