Question 2: How can/will you use internet applications & software in your classroom?

I got to explore many new internet tools in this class.  I think that I will be using Google Earth to complete an activity with my students that I created in my unit for 691.  It could also be used for measuring distances and exploring spherical geometry.  A google website would be very useful for communicating with parents and students about class events and assignments.  There are so many great educational sites that have wonderful ideas, activities, lesson plans, and applets that can be used to demonstrate new knowledge, use for discovery of knowledge or an extention of a lesson, or for review.  Geogebra wiki also has an extensive library of applets that demonstrate a variety of mathematical ideas that can be used the same way mentioned above.

Question 1: How can and will you use technology in your classroom?

The more that I study and learn about education and learning, the more I am convinced that learning is most successful when it is hands on and applicable to real life.  The technology and manipulatives we have be introduced to and been given a chance to try out would definitely be very useful in my own classroom and teaching.    I definitely plan to use manipulatives like Geogebra and other online applets to illustrate concepts as I teach them.  I also would like to make lesson activities using Geogebra and other applets to allow for discovery activities for my students.  I may also use the CBLs and graphing calculators to collect real data to then graph and analyze in my algebra-based classes as well.  I think these various technologies could be used for review purposes as well, but I don’t think that is necessarily something I will use them for in my classroom.

Accomodations for ESL Students: July 25th, 2011

In class today we discussed teaching ESL students and how using technology can help these students to learn more effectively.  We were asked as a class to think about ways in which we could use technology in this way.  Some of the ideas we came up with included the following:
-Use online 'gadgets' and applets to illustrate concepts
-Use geogebra to illustrate concepts
-Have students use a computer to create and submit work to avoid  procedural differences in the mathematics
-Show a video clip in the students' native language to demonstrate a concept
-Use physical models and manipulatives
-Use a smartboard with manipulatives
-Translate handwriting into type from a smartboard and print notes this way
-Put classroom discussions/notes online to access later
-Use an online translator

CBL Write-Up

In class we 'taught' another student how to use the CBL to collect data and then answered the following questions.
My views as the teacher about my student:

1.        My student did very well.  She was able to successfully collect data and create a line of best fit.

2.       She did understand the ideas behind line of best fit.  Since the line was very crazy it was hard to get at why a particular line was best, but the idea of line of best fit was grasped.

3.       She did very well with the technology, and when she didn’t understand she simply looked at the QuickStart guide.

4.       She didn’t have any problems or misconceptions with the mathematics.

5.       Since both of us were not very familiar with the technology we weren’t sure at first how to do certain things, but by looking at the Quickstart guide and playing around with it we were able to do everything.

My student's views of me as a teacher: 

1.        I learned how to find the boundaries to create a region of the graphed data.

2.       Yes!

3.       I liked best that it was real data and not data just given to me in a word problem.

4.       The technology was kinda slow and at times hard to figure out.

5.       She did excellent!

July 20th, 2011

Today in class we looked at a lot of websites that have cool 'gadgets' on them to use in classrooms.  Though there were many good ones, my two favorite websites were http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html and http://www.teacherlink.org/.  They had cool puzzles and applets to demonstrate many concepts for a variety of math topics.  I tried out a few geometry ones and really liked them, and hope to use a few in my class this coming year.

 

 

July 18th, 2011

In this class we set up our own websites with google to display an online portfolio.  We created a home page and then on the sidebar created links to pages for each class in the MSP grant that we have taken.  So far I have taken four of the six MSP grant courses, so I have four links.  For each class we had to link various papers or projects we completed in each to create the portfolio.  Once I got the hang of it I was amazed at how easy it is to create a website!  I may try it for my class this coming year...if I'm ambitious enough.

July 13th, 2011

Today in class we completed a story in Google Earth.  Although at first it was difficult and complicated to figure out how to do some of the parts, such as embed pictures and videos.  Afterwards, however, I was very pleased with the outcome (mostly because it got me really excited for my upcoming vacation, which I described in my story)!  We also created this blog, which would be a great way to see journal entries for our class but also my own classes as well.  Both Google Earth and blogs are great tools, I'm just not completely sure if I will be able to incorporate them effectively into my classroom.  I'll have to think a little more about ways they would be effectively used.

Algebra for Teachers

In Fall 2010 I took Algebra for Teachers with Dr. Menendez.  One of the things that was most useful to me was the use of algeblocks.  I had seen them before but had never used them much and was glad for the opportunity to try them.  I also had the opportunity to look at the standards for mathematics by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and compare them to the SOLs.  I think the NCTM standards are more rigorous and all-encompassing than the SOLs are.

Statisics for Teachers

In the Fall of 2010 I took Statistics for Teachers with Dr. Jill Stewart.  Statistics has always been a challenging subject for me, even though I was a math major in college and am now a math teacher.  I think it will be useful to me when I begin my project to complete my Master's degree because the topic I am thinking about researching will need statistics to analyze the results- though I may need to look up some things first :-)

Euclidean & Non-Euclidean Geometry

In the Spring of 2011 I took Dr. Manizade's Euclidean & Non-Euclidean Geometry course through Radford University.  Because I am a Geometry teacher, this class was immensely helpful to me in my teaching.  We did lots of easy activities to show concepts to students, like how to show the formula for area of a circle.  I also enjoyed doing the basics of spherical geometry, like great circles = lines.  I also liked some of the teaching ideas and strategies I received, like keeping a journal, that I plan to incorporate into my own classroom.

July 11th, 2011

Geogebra

I could see myself using the program Geogebra as I teach certain concept sto show what I am trying to explain, to use as a review for students, and if the right applet was found, as a discovery tool for mathematical content as well (with written directions given for students to follow).

July 6th, 2011

Main Ideas I Gained from Class Today:
Technology not only needs to be accessible to teachers in order for it to be used successfully- it also needs to be shown to teachers and support and training needs to be provided in order for technology to be implemented effectively and successfully.  Also, various technology forms need to be introduced in teacher education courses.  Since most teachers teach based on how they were taught, most would not be naturally inclined to use technology.  If shown in teacher education, they would be more comfortable with it and more technology would be used, creating a future generation of teachers who would be more naturally inclined to use technology in their classrooms.

June 29th, 2011

The various approaches to teaching mathematics that I can think of include constructivist (hands-on), instructivist, traditional (lecture), and technology-driven.  My perspective on using technology in the classroom is that it can be very helpful, but I have also seen it overused and made things more confusing for students, so technology is a great tool that needs to be used cautiously.