Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Presentation Thoughts
It was great to listen to the Blogging and Manipulation groups discuss the uses of their topics in a classroom atmosphere. I think using blogging in a classroom would be a good way to help students learn responsiblity outside the classroom by making weekly blog posts a priority in reference to homework or test questions. I also liked the manipulation websites presented by the manipulation group. It is sometimes hard to find useful websites for math students and I thought the sites they presented were great!
Presentation
For our presentation we are going to present the useful podcasting websites we have found, to give the class a better knowledge of what podcasting can bring to a classroom.
Mitch is presenting the following wesite:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting
This website first explains in detail what exactly a podcast is and what it can be used for. It explains where the term comes from and the difference between it and other digital audio formats. Then it talks about the long history of podcasting, all of 6-7 years, and then the mechanics behind podcasting and the many benefits that it has. It ends by listing the many different examples of podcasting and it lists links for different specific podcasting for one to explore more if the interest is there. This website seems very valuable to one who does not know much about podcasting.
COdy will present the following website:
http://www.learninginhand.com/podcasting/
This website also explains in detail what podcasting is and what it can be used for. However, the difference between this and wikipedia is that this website is designed to help educators specifically learn about podcasting. It explains that podcasting is a way to automatically download audio files from the internet, but it also lets everyone know that you do not have to have an ipod in order to podcast, instead you can do it straight from your web browser. It lists different links where one can find podcasts, subscribe to them, listen to them, or even create them yourself. It lists the benefits an educator to be involved in podcasting, and lastly has more links to find more information about podcasting.
Chris will present this website:
http://chatt.hdsb.ca/~magps/boylit/Podcasting%20in%20Education
This is a really informative website that again first explains what podcasting is. I guess since it is fairly new, it must give a general definition of what it is. Next, it shows proof of what it’s worth and that it works. It lists newspaper articles explaining how podcasting has helped in the past and then actual audio files (podcasts) that give working examples of podcasting working, which is very interesting I think. Then, it gives different quotes and other purposes of why podcasting is show useful. Lastly, there are some links to other websites and links to where you can buy resources to begin podcasting. It even has an e-mail link to the website designer so you can ask more information about podcasting or send him your podcasts if you are interested in getting them on his page. It is pretty valuable to the podcasting community.
If time allows we might also give a few examples of math podcasting in a classroom environment.
Mitch is presenting the following wesite:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting
This website first explains in detail what exactly a podcast is and what it can be used for. It explains where the term comes from and the difference between it and other digital audio formats. Then it talks about the long history of podcasting, all of 6-7 years, and then the mechanics behind podcasting and the many benefits that it has. It ends by listing the many different examples of podcasting and it lists links for different specific podcasting for one to explore more if the interest is there. This website seems very valuable to one who does not know much about podcasting.
COdy will present the following website:
http://www.learninginhand.com/podcasting/
This website also explains in detail what podcasting is and what it can be used for. However, the difference between this and wikipedia is that this website is designed to help educators specifically learn about podcasting. It explains that podcasting is a way to automatically download audio files from the internet, but it also lets everyone know that you do not have to have an ipod in order to podcast, instead you can do it straight from your web browser. It lists different links where one can find podcasts, subscribe to them, listen to them, or even create them yourself. It lists the benefits an educator to be involved in podcasting, and lastly has more links to find more information about podcasting.
Chris will present this website:
http://chatt.hdsb.ca/~magps/boylit/Podcasting%20in%20Education
This is a really informative website that again first explains what podcasting is. I guess since it is fairly new, it must give a general definition of what it is. Next, it shows proof of what it’s worth and that it works. It lists newspaper articles explaining how podcasting has helped in the past and then actual audio files (podcasts) that give working examples of podcasting working, which is very interesting I think. Then, it gives different quotes and other purposes of why podcasting is show useful. Lastly, there are some links to other websites and links to where you can buy resources to begin podcasting. It even has an e-mail link to the website designer so you can ask more information about podcasting or send him your podcasts if you are interested in getting them on his page. It is pretty valuable to the podcasting community.
