Final Reflection

The semester has flown by and I am amazed at all the new technological tools I have learned about and used.  I was hoping to learn a lot during the semester and this course definitely met my expectations!  I have gained many new resources and skills that I can put into use in my future classroom.  I really was shocked at the amount of technology available for math teachers--it doesn't just have to be a graphing calculator!  Working through all of the projects with less guidance has really helped me gain confidence in my abilities rather than just following explicit directions for a finished product. (Having a great instructor really helps, too!)  Overall, I am very pleased I took this course and have the resources to look back at for my future use.

Digital Story

I always knew I had iMovie on my Mac, but I had never used the program. I realized how simple and fun this program can be and will definitely see myself using it more in the future. I don't know how much I would implement it in my Math classroom, but it could be used as an "About Me" presentation or to create a video of a class field trip. I found this activity helpful and can't wait to use iMovie again.

My Spreadsheet Quiz

Below is a picture of the interactive spreadsheet I made in Excel to use as a geometry quiz.  I had used Excel in the past to create spreadsheets involving equations, etc. but I learned a lot from this activity that I didn't know before.  I think this was incredibly simple and a great idea for the classroom.  It definitely could be a great activity for review before a quiz or test.

Web 2.0 Tools

Lately, we have used many new web 2.0 tools in class including Inspiration, Picasa, Picnik, Animoto, Prezi, Smilebox, Google Forms, and Voice Thread. I found the one I will most likely use in my classroom is Google Forms, because it is very organized and quick, and has many uses in the Math classroom such as a Math quiz, a survey about the students' interests, or surveys to gather raw data when teaching probability. I liked the tools Picasa, Picnik, and Animoto, but I can't think of many instances when I would use these in my high school classroom. I would use these tools personally, however, even if I cannot use them in my classroom. I thought the Voice Thread tool was interesting, especially the math example we were shown in class. However, I feel this is more of a tool I could introduce to my students and have them use at home with one another to help each other on math problems, but not something I would use with them. Smilebox had many creative ways to display information, but I felt it was too artsy for my liking and more geared towards younger students. I did not like the Prezi tool, particularly that it was an infinite presentation board. I wouldn't know where to start and where to go without boundaries! The latest tool we used is Inspiration. The tool is great because allows you to create many creative graphic organizers, which present the material to students in a new way. The down side to this tool for Math teachers is that it is not formula friendly! It would be easier to use for topics in Math that don't include any formulas or math notation, such as some geometry lessons.
Using these tools in class has helped me understand them better than just talking about them and allowed me to figure out how these can tools can enhance my teaching.

My Inspiration Map

Scavenger Hunt

In class this week, we completed a scavenger hunt.  We were given a list of shapes and a digital camera and sent out on campus to take pictures that captured these shapes.  Our group then uploaded the photos to Picasa, edited them using Picnik, and each created a slideshow using Google presentation.  Below is the finished presentation, "Shapes at UT."
This gave me an opportunity to use three new tools.  I liked Google presentation, as it was very similar to something like powerpoint and easy to use.  It also has the advantage that it saves all your work online.  Picnik was an easy tool to edit photos, although many of the editing tools were not available for free.  Picasa is a great way to organize and share photos without having to attach each photo individually to an e-mail or upload photos so everyone can see them.  I think I would probably use these tools again.

Digital Collection

This assignment was my first introduction to the online photo sharing program, Picasa.  Picasa was simple to use and quick to upload photos.  It allowed you to edit photos (with Picnik) with just one click, as well as create slideshows and share the albums with friends.
For this assignment, I collected photos from five different sources:  digital camera, scanner, CD collection, online photo, and screenshot.  I had used pictures from all of these sources before (although I hadn't used a picture from a CD collection in a LONG time!).  This project did help me figure out how to configure pictures for best internet usage however by editing size and resolution.  This was a helpful review for using pictures in any of my future technology projects.

