This lesson is planned for the early stages of my Pre-Algebra Class. My plan is to use technology to help students to use manipulatives (Algebra Tiles) to balance and solve equations at the early stages of algebra. As the foundation of everything that the students will learn in the coming years, I feel that it is especially important that students understand every aspect of this lesson while being able to enjoy it (especially something as fundamental is solving equations).
With the numerous digital options such as a SMART Board (which has templates specifically for this task), I plan to immerse my students into the world of algebra in a fun and interactive way. The students will be able to visually learn how manipulatives can be used to solve equations as well as being able to perform the tasks themselves on the SMART Board.
While a student or myself, would use the SMART Board to demonstrate how to solve an equation, the rest of the class would use algebra tiles on a hand-out. This hands-on activity will allow the students to grasp a better understanding of how to balance and solve equations.
This lesson should take 3 days (allowing every student a chance to use the SMART Board) with a quiz on the material at the end of the 3rd day. I would plan on allowing the students to use a java style program (Trying to find one at the moment) to allow students to use manipulatives while taking their quiz. My goal would be an average grade of 90% from my students on this quiz.
PS - These tiles can be used for many other activities such as adding/subtracting integers, adding/ subtracting/multiplying/dividing polynomials, factoring polynomials or even fun styles of related math games. -SCHAMA SIGNING OFF
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Week 10 - Sexting
When I went to school (which wasn't that long ago), cell phones were not permitted. If you were caught with them, they were confiscated and the owner (usually your parents) was given them back at the end of the school day. This policy protects the schools from litigation that I feel should be mandatory for all school districts. Allowing cell phones on school grounds does nothing but open a school for liability.
By that same point, it is irresponsible for a school to look the other way and ignore that their students have cell phones. By that reasoning, I feel it is the responsibility of the school to educate the students that there ARE consequences for their actions when using technology. Unfortunately, the invincibility that most teenagers feel prevent them from realizing the severity of their actions. They think that every relationship will last forever, they think that every secret they tell their friends is safe, they think that they can drive recklessly without consequence. They need to be educated that you can be killed in a car crash, you can become the subject of ridicule and you can even be registered as a sex offender if you are found sending inappropriate photos of yourself or your friends.
However, the final responsibility does fall with parents. Jesse Logan's mother's outrage at the school's lack of involvement with her daughter, and primarily the police officer who did not notify her of this video dissemination. The officer has no right to tell the parent if the child is 18 or older. Unfortunately in this technological world where any information is available instantly it becomes even more important for parents to be aware of what their children are doing socially, especially if your child is 18 at which point parents are no longer required to be contacted by authorities.
So overall, it's not the responsbility of the school to regulate children's use of technology (that falls upon parental discretion). Yet, they should educate students of the many dangers that come with technology. As much as we feel the schools can affect the situation, they really can't (they can even ban cell phones and cyberbullying will still happen). So in the end, as a parent, if you allow your child to use the internet or have a cell phone, you need to have rules in place to regulate the usage (regardless if your child feels like their privacy is being invaded). Unfortunately, bullying has now become much more personal and instant in this day and age and we must all work together to help today's youth understand the dangers that are out there. SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
By that same point, it is irresponsible for a school to look the other way and ignore that their students have cell phones. By that reasoning, I feel it is the responsibility of the school to educate the students that there ARE consequences for their actions when using technology. Unfortunately, the invincibility that most teenagers feel prevent them from realizing the severity of their actions. They think that every relationship will last forever, they think that every secret they tell their friends is safe, they think that they can drive recklessly without consequence. They need to be educated that you can be killed in a car crash, you can become the subject of ridicule and you can even be registered as a sex offender if you are found sending inappropriate photos of yourself or your friends.
However, the final responsibility does fall with parents. Jesse Logan's mother's outrage at the school's lack of involvement with her daughter, and primarily the police officer who did not notify her of this video dissemination. The officer has no right to tell the parent if the child is 18 or older. Unfortunately in this technological world where any information is available instantly it becomes even more important for parents to be aware of what their children are doing socially, especially if your child is 18 at which point parents are no longer required to be contacted by authorities.
