Using Technology to Instruct

            In the content area of mathematics it is important to grab the students’ attention the moment they walk into class. It is essential to start the class off with an engaging activity for them to work on or view. For example, the Khan Academy offers video tutorials for different math topics. Teachers can present these videos in the beginning of their class and then facilitate a discussion after the students have viewed it. These videos can grab the students’ attention and formulate a discussion for the lesson. Students can also ask questions about the video and use it as a resource to look back on if they are confused with the lesson at any point. If I use these videos as an attention grabber for my students daily, they will become accustomed to it and be prepared for my class every day. It will become a routine for them when learning new topics. The students can also have access to the videos at home by simply going to the URL site for the specific video. I can also give them the URL link in class so that they have it and have no reason not to use it as a resource. Students need to have as many resources and aids as possible, especially with math, because some concepts are difficult to understand by learning it one way. It is important to teach math lessons in different ways. The traditional way of teaching is by having the teacher lecture and writing notes on the board. However, nowadays the Khan Academy can serve as reinforcement to the lesson and can teach students differently.

            If something similar to the Khan Academy were available for your content area, would you use it in your classroom? I would love to hear your feedback!

Should iPads be allowed in Math classes??

            I have heard, recently, that some schools are providing iPads for their students in the classroom. Students are able to take notes on the iPads and use special software to enhance the lesson they are learning. Personally, I believe incorporating technology in the classroom is great because it keeps the students engaged in the lesson and it can be beneficial and helpful to some students who may need reinforcement of the lesson. With math, technology plays a big part in lesson planning, because we want to keep our students engaged as much as possible. In recent times, I have found that the easiest way to do this is to incorporate some form of technology into the lesson, or to use some form of manipulative.

            However, I would not necessarily choose the iPad as my first technology choice. Any form of computer will get students to be off track and they might explore other things that do not pertain to the lesson. Students in today’s society are very “tech-savvy” and can figure out how to get to certain websites that may be blocked. That is why I am against using iPads or computers in the classroom. On the other hand, if the teacher uses a program on his/her computer and projects it on the white board or smart board, then I believe that is appropriate. Students can still be involved in the lesson and be engaged in the activity, without having the accessibility to their own iPad or computer. They can go up to the smart board and play around with the program, again, without being tempted to search other things or get off task.

            I believe that the choice is ultimately up to the school district and its teachers on whether or not to bring iPads into their schools and classrooms. However, the teachers also have a choice on whether or not they wish to use that technology in their classroom. They need to trust their students to not tamper with the device and to use it according to the lesson. 

Collaboration Canvas

When I first read the task for the interactivity I thought it would be easy to remix the canvas, since I had already created my own. However, once I began working on the remix it became a little difficult. I could not understand some of the formatting things on the canvas itself. I also found it a little difficult to collaborate math with another content area’s unit plan. Once I reviewed a few of the canvases I was able to decide on one to remix and had a plan on how I would incorporate math into it.

The canvas I chose was the Earthquake unit plan. I first looked at the grade level it was aimed for so I knew what math standards I needed to incorporate. In this case, it was 8^th grade. I reviewed the standards and designed my remix canvas according to that. For my content area I added the idea of creating scatter plots and analyzing those graphs to determine slope and intercept. In my gallery I included photos of scatter plots so students can see examples. The video serves as another tool for students to refer to when creating their own scatter plot. I did not remove anything from the original content, because it all seemed valuable to keep with my content.

URL: http://www.play.annenberginnovationlab.org/play2.0/challenge.php?idChallenge=2535&mode=view#network6

Virtual Math Class?

                I am sure you are all aware that some math classes are being taught online now. There are a few 100 level math classes here at Montclair State University that are taught completely online. I have researched some other schools to see if they do the same thing and one professor actually taught a discrete math course designed for secondary math teachers online. She was a little nervous at first, because she had never taught this class before, let alone online. She had to decide on a textbook to use, how to collect/grade homework assignments, organizing class time, and technical preparation. She also learned that online classes are taught in two different ways. Synchronous technology allows the students and teacher to be online at the same time and interact with each other. Asynchronous technology allows the students and teacher to interact at other times. She decided that her class would have two hours a week of synchronous class time and the rest would be asynchronous. What she did for the synchronous class time was send her students a PowerPoint presentation so they could write on the slides during the class time. At the end of her journal she gives advice to teachers who are about to teach an online class for the first time. The most important thing to remember is that an online class is different than a traditional class. Teachers should get some training with the software and hardware and they should get to know their technical support. Finally, she reminds teachers to have fun with it.  

            Personally, I would not like to take a math class online. I need face-to-face interaction with my teacher to fully understand the material. However, I think that online classes might work for lower level/basic math classes, where face-to-face interaction is not necessarily important. Students should have the option of taking their math class online or in a traditional classroom. Every student is different and learns differently, so by having this option it gives them an opportunity to learn the material in a way they feel comfortable with and that will be beneficial to them. What do you think?