Chief Technology Officer
Nick is the Chief Technology Officer of KCP Technologies, and is also the software designer responsible for The Geometer’s Sketchpad®. As one of the founding members of the Visual Geometry Project at Swarthmore College in 1987, he was responsible for the design and development of all of the VGP interactive software. In this capacity, he formulated the Dynamic Geometry® approach that defines the Sketchpad experience. Moving with the software from the academic environment to the publishing industry, Nick directed Sketchpad product development at Key Curriculum Press from 1990 through 1998, when with others he developed Key Curriculum Press’ software department into a separate company, KCP Technologies, where he presently works. In addition to designing software, he is the chief programmer of several incarnations of Sketchpad, and he directs programming staff in other areas.
Nick also acts as a software design consultant to KCP Technologies data analysis software group. He works with schools in conducting field-testing and software evaluation, and also represents Sketchpad professionally in research, curriculum development, and professional development contexts. He has been PI and senior scientist on Small Business Innovative Research projects investigating Dynamic Geometry’s impact and potential, and has written numerous articles on the subject.
Recent Teaching & Visiting Appointments:
January 2007-present. Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia.
August 2003-December 2006. Visiting Fellow, Division of Mathematics and Science Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Summer 2002. Primary instructor and curriculum designer, Sketchpad Master Class, Mills College, Oakland, California (50 participants; week-long institute).
Winter 2001. Royal Bank Visiting Fellow, Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education Group, Department of Education, Queens’ University, Kingston, Ontario.
Selected Publications:
Jackiw, Nicholas. "Mechanism and Magic in the Psychology of Dynamic Geometry," Mathematics and the Aesthetic: New Approachs to an Ancient Affinity. Heidelberg: Springer Verlag, 2006.
Jackiw, Nicholas and Nathalie Sinclair. "Understanding and Projecting ICT Trends in Mathematics Education," Teaching Secondary Mathematics with ICT. Berkshire: Open University Press, 2004.
Jackiw, Nicholas. “Visualizing Complex Functions with The Geometer’s Sketchpad.” Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Technology in Mathematics Teaching, (Volos, Greece: University of Thessaly, 2003): 291-299.
Jackiw, N. and Pimm, D. "Mathematics: The Written and the Drawn." 2002 Proceedings of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group, (Kingston: Queens University Press, 2003): 71-79.
Jackiw, N. and Sinclair, N. "Dragon Play: Microworld Design in a Whole Class Context." Journal for Educational Research in Computers, Vol. 27 (2002) 111-145.
Jackiw, Nicholas. The Geometer’s Sketchpad v4.0. Emeryville: Key Curriculum Press (2001).
Jackiw, Nicholas. "The Geometry of Computer Graphics." Proceedings of the National Conference on Inquiry-Based Geometry Throughout the Secondary Curriculum, (Northfield, Minnesota: St. Olaf College, 1998): 35-52.
Jackiw, Nicholas. "Drawing Worlds: Scripted Exploration Environments in The Geometer's Sketchpad," Geometry Turned On!: Dynamic Software in Learning, Teaching, and Research. Washington, D.C.: The Mathematical Association of America, 1997.
Finzer, W. and Jackiw, N. “The Geometer’s Sketchpad: Programming by Geometry,” Watch What I Do: Programming by Demonstration. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1993.