Part 1
#1 Oh my gosh…. Nothing
like good ole trial and error for me. That
is how I learn! Even though the podcast application
got my feathers ruffled a bit, without having experienced the trials and
tribulations of setting it up and actually getting my voice heard on my
blogging site, I would never have given that a try. Thankfully, this was a part
of the coursework. I thank you now, but
was utterly frustrated for a bit. J
I appreciate everyone who responded to my many questions regarding the podcasting
issues I experienced. Seriously, all and
all this course helped me tremendously.
I knew I had to do the footwork to learn. I feel much more competent in the blogging,
wiki and podcasting and willing to learn more.
#2 Since having taken
this class, a bell has rang. Now I have
a better of understanding as to just how different the kids of today learn as
opposed to how I learned throughout my school years. Technology has so much to do with this. Technology is in every facet of a student’s
world and they seemingly embrace it. One
example, I never have been able to understand is how they could possibly be
focusing on math work while listening to music.
Not the soothing meditational music, but the hard core stuff that many
of them listen to. It still puzzles me a
bit, but hey, if they are really able to successfully get their math work done
in such a manner, than it’s worth letting them listen to their music. For myself as a teacher, I’ve become more
flexible with the students listening to their music as they are doing their
homework during the last few minutes of class as long as I do not hear it.
#3 I am still
predominantly more teacher-centered than learner centered. However, we have allowed for more
collaboration groups to work on various real-world problems throughout the
school year that allow them to communicate, work with their problem solving
skills, teamwork, and all students having ownership in parts of the group
work. The group is to hold each
accountable for their individual part of the project or activity. I would say that we have done more real world
application group activities this year than in years prior. And with this group work, we have required
them to use pieces of technology to enhance their learning and illustration of
their efforts and work. I would say our
classroom is about 35% learner-centered and 65% teacher-centered. Rome
was not built in a day. Having said
that, the learner centered model has taken some getting accustomed to and I do
not see math being a subject that can 100% of the time be learner
centered. That’s just my opinion.
#4 I forge ahead with my expansion of knowledge simply by
continuing to learn as technology grows and changes as it all too often
does. It seems as if as soon as I’ve
mastered something with technology, they have created a better or faster device
than the one I have been able t0 successfully master. For instance, the iPhone
or the iPad. Geez, how many models will
there be. It is just like Nike coming
out with a new and better version of the Nike Air Max. Every year, these shoes are supposedly the
best yet. Same holds true with
technology. Our school was awarded a
STEM grant that gave the science, vocational and the math department an
assortment of high tech technology gadgets.
As soon as we received those, the new models came out. The new models, of course, did things that
the year past models did not do. In
closing with this, we all know that the world is driven by technology and the
kids of are the technology age. Somehow,
we must allow them the time to work with the technology components they will be
faced with once outside of the high school environment.
One long term goal I would like to have up and running
within a two year period would be my own math blogging page for all of my
students to have access to. At this
point in time, all blogging sites among many, many other things are “access
denied”. It will take more than just
myself to approach the powers that be with this idea. I must try to sell them on how this can allow
me and my students to communicate outside of the class time they have in our
class. I can relate to taking homework
home and getting stuck on a problem and having no one to communicate with to
help me through it. This is one way to
help those students outside of the classroom.
Another long term goal is simply continuing to use real
world activities for collaboration, teamwork and technology usage. I do not want to use technology for the sake
of using it. I want it to be utilized as
an enhancement to the learning of our kids and their success with the math.
Throughout the seven weeks of this class, I and my
co-teacher have talked in more detail regarding utilizing group work,
real-world activities and more usage of our technology within our Math II
classrooms. The following are strategies
that we have implemented more of within the last two month period of time. Let me go further to say, this is and will
continue to be an ongoing strategy to get all students involved and more accountable
for their own learning. These are the
strategies we strive to continue to work with:
1.
Model
effective and appropriate technology use in my work environment by
using appropriate tools in work
processes, such as communication tools,
grading software, and online resources
for teaching and assessment
work to
promote best practices in technology integration by researching,
2.
work
to promote best practices in technology integration by researching,
evaluating,
selecting and sharing new tools for classroom instruction
3.
Collaborate with students to explore and
evaluate new and emerging
technologies and investigate how these
tools can be used to solve problems
in real world environments
4.
Model
reflective practices and engage students in activities that promote
self-reflection and self-examination
of their own learning
5.
Design
instructional activities requiring student collaboration to accomplish a
joint task
6.
Design
learning experiences that require students to formulate questions for
inquiry and engage in real-world
problem-solving activities