If time allows we might also give a few examples of math podcasting in a classroom environment.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Map of our Homes
We could use this website to teach our students about distances from one house to another house by using the Pythagorian Theorem.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Cody Trueblood, Lesson Plan Ideas
Lesson 1 Idea: Different types of special quadrilaterals
Talk about in class-make group conjectures (no matter right or wrong)
Discuss their properties, and then investigate using Geometer’s Sketchpad.
Finally, summarize our class findings as a group.
Lesson 2 Idea: Different types of polygons
Talk about in class-make group conjectures, about how many degrees inside the
polygons, and then investigate using Geometer’s Sketchpad.
Finally, summarize our class findings as a group.
Lesson 3 Idea: Talk about the difference between adding a constant of 10 to a number
and multiplying by 3 to a number, doing each over and over again.
(Linear/Exponential Functions)
Talk about what makes them different, make a table, discuss what a general
equation would look like, then graph the equation, see if it is right, then
summarize as a class, and fully explain the linear/exponential difference.
Talk about in class-make group conjectures (no matter right or wrong)
Discuss their properties, and then investigate using Geometer’s Sketchpad.
Finally, summarize our class findings as a group.
Lesson 2 Idea: Different types of polygons
Talk about in class-make group conjectures, about how many degrees inside the
polygons, and then investigate using Geometer’s Sketchpad.
Finally, summarize our class findings as a group.
Lesson 3 Idea: Talk about the difference between adding a constant of 10 to a number
and multiplying by 3 to a number, doing each over and over again.
(Linear/Exponential Functions)
Talk about what makes them different, make a table, discuss what a general
equation would look like, then graph the equation, see if it is right, then
summarize as a class, and fully explain the linear/exponential difference.
Cody Trueblood, Reflection 5
http://www.edutopia.org/video/movie.php?reset=cookie&keyword=005&id=Art_1127
The movie that I watched was titled “Laptops On Expedition” and it was basically about a school in Maine implementing technology into their entire school. Instead of the traditional way of schooling, this school decided to try certain technologies instead of textbooks. For instance, the kids would do research on the internet instead of reading it out of a textbook, and the students would do projects for their classes and when they were done they would present them to the class. However, instead of the typical classroom project most of us are familiar with, these projects were all done on CD and presented to the class on an overhead projector from the computer screen. It was very neat and creative. The students really seemed excited to do these projects also, perhaps because they were presented with an opportunity to not have to read the same boring textbooks over and over where they were not getting much out of them. Instead they could find out the information for themselves and format a plan and present it to the class in a more interesting way. It really seemed to be working at this school in Maine, the kids were excited and learning really seemed to be going on. The major technology being used in this video was computers in general, every single one of the students were using computers to do their entire classroom projects (for multiple classes) and they did basically all of their homework on a CD, that way they could bring the CD home and then bring it back to school to let their teachers know that they indeed were working on their projects outside of class. The technology was very much student-centered, rather than teacher-centered. The kids themselves were working on their projects on the CD’s and had to do it themselves in order for the work to be completed. I am sure the teachers showed them how to do certain things on the computers, but it was basically a must for the students to be able to do things themselves also, so they could get work done at home. I definitely agree with the statement that technology makes the lesson more engaging. The reason is because the students do not just have to sit and listen to the teacher ramble on and on, instead they can actually do things on their own; they are forced to be engaged really, and I think that is a very good thing for students. They have no other option other than to be engaged. From a technological standpoint, the teacher really must try to visualize every kind of problem the student could encounter at home and let them know what to do in certain situations so the student will not get discouraged and just quit. From a pedagogical standpoint, the teacher must let the students work on their own but at the same time really check on their work every day so they can correct them on certain things, for instance if they are getting their information on the internet from unreliable sources, that wouldn’t be very good. In order to assess student performance in this video, I would try to look at the information being presented itself in the presentations, rather than if they didn’t format the presentation correctly or something tedious like this where maybe the teacher could have explained that more clearly or something, because technology doesn’t come natural to everyone. One advantage of using this technology is something I’ve already talked about, the fact that the students are very engaged in the lesson, and that is really good for the students. The students are engaged and they are learning, and as a teacher you can tell that they are learning from their presentations that they are giving. Some challenges that teachers could face is having to check students’ work on a daily basis, this might be hard to do for a classroom with more than 20, but it is something that is almost a necessity to know if the students are actually working on things at home. For students, it might be a challenge to do everything at home on the computer, where if they have trouble with something technology-based like formatting or something, they might not be able to ask their parents for help and might become frustrated and give up easily. Overall, I think this was a great idea for this school and it is definitely something I could see myself trying in my class someday.
