Reflection 5, Stacey Armstrong

http://www.edutopia.org/video/movie.php?reset=cookie&type=article&keyword=137&id=Art_1145

Reaction to Video

The video I watched was about determining the water shed in a city. Students in a class were given palm pilots to to test the water in the stream. Other technology used were computers (power point) and digital media to create a broadcast like news report that the other students could see to report their findings about the water shed. It seems like there was a lot of preparation for the teachers that went into this project. They mentioned that the 3 teachers involved in the project spent 3 hours in a meeting discussing a "driving question" to build the students' interest in the project. This technology used in the video was student centered. The students were given the task and instruction and then were allowed to go out collect their data and then given a time line on what their progress throughout the project should be. When assessing the student performance a teacher must keep in mind that in a project like this...and like many other projects....most students will come up with different answers due to having different data. That is one thing that makes a teacher's job harder. When a teacher gives a math homework assignment, chances are that all students that have the correct answer all have the exact same answer, but with these projects students could have different reasons as to why something happens, but might both be correct according to their data. It seems that when teachers integrate technology in the classroom, students become more engaged in a topic. Technology usually means that students are not just sitting in the back of the classroom, but are instead actively participating. The only draw back in technology is that in some cases students become distracted because the technology can be fun. I would love to use technology in my classrooms beyond power point. I would hope this would bring a more hands on and visual learning to mathematics.