This week in 486

Earlier this week, Alex and I gave a presentation on Delicious.  When we first selected our topic, I didn't believe Delicious would be very useful and thought the only benefit would be having your bookmarks stored online so they can be accessed from any computer.  After exploring the website more, I found many neat tools Delicious has like the tag clouds.  I think Delicious would be a good tool to use personally and with students for any internet assignments in the classroom.
We also looked at Glogster today.  This was a creative tool, but I really don't see myself using it ever.  I felt there are other tools that would be better for presenting math material in my classroom that have a more organized format.  This might be a good tool for students to use to create a digital poster for a presentation in class, but I probably won't use it as a teacher.
We have also started our first lesson plan in class this week.  I have made some lesson plans in classes last semester, but I still don't feel completely comfortable creating my own.  This assignment was unique from other lesson plans I have worked on because it requires more online resources than I have normally used, and because I am working collaboratively online with Judy.  This is actually beneficial because Judy is really sick, so we can still work together on this assignment without her spreading her germs!

Wordle & Twitter

Last week we learned about Wordle and Twitter in class.  I had heard of both before but had never used either one.  I think Wordle is a fun and easy to use tool, but I don't see many uses for it in my future Math classroom.  It also was more complicated than necessary to figure out how to insert the picture of your Wordle into a presentation.  Twitter seemed like a tool I might could use in my classroom, but not everyone has a Twitter or would want to use that as a primary source of communication for reminders, etc.  Also, most high schools have safeguards set up to block certain websites from being accessed at the school and usually all social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are blocked.  Overall, Wordle and Twitter and two fun Web 2.0 tools, but I don't feel they will have much impact in my future classroom.

WebQuests

When we first looked at WebQuests earlier this week, I recall doing similar activities in high school, except the activity was on a sheet of printed paper and we looked up information on the internet to complete the activity (I believe it's the same idea though).  At first, I was a little skeptical about using this in a high school math classroom, even after we completed the WebQuest on WebQuests activity.  However, after I looked at some actual WebQuests for my area on Quest Garden, I found quite a few that would be great to do with my class one day.  Also, the WebQuests we saw during the WebQuest on WebQuests activity seemed to be very long projects (I know one of them even spanned 15 weeks) and I wasn't sure if the activity was worth that much class time.  I found a few today, though, that were just one day activities and seemed much more reasonable considering time, but also were still engaging and educational.  I don't know if I feel like I am creative or knowledgeable enough to create my own WebQuest for my classroom, but maybe I could find one online to use or edit for my classroom.

I Don't Want to Live in an Igloo

Right now, I am looking at the weather forecast again.  I try not to do this so much because it is depressing, but I can't help myself.  No, it isn't Knoxville's weather that is so intriguing, but my future home of Wisconsin (Go Packers!).  Tomorrow the high will be 7 F and the low is -7 F.  I have checked the weather forecast almost daily, and the high hasn't been above freezing in about a month and a half.  I do not like cold weather at all.  I received an e-mail this week that contained the following pictures, and it was funny at first until I remembered that I will be the one stuck in that miserable northern winter weather all too soon. 

 

 

 

My Thoughts This Morning

Earlier this week, I was sitting in on an honors Pre-Calculus class at Hardin Valley Academy and was amazed by the technology that was used in the Math classroom!  Before I came to UT, I had never seen smart boards used in the classroom, and up until this week, never in a Math classroom.  This teacher had prepared a presentation ahead of time, but during the lesson, she used the different color pens to solve the problems with the students and labeled each step in the coordinating color next to the problem.  She also had a program on her smart board that displayed a giant functioning graphing calculator on the board so students could see her typing in the problems on the calculator.  She then would drag the graph from the calculator screen into her presentation so a picture of the graph was next to the function.  At the conclusion of the lesson, she compiled the work she did on the smart board that day into a pdf that she uploaded to her course website.  This is just a few of the examples of the technology she used in her classroom, and it may not seem impressive to a teacher of any other subject, but I think in high school Mathematics it has not been very common for teachers to use any type of technology in their lessons.