The movie that I watched was titled “Laptops On Expedition” and it was basically about a school in Maine implementing technology into their entire school. Instead of the traditional way of schooling, this school decided to try certain technologies instead of textbooks. For instance, the kids would do research on the internet instead of reading it out of a textbook, and the students would do projects for their classes and when they were done they would present them to the class. However, instead of the typical classroom project most of us are familiar with, these projects were all done on CD and presented to the class on an overhead projector from the computer screen. It was very neat and creative. The students really seemed excited to do these projects also, perhaps because they were presented with an opportunity to not have to read the same boring textbooks over and over where they were not getting much out of them. Instead they could find out the information for themselves and format a plan and present it to the class in a more interesting way. It really seemed to be working at this school in Maine, the kids were excited and learning really seemed to be going on. The major technology being used in this video was computers in general, every single one of the students were using computers to do their entire classroom projects (for multiple classes) and they did basically all of their homework on a CD, that way they could bring the CD home and then bring it back to school to let their teachers know that they indeed were working on their projects outside of class. The technology was very much student-centered, rather than teacher-centered. The kids themselves were working on their projects on the CD’s and had to do it themselves in order for the work to be completed. I am sure the teachers showed them how to do certain things on the computers, but it was basically a must for the students to be able to do things themselves also, so they could get work done at home. I definitely agree with the statement that technology makes the lesson more engaging. The reason is because the students do not just have to sit and listen to the teacher ramble on and on, instead they can actually do things on their own; they are forced to be engaged really, and I think that is a very good thing for students. They have no other option other than to be engaged. From a technological standpoint, the teacher really must try to visualize every kind of problem the student could encounter at home and let them know what to do in certain situations so the student will not get discouraged and just quit. From a pedagogical standpoint, the teacher must let the students work on their own but at the same time really check on their work every day so they can correct them on certain things, for instance if they are getting their information on the internet from unreliable sources, that wouldn’t be very good. In order to assess student performance in this video, I would try to look at the information being presented itself in the presentations, rather than if they didn’t format the presentation correctly or something tedious like this where maybe the teacher could have explained that more clearly or something, because technology doesn’t come natural to everyone. One advantage of using this technology is something I’ve already talked about, the fact that the students are very engaged in the lesson, and that is really good for the students. The students are engaged and they are learning, and as a teacher you can tell that they are learning from their presentations that they are giving. Some challenges that teachers could face is having to check students’ work on a daily basis, this might be hard to do for a classroom with more than 20, but it is something that is almost a necessity to know if the students are actually working on things at home. For students, it might be a challenge to do everything at home on the computer, where if they have trouble with something technology-based like formatting or something, they might not be able to ask their parents for help and might become frustrated and give up easily. Overall, I think this was a great idea for this school and it is definitely something I could see myself trying in my class someday.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Mitch Baidinger, Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan 1
Target: Algebra I students in high school
Big Idea: Explore real world situations as it relates to slopes, such as stairways and inclines.
Objectives:
1. determine value of a slopes’ incline by using the slope-intercept formula, and
2. investigate real-world situations such as escalators, airplanes, and calorie burning.
