Weblog for May 31

During class today we discussed using the podomatic and a new site www.tappedin.org. After I signed up for tappedin.org, I immediately began to search for Math groups and activities for students. After searching through a few groups, I found a math game site called www.cut-the-knot.org/games/shtml. It had more than ten useful games to help with calculation and problem solving.

During the class presentations, I was very impressed by the use of the iMovies to tell stories about each individual, and I believe that next year on the first day of school, I will present an iMovie about myself and why I got into teaching to my students. I believe that my students need not only to hear about who I really am, but they need to see it too. The ideas were wonderful and I plan to use them in my own class next year.

I also learned that lessons can be easily taught using the flickr web site and iMovies. The ideas of using flickr across disciplines in the Art/Spanish presentation was excellent. I do a Algebra/Geometry project in my class and I think that it would be an excellent idea to use flickr to show pictures on how Algebra can connect to Geometry.

Weblog for May 30

Ode to Joy! After much turmoil, I have figured out how to successfully use the www.pbwiki.com website. It was not as frustrating trying to learn this as it was other programs but it still kind of rose the old blood pressure. I placed my Excel lesson plan on the site, and commented on each of the high school members' plans. During the class discussion about the wiki's, I found it interesting how wiki's can be used in real life as more of a tool of communication than an on-line encyclopedia. I would like to eventually have a class newspaper on a wiki, containing happenings in class, good grades, and upcoming assignments, so that parents can also be involved with their childrens' education.

I have decided to use www.pbwiki.com as a form of on-line collaboration for a Cafe' Conversation activity for my class. I will have the students in groups and have them answer different problems while posting their methods and solutions on-line. I think it is a added value to place technology into a Cafe' Conversation activity, as the students can learn to collaborate about solutions to a problem in a technological way.

Weblog for May 29

During class today, the group and I completed the task on flickr.com. The project came together nicely as we had plenty of pics and a good lesson plan that connected to the assignment. Our project was over math uses in the real world, which we chose to do driving and math. We had about 25 pics, some good, some funny, but all important to driving in the real world. The plan was to use that as an icebreaker for the students, then have the students come up with ideas on pictures to take and present on math in the real world.

The podcast project was very confusing at first since the website would not let me record any sound bites. So the suggestion was made by Leah that I just use the sound recorder on the drop down menu and import the files. This proved to be about a thousand times easier than fighting with podomatic.com - THANKS LEAH!! I hope to start and complete my podcast on a portion of a lesson tommorrow, and move on to the next assignment from there.

Web Log for May 24

Today in class we discussed the use of flickr.com and how to use digital camera pictures to teach or enhance a lesson. The website was a little difficult to follow, but most sites are when a person is just learning it. There were several long processes to invite friends to a created site. When I went to the contacts tab and hit "Invite your friends", it took me to a screen where I had to email the friends on another site to join. Then I went through another process with four or five steps to add friends. I am confident though that the process will become more simple as I get to know the site.

Myself, Justin, and Tiffany decided to make a lesson having to do with math and uses in the real world with driving. Such ideas that came out were odometers, gas prices, new car prices, and tire gauges. I think it should be a very interesting project.

Web Log for May 23

For today's class, we had lab time to complete our Web projects. My partner and I work on narrating the story and placing the frames in proper placement with the music. All in all I think that the movie went extremely well: we have an intro, pictures, a description, examples, and credits. To hook the students into the activity, a good, and sometimes unexpected intro is necessary; that is where the "Incredible Hulk" came into play. It immediately creates a high interest in the project and goes quickly enough into the definition and examples to remain effective. Along with the lesson plan, this is a great activity for students that can maintain their interest throughout the lesson.

Web Log for May 22

In Tuesday's class, we began with a review of searching topics on the internet. Some of the things discussed were using search engines such as Google to do a general topic search on items such as "planets". We also discussed the uses of Deep Web searches for areas like academic or technical indexes and articles. We then began to talk about the Web Iquiry projects and how it puts students in charge of placing the research questions. We were also shown how the JCPS website has sections for homework assistance, ways to cite sources, and practicing skills with games. Being a math teacher, I can fully see the use of having interesting ways for students to be taught and practice their skills on-line.

