Final Blog Assignment

As an educator, it is my goal to increase students learning achievements by consistently adding new and exciting projects that are fully aligned with curriculum into my classroom. Dr. Thornburg points out in our learning video that the classroom must change focus from being “teacher driven” to a more student oriented, project based setting in which students can explore content while having fun in the process. (Laureate 2008) Due to all the new technologies, teachers have many tools at our disposal. It is important to note that these technologies are not merely additional bells and whistles to be added to the lessons but need to be utilized in a way as to promote critical thinking and create inquiry based lessons. I believe the implementation of such technologies will enhance students learning in a more invigorating way for both students and educators alike. Personally, I am excited about the possibilities these technologies lend themselves to. As educators expand their lessons with the ever-growing technological tools, we thus open the door for students to express themselves more creatively. “Students will surpass standards when they take control of their own learning.” (Laureate 2008) While it does not diminish the workload of an educator, in fact it most likely will increase it, it is far more interesting to interpret and assess students learning based on their personal interests and understandings. Facilitating this newer type of setting becomes even more important as the educator needs to monitor and properly assess that the key concepts of the lesson are fully understood and addressed. Through the use of technology, a teacher can explore a variety of ways in which to teach in order to reach every students learning style and ability.

I plan to become a teacher leader in my content area. I have made plans with my department head to create several workshops for our professional development days in which I will share what I have learned throughout this course. I am now familiar with creating a blog site, a wiki, as well as a podcast. I will review these processes and become efficient to the extent in which I will be able to share my new found abilities and teach my fellow math colleagues. I plan to create brainstorming sessions in which the math department can then develop ways in which we can create project-based lessons that utilize these technologies.

In order to expand my knowledge of technology as well as keep up with newer technologies, I plan to continue taking courses and workshops that aid in their implementation to aid in furthering student achievement. My knowledge in this area will continue to expand through sharing of information with colleagues as well as learning through student experiences. Through the use of blogs, podcasts, and video sharing students will “create and communicate”. (Common craft show, n.d.)

I have set two long-term goals, one in which I will learn how to use the set of TI-nspire graphing calculators that were purchased this year for our department. To date, the complete set is still in the box unused. I would like to become efficient in their use as well as proficient in implementing them into the classroom setting as a useful exploration, critical thinking tool. My second goal is to present my knowledge of newer technologies with my department of mathematics. I have set this goal for next year, in which our professional development days will be geared toward teaching curriculum completely through project based lessons and integrating technologies using 21st century skills. This task includes the creation of rubrics that will enable our department to accurately assess that each lesson has been fully understood to the extent in which students will then become free independent critical thinkers as well as proficient problem solvers in the real-world sense. The rubrics will be designed to enable students to understand exactly what is expected of them in order to complete the given assignment successfully.

Resources

Common Craft Show (n.d.). Social media in plain english. Retrieved November 7, 2008 from http://www.commomcraft.com/socialmedia

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008a). [DVD]. “Bringing the Fun into Teaching with Technology” Baltimore, MD.

Midyear Reflection

So far in Algebra II we have covered various topics, including an Algebra I review of linear equations and their graphs, systems of equations, line of best fit, functions, absolute value equations, quadratic equations, and composite functions. Your task for this blog is to reflect on your experiences in learning each of these topics over the course of the semester. Please include which of the topics came easily, which you had the most difficulty with, and examples of how you would use these topics in the real world. We have also used various technology in the class, such as the cable-based ranger, graphing calculators, and motion sensor. Comment on which of the activities you enjoyed the most as well as which you feel aided the most in your conceptual understanding. Do you have any suggestions for future technology use in the classroom? Finally, from the topics we have studied so far, is there anything you feel you would like to learn more about, or that you still have questions about?