So overall, it's not the responsbility of the school to regulate children's use of technology (that falls upon parental discretion). Yet, they should educate students of the many dangers that come with technology. As much as we feel the schools can affect the situation, they really can't (they can even ban cell phones and cyberbullying will still happen). So in the end, as a parent, if you allow your child to use the internet or have a cell phone, you need to have rules in place to regulate the usage (regardless if your child feels like their privacy is being invaded). Unfortunately, bullying has now become much more personal and instant in this day and age and we must all work together to help today's youth understand the dangers that are out there. SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Week 9 - Fair Use
So after taking the "Fair Use Copy Right" quiz, I have to admit, I don't know nearly about copyright law as I thought I did (I scored a measly 50%). Being from the "Napster/Kazaa Generation" I thought I had a basic understanding of what was allowable and what was illegal. However, I found that whenever I received an incorrect answer, it was because I was being overly cautious with fair use. I guess this is because of all of the instances in the news of people being sued for copyright infringement.
According to the Thompson article, fair use is a listing of allowable instances where people can use copyright material without fear of legal consequences. This fair use clause in copyright law is especially helpful for teachers since we are allowed to use copyrighted material IF we use the material for teaching, scholarship or research. As for interpreting this law, I find it is a very difficult law to translate into our everyday usage. I liked how in the article by Johnson & Simpson that each district/media specialist will have to be an expert in copyright law. This is advantageous to a teacher since he/she can go to that person/guidelines if they are unclear about using certain material. However, the basics should still be understood by most teachers (for example: copying copyrighted software / downloading movies / sharing music)
I just have 2 questions about copyright law that I can still not answer after reading the articles.
#1 - If I am showing a copyrighted movie to my friends at my house, does that technically breach copyright as well? If not, how is that different from showing my class - Does the location matter or is due to the number of people I am showing it?
#2 - Do BBC/History Channel programs (which are usually very educational in nature) fall under the same "Bill Nye" program list that was mentioned in the quiz? (PS - I got that question wrong)
SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
According to the Thompson article, fair use is a listing of allowable instances where people can use copyright material without fear of legal consequences. This fair use clause in copyright law is especially helpful for teachers since we are allowed to use copyrighted material IF we use the material for teaching, scholarship or research. As for interpreting this law, I find it is a very difficult law to translate into our everyday usage. I liked how in the article by Johnson & Simpson that each district/media specialist will have to be an expert in copyright law. This is advantageous to a teacher since he/she can go to that person/guidelines if they are unclear about using certain material. However, the basics should still be understood by most teachers (for example: copying copyrighted software / downloading movies / sharing music)
I just have 2 questions about copyright law that I can still not answer after reading the articles.
#1 - If I am showing a copyrighted movie to my friends at my house, does that technically breach copyright as well? If not, how is that different from showing my class - Does the location matter or is due to the number of people I am showing it?
#2 - Do BBC/History Channel programs (which are usually very educational in nature) fall under the same "Bill Nye" program list that was mentioned in the quiz? (PS - I got that question wrong)
SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Week 8 - Technology Integration Matrix
This week we had to look at the Technology Integration Matrix made by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology. Looking at this matrix I was then instructed to choose one of the examples of from the TIM and see how that example facilitates the NETS for Teachers. I chose to discuss Constructive Learning at the Infusion Level in a Shared Atmosphere for my cell of the TIM since I feel that this is where many of my current students' abilities lie as well as the type of computer atmosphere I can offer in my classroom (i.e. shared).
Among the many NETS there are many standards that I feel are specifically addressed in this example.
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
a. Teachers promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness. This is shown through the designing process of the rocket.
c. Teachers promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning and creative processes. This is demonstrated in the budgeting aspect of the experiment as well as the planning of the rocket specifications before the actual experiment.