For our web inquiry project, Justin and I have switched our topic to teaching scale factor. We felt that it would be a more interesting topic to use on iMovies and that students could be excited about researching different objects, their heights, and how they compare to the objects that they researched. We have included an activity sheet for an internet scavenger hunt, and a lesson plan for the assignment, so the lesson will have structure and the activities will be balanced. We are starting the iMovie with a clip from the movie "The Incredible Hulk" to give an example of scale factor, which leads into a description of what scale factor is. Then the students go to work, researching different objects and their comparison to the student as a scale factor. All in all, it is a fun activity for the students to learn about.

Weblog for May 21

During the class on Monday, we watched several selections of student made iMovies. It is interesting to me, how technology can communicate a students' understanding of a concept that does not require testing. I have always thought that if a student can find a way to remember a topic in their own unique way, then they will have a better opportunity to retain it. Making web casts of the different topics helps to not only to assess a students retention on a topic, but teaches them how to use technology in different aspects of life.

Strong messages portrayed by students can be a useful tool in a students' growth in society. To make a web cast of issues that effect students, is a fantastic idea to connect learning in school to real-life situations. I particularly enjoyed the iMovie on drug usage. I believe that high school students can best relate to one of their own, and see how their peers view drug usage, and how it could possibly effect them in society.

In my class, I think it would be a good idea to have the students make a web cast or iMovie on student based teaching of an topic. The students must first learn the topic at a proficient level, second, they must learn how to make the movie, then lastly, they must learn how to present the material in that proficient manner. All in all, it would be an excellent project and an opportunity for the students to understand the importance of learning.

Class Web Log for May 17

During today's class we began to learn about Digital Storytelling and how it can be used across disciplines. I found it interesting to research some of the examples on the Uses of Digital Storytelling, showing some ideas on what stories could be done in my discipline, Math. It had Geometry, History of Math, Architecture in Math, and the Pythagorean theorm. I think that it is an interesting idea to teach students how to use a Digital Narrative for student based instruction. I am going to do a lesson involving the use of a Digital Narrative on solving multi-step equations using variables. This will be a colorful tutorial on how to easily solve multi-step equations. The script will begin with a enlarged size equation, looking very ominous, but as the steps for solution progresses, the equation becomes smaller and looks easier to solve.

Web Link Lesson Plan

John Reker & Justin Matson
Grade Level: 6-9
Course: Mathematics

Rationale: This lesson is designed to connect given data and statistical analysis in a real world example of gas prices. This lesson is being done to expose the use of data, research, and math in an everyday example. This lesson fits the context of measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode) taught beforehand and will now compare the data using statistical analysis. This lesson will be followed by a more in-depth lesson on probability, including standard deviation and histograms.

Objectives:
Students will be able to use specific Internet sites to research the history of gas prices in a particular state.
Students will be able to organize and analyze the data that was researched onto a scatter plot, showing a connection of rising and falling gas prices.
Students will be able to research/explain the reasons behind changes in gas prices.
Students will be able to use Microsoft Excel to created scatter plots and histograms of the researched data.

Activities:
1. Introduction – Students will get on the Internet for 5 minutes and search for the state with the highest gas prices.
2. Class Activity - Discuss the students’ findings and give reasons why gas prices could be higher in certain states than others.
3. Individual Activity – Each student will research a given state and over a 6 month period, will record weekly average gas prices for that respective state. The students will make a scatter plot of the data on Microsoft Excel and find a weekly mean over the six month period.
4. Oral Presentation – Each student will present their respective state, the mean gas price over the six month period, and the reasons why the prices rose or fell over the time frame.

Resources and Materials Needed
School Computers
Microsoft Excel
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/wip/examples.htm (Web Inquiry Site of original lesson)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/03/28/gas.prices/ (Web site on web inquiry for student research)

Assessment: The teacher will know what knowledge the students have gained by their completion of the scatter plot on Excel, their use of Internet searching for their state, and their presentation of their particular states gas prices and averages. The class will also have an exit slip on what common reason causes the fluctuation in gas prices in different states.

