By Lisa

When considering the benefits of using videos as part of the math curriculum, there are many ways that they can be used in and outside of the classroom and still be educational.  The way that I plan to use videos as part of my curriculum this year is to post videos on edublogs as an extra credit assignment for those who want to earn extra credit.  Although using videos for classroom work would be great, I will not be able to use them more extensively in the classroom simply because of the time constraints that we have as teachers.  In addition, another reason that I will not be assigning videos for my students to watch as homework or to require them to create one on their own is simply that many of my students do not have a computer at home or have access to the equipment that they will need to be successful without allowing them to have a considerable amount of time to complete it.  However, when the remodeling is complete at Davis, it is my understanding that every student will have tablets to use and will have access to video assignments whenever they are given.  This will be great because I then will have more opportunities to incorporate educational videos in my curriculum when possible.

In order to get the videos viewable that I plan on using for extra credit assignments with my students, I will video the assignments with my tablet and email them to myself so that I will have access to them on my computer.  Next, I will upload the videos to the classroom blog called “Math Stuff” on edublogs where only my students will have access to them at their convenience.  In addition to creating a video on my tablet for extra credit assignments, I will post links to videos on the classroom blog that my students will need to watch as part of future extra credit assignments.  As of now, it is my plan to use these methods every week to help encourage my students to become more familiar with using videos and blogs in the math classroom.

In conclusion, there are many programs and websites that can be used to create and watch videos for educational purposes, but for my purposes, I plan to use edublogs as my main destination for video postings this year.

http://edublogs.org/

Extra Credit 1

By Lisa

When considering how beneficial iPads could be in the classroom, I can say that I think it would be great to be able to use them with students since students tend to be more attentive when they get to use the newest types of equipment in technology.  However, to ensure that the students are using the iPads appropriately, the teacher must make sure the iPads have appropriate apps installed on them.  For my case, the apps that I would need for my classroom must be math related.  For example, a few of the apps that my students would need on their iPads for my classes would include scientific calculators, graphing calculators, math formula sheets, and unit converters.  In addition to the apps just mentioned, Apple provides a wide selection of free apps that are very educational and beneficial in the classroom as well.  With this in mind, there are also some paid apps that can be very beneficial to the educational process also.

The app that I have found to like the best at this point is an app called Allen TestBank Questions.  Once it is installed on the iPad, its icon is labeled as Allen Math Guru.  This app is a paid app, but it is great for teachers who want to get their students ready for their state’s tests.  This app was created to align with the WASL test for the state of Washington, which means that the question quality is great for prepping students for current and future state exams.

The main reasons that I like this app are because it contains 1,521 questions that cover more than 50 math topics/subjects and can be used offline without Wi-Fi access.  The main use of this app is for testing or test prepping, which is great because a teacher can load the app on a classroom set of iPads and have the students testing on the same or different types of questions all at the same time to help meet each student’s mathematical needs.  In addition, this app records the scores and keeps them until the teacher resets them back to zero to be used by the next class.  This means, that when students get low scores on their tests, they can’t just close the app and think that their score will disappear.  Also, when low scores do happen, the teacher has the option of having the student retake the entire test, or retake only the missed questions.  Another great feature of this app is that when a student does miss a question, it provides the student with an explanation of what they did wrong and how they can solve a problem like this next time.  This specific type of feedback that is provided for the students is great because it can help clear-up any misconceptions that they may have and help them achieve higher scores when they do take a state exam.

In conclusion, I believe that using an iPad with this specific app in a classroom setting would be great because it allows the students to have a more individualized learning and testing experience.

By Lisa

I plan to increase my effectiveness as a teacher through technology by using an interactive Venn diagram activity (located at the web address below) periodically throughout the year in my Algebra classes as a vocabulary builder, as a math reminder/enhancer, and as a stepping stone for next level of my students’ mathematical future.  Through the use of this Venn diagram activity, my students should be more capable of using and understanding the mathematical content that they will be taught.

The type of students that I teach range from grades 9^th to 12^th, and they are considered to be remedial students with different ethnic backgrounds.  Some of these students are repeating this class for either the first or second time.  Their skill levels are varied as well as their behaviors.  Some of these students are in my class because they do have low skill levels, while others are in my class because they have behavior issues.  So, it is accurate to say that my students are varied in many ways.

As mentioned above, I will be using interactive Venn diagrams to help enhance my students’ mathematical knowledge.  The specific way that I plan to use this interactive activity in my classroom will be as an opener on the first day of school and throughout the first week as a class entry task.  The main purpose of this activity is to not only allow the students to show me what they now about mathematical vocabulary, number classifications, and polygons, but also to let the students discover what they know as well.  By using Venn diagrams in preference to a different form of technology, the students will be able to receive a much clearer and deeper understanding of the topic in question since these Venn diagrams compare up to three things at once.

The main way that I plan to support this technology based activity is to use the students’ scores that were provided by this program as a building block for the lessons that will be taught each day.  For example, after reviewing the scores for each class, I will review/revisit the most commonly missed topics with the class.  First, I will give a basic review for some lower level concepts.  Next, I will ask students to come up to the board and do examples in front of the class.  It is also important to mention that during this review and class activity, the students will be expected and required to take notes on the material for future use.

When considering how this interactive computer generated activity will help and enhance the specific Algebra lessons that will taught this year, it is safe to say that it directly relates to the first few lessons in chapter 1 of the computer portion of the Carnegie curriculum and various others.  To be more specific, the few computer lessons require the students to classify numbers in various ways, much like the Venn diagram activity.  By allowing time for the students to work with the Venn diagram activity before beginning their computer lessons, they should be better prepared to be successful at completing their lessons with commendable scores.

In conclusion, by using the interactive Venn diagram computer activity as a precursor to a lesson, the students should gain a deeper understanding of their needed/required math vocabulary and therefore become more successful at mastering their required skills.

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/VennDiagrams/