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
a. Teachers design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. Through the use of the NASA rocket modeling program the students will be able to evaluate their rocket's flight before they even build it. This application is used in real life with all engineering endeavors and can be related to the students beforehand.
d. Teachers provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching. The use of both the computer as well as the real life "launch day" allows the student to truly appreciate the lesson and the competition aspect (who can create the most cost efficient rocket) of the lesson will further engross the student to the material presented.
The other aspect of this weeks assignment was to assess where I feel my comfort level is based on the skills that I have learned this semester while taking CURR-518. I can honestly say that while I felt very confident in my skills before this semester began I feel a little intimidated. I do feel that while my technology skills have improved immensely this semester, I have also realized that I have much to learn when it comes to all of the possibilities of integrating technology into my classroom. So I am very confident that I am at an infusion level capability, I do believe that I am ways away from being able to have the knowledge and preparation needed to have a transformation level in my classroom. SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
Among the many NETS there are many standards that I feel are specifically addressed in this example.
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
a. Teachers promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness. This is shown through the designing process of the rocket.
c. Teachers promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning and creative processes. This is demonstrated in the budgeting aspect of the experiment as well as the planning of the rocket specifications before the actual experiment.
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
a. Teachers design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. Through the use of the NASA rocket modeling program the students will be able to evaluate their rocket's flight before they even build it. This application is used in real life with all engineering endeavors and can be related to the students beforehand.
d. Teachers provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching. The use of both the computer as well as the real life "launch day" allows the student to truly appreciate the lesson and the competition aspect (who can create the most cost efficient rocket) of the lesson will further engross the student to the material presented.
The other aspect of this weeks assignment was to assess where I feel my comfort level is based on the skills that I have learned this semester while taking CURR-518. I can honestly say that while I felt very confident in my skills before this semester began I feel a little intimidated. I do feel that while my technology skills have improved immensely this semester, I have also realized that I have much to learn when it comes to all of the possibilities of integrating technology into my classroom. So I am very confident that I am at an infusion level capability, I do believe that I am ways away from being able to have the knowledge and preparation needed to have a transformation level in my classroom. SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Tech Lab 4 - Podcasting
This podcast is me reading off the answers to the homework I assigned to my 8th graders over the weekend. The assignment was found in their workbooks, Lesson 9-2, #'s 1-51 odd. I read off the answers to the homework as I believe it would be an assett to any student (even those who were absent for the class).
I personally love the idea of making podcasts like this one (despite very boring to listen to). The amount of time spent during class reading off the answers from the previous night's homework I've always felt could be better spent on either troubleshooting issues or on presenting new material. That being said, even if I offered this to my students it would heavily rely on them to do 2 things. First, I would have to make sure that my students are not embarassed/ashamed when they do not understand a problem from the homework (I am constantly trying to get my students to overcome this fear) and to make sure that they voice their concern in class/extra help or via email. Secondly, I would also have to trust my students to check my podcasts every night (via subscription) as well as trust that they would LISTEN to them as well. Maybe it is because I currently work at a small school, or maybe it's because of the grades I teach, but at my school the responsibility is on the teacher to make sure the students check and understand the homework (a task I currently have no objection to). If I could have a classroom policy stating that since the material is available to the student (i.e. podcasting), it is the students responsibilty to check it on their own time, I would implement podcasting to my classroom immediately. This would easily save 10-15 minutes of classtime that could be better spent.
Regardless of the concerns, I feel podcasting, (not just homework, but small lectures and reviews) would be a great assett to any classroom in the form of time saved towards learning new materials/troubleshooting problem areas.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Week 6 - The Philosophy of 21st Century Skills - Task 2
I found this video of Sir Ken Robinson to be very intriguing and I loved what he had to say. I particularly agreed with his statement concerning the concept of being wrong. I try in my classroom to make my students overcome this fear of being wrong, and I can personally associate that as a student gets older, it becomes harder and harder for that student to accept a mistake. As a math teacher, I truly believe that we learn more from our mistakes than we do from our correct answers. I like to use the line, we use a pencil in math because we are bound to make mistakes - and that's alright...because you have an eraser. This concept that our education system forces children to understand that mistakes are bad is indeed killing creativity. Think about it, every single advancement of human kind wasn't done correctly the first time. Mistakes had to be made in order for the correct method to be discovered. It is this concept that mistakes are acceptable needs to be implemented into our classrooms in some form (but standardized testing and other grading systems fight against this daily).