Standards: MA.C.3.4.2: Using a rectangular coordinate system (graph), applies and algebraically verifies properties of two- and three-dimensional figures, including distance, midpoint, slope, parallelism, and perpendicularity.
Resources: http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspCorrelatedStandards&State=FL&Grade=9-12&Document=Sunshine%20State%20Standards&Subj=Mathematics
Lesson Plan 2
Target: 9th grade high school math students
Big Idea: Understanding domain and range values between theoretical and practical linear functions.
Objectives:
1. Be able to find the domain and range for functions.
2. Determine if an equation or set of points is a function.
3. Understand real life applications of functions.
Standards: Relations and Functions: They are able to explain important functional concepts such as domain, range, intercept, and pole. They gain an understanding of the relationships between the solutions of an equation, the zeros of a function, the x-intercepts of a graph, and the factors of a polynomial.
Resources: http://www.indianastandardsresources.org/standardSummary.asp?Subject=math&Grade=A1&Standard
Lesson Plan 3
Target:
Big Idea: For the concept of exponential (vs. linear)relationships, this lesson helps students understand the difference between the two and relates this knowledge to human population growth over time.
Objectives:
1. Solve a real life math problem involving multiple and sequential steps in order to answer a question.
2. Graph the results of their problem solving to give a visual representation of the results.
3. Explain the difference between a linear and an exponential relationship.
4. Apply this knowledge to a study of world population.
Standards: Logarithmic and Exponential Functions: Students use logarithmic and exponential functions to solve problems involving rate of decay and population change.
Resources: http://www.indianastandardsresources.org/standardSummary.asp?Subject=math&Grade=A1&Standard=
Target: Algebra I students in high school
Big Idea: Explore real world situations as it relates to slopes, such as stairways and inclines.
Objectives:
1. determine value of a slopes’ incline by using the slope-intercept formula, and
2. investigate real-world situations such as escalators, airplanes, and calorie burning.
Standards: MA.C.3.4.2: Using a rectangular coordinate system (graph), applies and algebraically verifies properties of two- and three-dimensional figures, including distance, midpoint, slope, parallelism, and perpendicularity.
Resources: http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspCorrelatedStandards&State=FL&Grade=9-12&Document=Sunshine%20State%20Standards&Subj=Mathematics
Lesson Plan 2
Target: 9th grade high school math students
Big Idea: Understanding domain and range values between theoretical and practical linear functions.
Objectives:
1. Be able to find the domain and range for functions.
2. Determine if an equation or set of points is a function.
3. Understand real life applications of functions.
Standards: Relations and Functions: They are able to explain important functional concepts such as domain, range, intercept, and pole. They gain an understanding of the relationships between the solutions of an equation, the zeros of a function, the x-intercepts of a graph, and the factors of a polynomial.
Resources: http://www.indianastandardsresources.org/standardSummary.asp?Subject=math&Grade=A1&Standard
Lesson Plan 3
Target:
Big Idea: For the concept of exponential (vs. linear)relationships, this lesson helps students understand the difference between the two and relates this knowledge to human population growth over time.
Objectives:
1. Solve a real life math problem involving multiple and sequential steps in order to answer a question.
2. Graph the results of their problem solving to give a visual representation of the results.
3. Explain the difference between a linear and an exponential relationship.
4. Apply this knowledge to a study of world population.
Standards: Logarithmic and Exponential Functions: Students use logarithmic and exponential functions to solve problems involving rate of decay and population change.
Resources: http://www.indianastandardsresources.org/standardSummary.asp?Subject=math&Grade=A1&Standard=
Stacey Armstrong, Reflection 7
Lesson Plan 1
Target Audience: 7th Grade math students
Overall Goal: Introduce students to solving linear equations by adding and subtracting
Learning Objectives: Understand inverse operations, learn how to write an solve an equation, understand what it means to combine like terms
Assessment: We will begin the class by playing the “What number am I” game. This starts to get students thinking about solving equations. The students will take notes and do examples. Students will be given a worksheet and time in class to work on this worksheet. What they do not complete will be assigned as homework due the next day.