May 16 Web Log

While reading through the Adopt and Adapt article a few things caught my eye that I see in my school and things I would like to see. I agree that all writing should be done on a computer since students do turn in a higher quality of work than just writing it down. Writing things down is an arduous task for students and with their mindset of the simpler the better, why not cater to that to connect with the students. Under the topic "Old Things in New Ways", I very much like how teachers are using interactive gaming such as "Civilizations" and "Sim City" in Civics to create a virtual city to connect to real life situations. This could be very useful across disciplines as such games involve math, art, and business, along with Civics.
In the topic "The Big Tech Barrier: One-to-One", do understand the need for one computer for one student. However only the most heavily funded schools could possibly receive such an idea, leaving many students in the dark the idea. It is feasible to understand that not all schools would receive such a great gift for their students, and it is the low performing schools that have less money to spend on their students, that could benefit the most from such a program. Such negatives are true in today's society of education, that students who yearn the most for opportunity must do it with less help and students with already great provided opportunity continue to get great help.
I also believe where the article states that we as teachers must ask the students' opinions on what their level of competence is, and where they would like their education to go. Every student has potential to learn, and if we can tap into the wants of the students, we can show them what they need from education, how to get there, then provide it. New technology can only be beneficial to our students and their potential to learn. As the article states at the end: "Our kids deserve no less."

Class Blog for 5/15

On May 15, one of the class discussions was on managing research. While writing the notes down, I realized that I had already done the five steps of managing during a project on Algebra and Geometry. I gave the students purpose and methods, which I modeled, created an assignment sheet, reviewed the rules of computer usage, and gave the websites allowed for research. I found it to be very uplifting that I had met the criteria for managing research correctly during my first project in my first year of teaching.

The Digital Learner

Reading the article about students as digital learners, I found that my students have a connection with the students in the article. Students are very in-tune with the use of iPod's, cell phones, and other electronic devices that they learn how to use at an expert level. I find that a continuous use of traditional teaching follows the example on page three of the reading: "I am bored to tears." This is very true in today's classroom. With the article stating that (p.3):
"More than half the students in a nationwide survey by the National Governors’Association said
their classwork is easy, and two-thirds reported they would work harder if their coursework were more interesting or challenging." I agree that holding a students interest is a necessity in teaching today's youth. Technology is something that they can connect with and grasp; so why not impliment it into the daily lessons.
It says on page 3-4 of the article that 86% of students surveyed have a computer and 54% use it daily (47% going online). As a student sees more of what interests them, other things take a back seat, such as note taking and traditional study habits. So to take advantage some schools, such as Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary school have video blogs to use for historical documentaries. Along with the use of iPod's to study from an audible SAT prep, education is becoming more in tune with technology, which further branches out to our students to spur their interest in learning.

The Human Calculator Technology Autobiography

Teaching with technology has the potential to increase the different ways in which individual students and entire classrooms have the opportunity to learn. I have found that students are more willing to learn when technology is part of a lesson because it spurs their interest from the traditional view of learning from a textbook. I believe that technology is a very useful tool in teaching students who are becoming increasingly different with a multitude of learning styles.

My experience as a student using computers and technology, was very limited in that a traditional view of teaching was considered the best way for students to learn. The most technology that I was given were scientific calculators, overhead projectors, and keyboarding lessons. I had to teach myself the different uses of technology as they pertained to learning, and branch out from textbook instruction to maximize my learning experience. Now, as a teacher, I try to use technology regularly in my instruction whether it be a graphing calculator exercise or Microsoft Excel project. Further as a user, I use College Live Text to create my lesson plans and laptop projectors to present games and activities as learning materials.

I do have the belief that technology should be absent sometimes for the better learning of the student. As a math teacher, I do not allow calculators for certain assignments that require the students to think critically since they will latch on to the calculator for an easy answer to a simple problem, instead of working it out for themselves. I believe that sometimes technology must be set aside in order for the students to think for themselves, but be present when the help is truly needed. I believe that computers in the classroom is a positive idea when the students have proper direction and assignments that show the need for a computer in the classroom, whether it be a written report, research project, spreadsheets, or presentations.

Computers should most definitely play a role in the K-12 education of students, since they offer such a wide range of differentiated instruction for the student. Computers provide different resources for the teacher that can meet the learning needs of different individual students. Now in such great availability, students are coming into the schools with a knowledge of how to use a computer and the educational system can use that as an advantage to connect what the students know about computers to what they need to learn in school.