On another note, I think Valentine's Day is a really lame holiday, and I don't even like chocolate.  Who really thinks that a good way to express love is by giving someone a bunch of sugary calories that will lead to obesity or diabetes?  Why do you have to wait for this one day to come around each year to show the people you love that you appreciate them anyways?  Why are stuffed animals considered children's toys 364 days of the year but are an acceptable gift for grown women on this day?  If you really want to show someone you love them, cook them a healthy meal that won't clog their arteries and go for a hike in the mountains.  Exercise is a wonderful gift--it says I like you enough to keep you healthy so you'll be around longer.

Reflection on Evaluating Websites

 After completing the website evaluation activity, I realized that it is not always clear whether the website is a reliable source or not.  Previously, I felt that it was pretty obvious whether or not you should use a website as a source for any educational work, and sometimes I believe this is the case (i.e. Facebook and Wikipedia are clearly not valid sources while a professional journal online is a valid source).  I chose a website that I thought was clearly a reliable source, but when I was asked to go through a checklist, I found it did not meet quite a few of the criteria.  I believe it is very important to teach students how to evaluate websites in Elementary and High School classrooms alike, otherwise they may reach the same initial conclusions that I did and the source may be a hoax, not be supported by research and references, or outdated.  It frustrates the student and the teacher when a student doesn't evaluate websites before using them in their work.  It is also important for me to evaluate websites that I am going to have the students visit during class to ensure that I am not teaching them inaccurate material.

Website Evaluation Site

UC Berkley Library offers a web page that instructs students how to evaluate websites.  I think this web page is a good resource for teachers to use with high school students to help them learn how to find credible information on the world wide web.  First, it is simple and organized.  It lists five questions you should ask yourself when evaluating a website and then goes into further detail under each question of specifics you should look for.  It also gives some helpful instructions on where to look to find information requested (i.e. author, domain, organization).  There are links on the web page to other web pages with examples or definitions to help clarify any questions students still have.  Also, this web page is current as it has been updated in the last year, so the information will be accurate.

Wiki

After spending the last two classes learning about and creating a wiki, I feel like I have a much better understanding of them than what I learned strictly from reading the textbook.  I think they are great tools, especially for collaborative work, which I am a HUGE fan of, particularly in Math classrooms.  Wikis are a great way to engage the students and create more excitement in working with peers.  I think it was fairly easy to catch on to the basic tools on pbworks to create my page.  Some of the things I really liked about the wiki was the ability and simplicity of creating links to other wiki pages, websites, or e-mail, the privacy controls that could limit access to the wiki to a group of students, and that it does not automatically save changes when you are editing a page (like Google documents).  This would be a great tool to use in my high school classroom one day for cooperative learning groups, provided each student had access to an internet accessible computer to participate.

Great Expectations

Simply put, I expect to learn a lot this semester.  I hope to take away some skills and knowledge that I can use to incorporate technology into my classroom one day.  I am not technologically advanced and tend to get frustrated when I cannot complete a task perfectly the first time, so I do think this class will be somewhat challenging.  Sometimes I feel it is more difficult to be creative with technology in a Math classroom, so I am going to keep my mind open to new ideas and do my best to brainstorm ways I can use the tools I learn in this class in the future for Math students.

Hello!

I was born in Charleston, South Carolina, but grew up near Nashville, TN.  I graduated from Hendersonville High School and came to UT Knoxville to pursue a career in the medical field.  Four years and five majors later, I am starting my last undergraduate semester at UT as a Math major and secondary education minor.  I have always had a passion for Math and get satisfaction out of helping others understand and enjoy it as well.  I am inspired by my mother, a high school English and journalism teacher, who has shared many of her experiences with me.  When I’m not at school, I enjoy working out, cooking, shooting, reading, watching CSI, spending time with my friends and family, and most recently, planning my wedding. I am excited to spend the next year and a half learning as much as possible to become the best teacher I can be, including utilizing technology in the classroom.