Indiana Content Standards:
• 7.3.1 Use variables and appropriate operations to write an expression, a formula, an equation, or an inequality that represents a verbal description.
• 7.2.1 Solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems that use integers, fractions, decimals, and combinations of the four operations.
• 7.3.4 Use correct algebraic terminology, such as variable, equation, term, coefficient, inequality, expression, and constant.
• 7.7.10 Make precise calculations and check the validity of the results in the context of the problem.
Lesson Plan 2
Target Audience: 7th grade students
Overall Goal: Learn how to subtract integers
Learning Objectives: Learn the difference between subtracting positive and negative numbers. Learn how to subtract negative numbers.
Assessment: Students will start out doing problems with integer tiles to understand what taking away numbers means and adding negative numbers. Students will then move into subtracting negative numbers using the integer tiles. After students do this we will move into note taking, then will be given a worksheet to been done for class the next day.
Indiana Content Standard:
•7.2.1 Solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems that use integers, fractions, decimals, and combinations of the four operations.
• 7.3.1 Use variables and appropriate operations to write an expression, a formula, an equation, or an inequality that represents a verbal description.
Lesson Plan 3
Target Audience: 7th Grade Students
Overall Goal: Teach students how to classify polygons.
Learning Objectives: Understand what a polygon is, learn different types of polygons
Assessment: Students will use a pre-made Sketchpad lab to compare squares, rectangles, trapezoids, parallelograms, and rhombi. Students will then take notes in class creating a chart with the special quadrilaterals. After notes they will be given a homework assignment to be turned in the next day.
Indiana Content Standards:
• 7.7.2 Make and justify mathematical conjectures based on a general description of a mathematical question or problem.
Target Audience: 7th Grade math students
Overall Goal: Introduce students to solving linear equations by adding and subtracting
Learning Objectives: Understand inverse operations, learn how to write an solve an equation, understand what it means to combine like terms
Assessment: We will begin the class by playing the “What number am I” game. This starts to get students thinking about solving equations. The students will take notes and do examples. Students will be given a worksheet and time in class to work on this worksheet. What they do not complete will be assigned as homework due the next day.
Indiana Content Standards:
• 7.3.1 Use variables and appropriate operations to write an expression, a formula, an equation, or an inequality that represents a verbal description.
• 7.2.1 Solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems that use integers, fractions, decimals, and combinations of the four operations.
• 7.3.4 Use correct algebraic terminology, such as variable, equation, term, coefficient, inequality, expression, and constant.
• 7.7.10 Make precise calculations and check the validity of the results in the context of the problem.
Lesson Plan 2
Target Audience: 7th grade students
Overall Goal: Learn how to subtract integers
Learning Objectives: Learn the difference between subtracting positive and negative numbers. Learn how to subtract negative numbers.
Assessment: Students will start out doing problems with integer tiles to understand what taking away numbers means and adding negative numbers. Students will then move into subtracting negative numbers using the integer tiles. After students do this we will move into note taking, then will be given a worksheet to been done for class the next day.
Indiana Content Standard:
•7.2.1 Solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems that use integers, fractions, decimals, and combinations of the four operations.
• 7.3.1 Use variables and appropriate operations to write an expression, a formula, an equation, or an inequality that represents a verbal description.
Lesson Plan 3
Target Audience: 7th Grade Students
Overall Goal: Teach students how to classify polygons.
Learning Objectives: Understand what a polygon is, learn different types of polygons
Assessment: Students will use a pre-made Sketchpad lab to compare squares, rectangles, trapezoids, parallelograms, and rhombi. Students will then take notes in class creating a chart with the special quadrilaterals. After notes they will be given a homework assignment to be turned in the next day.
Indiana Content Standards:
• 7.7.2 Make and justify mathematical conjectures based on a general description of a mathematical question or problem.
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