This use of testing and preparation for college system that is currently implemented in our education system does not account for all students. Some students excell differently. A great example of this was the ballet student that is mentioned in the video who was considered a poor student, but she found her calling as a choreographer, which is something that our current education system does not adapt for.
While I agree with everything Sir Robinson said in his video, my question to him would be, we have over 100 million different children, with different needs, different quirks, different difficulties, different strengths. Now go create an education system that helps the MOST children at a time. Unfortunately, the creative student will suffer due to the structures that MOST students need to be prepared for the workforce. I hope that we can see the potential that every student possess in each every field, but given our limits right now, we are simply a funnel for colleges. I hope that changes are made, but like I said with the implementation of 21st Century Skills in my last blog, it will be difficult. SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
This use of testing and preparation for college system that is currently implemented in our education system does not account for all students. Some students excell differently. A great example of this was the ballet student that is mentioned in the video who was considered a poor student, but she found her calling as a choreographer, which is something that our current education system does not adapt for.
While I agree with everything Sir Robinson said in his video, my question to him would be, we have over 100 million different children, with different needs, different quirks, different difficulties, different strengths. Now go create an education system that helps the MOST children at a time. Unfortunately, the creative student will suffer due to the structures that MOST students need to be prepared for the workforce. I hope that we can see the potential that every student possess in each every field, but given our limits right now, we are simply a funnel for colleges. I hope that changes are made, but like I said with the implementation of 21st Century Skills in my last blog, it will be difficult. SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
Week 6 - The Philosophy of 21st Century Skills - Task 1
I truly agree that the foundation of 21st Century Skills needs to be implemented into our schools more prevalently today. It is the key to our success in the workforce. I can personally attest that when people graduate from our schools that we are not prepared for the workforce. The requirements that businesses have today for our youth is ever growing and it is our responsibility as educators to prepare our students.
However, I have concerns of the implementation of 21st Century Skills in our classrooms today. One article that drew my attention to this topic was the critique by Daniel Willingham, Flawed Assumptions Undergird the Program at the Partnership for 21st-Century Skills. I am currently reading Willingham's book Why Don't Students Like School (A great read by the way) for my Learning Theories Class here at MSU and I must admit, am a little biased towards his opinions because of this. One major concern that we both agree on is whether or not we as teachers have the cognitive capacity to achieve 21st Century Skill implementation in the classroom. We are not gods, we have limits. This is true, but I believe that through preparation that begins here, in our own education as teachers, we are starting a trend that can lead towards full integration of these new techniques. Willingham goes on to say that if changing the classroom "were that easy, it would have worked by now, because it has been tried many times before." I will be a difficult transition, I don't think that anyone believes that this will be an overnight transition, but it can be done. I believe that we as an education community can achieve the implementation of 21st Century Skills in the classroom and would all be better for it.
However, I have concerns of the implementation of 21st Century Skills in our classrooms today. One article that drew my attention to this topic was the critique by Daniel Willingham, Flawed Assumptions Undergird the Program at the Partnership for 21st-Century Skills. I am currently reading Willingham's book Why Don't Students Like School (A great read by the way) for my Learning Theories Class here at MSU and I must admit, am a little biased towards his opinions because of this. One major concern that we both agree on is whether or not we as teachers have the cognitive capacity to achieve 21st Century Skill implementation in the classroom. We are not gods, we have limits. This is true, but I believe that through preparation that begins here, in our own education as teachers, we are starting a trend that can lead towards full integration of these new techniques. Willingham goes on to say that if changing the classroom "were that easy, it would have worked by now, because it has been tried many times before." I will be a difficult transition, I don't think that anyone believes that this will be an overnight transition, but it can be done. I believe that we as an education community can achieve the implementation of 21st Century Skills in the classroom and would all be better for it.
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