Week 5

http://www.prometheanworld.com/en-us/education/solutions/whole-class-learning

The Promethean ActivBoard allows teachers to streamline and simplify lessons while being able to personalize them to the individual student. Using an ActivBoard allows teachers to engage students from multiple learning styles simultaneously. ActivBoards and the interactive technology encourage students to get involved in their own education and become active learners. ActivBoards are also designed to increase productivity in the classroom.

 

I know that the Inspire graphing calculators are one of the ActivBoard tools that math classrooms have been using, and I have heard a lot about different things they can do. So all of my questions are more about how to use the inspire software in the classroom. Other than that, I don’t think I have any specific questions about how ActivBoards work.

Reflection #1

Today my sister and I were driving back to campus for class and we were stuck behind a school bus as it pulled over to let off students. As the students got off the bus, I was a little bit shocked to see every single one of them looking down at their cell phones and texting, rather than talking to each other. It hasn’t been that long since I was in junior high like them, but I don’t remember me or my friends being so completely immersed and dependent on technology. At age 13, I didn’t even own a cell phone. While this image made me feel a little bit sad and wish these kids didn’t have iPhones glued to their hands, it also made me realize the importance of technology in education. Kids today are so involved in technology that I have to teach with technology to even have a chance of connecting with them. This class is a great opportunity for me to start thinking about every way I can integrate technology into my lessons so my students will stay engaged and responsive.

 

Assignment 2

I will be using a modified version of this lesson:
Introduction to Probability

SMART Board features I will be using:

Rolling dice, spinner, magnifying glass, pictures, infinity cloner, linked pages

 NETS for Students

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving,

and Decision Making

Students use critical thinking skills to plan and

conduct research, manage projects, solve problems,

and make informed decisions using appropriate

digital tools and resources.

a. Identify and define authentic problems and

significant questions for investigation

b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution

or complete a project

c. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions

and/or make informed decisions

d. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives

to explore alternative solutions

This standard applies to my lesson because students are using critical thinking skills to solve problems involving probability, while also using technology to present and manipulate the information they are given.

NETS for Teachers

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning

and Creativity

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter,

teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate

experiences that advance student learning,

creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face

and virtual environments.

a. Promote, support, and model creative

and innovative thinking and inventiveness

b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues

and solving authentic problems using digital tools

and resources

c. Promote student reflection using collaborative

tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual

understanding and thinking, planning, and

creative processes

d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by

engaging in learning with students, colleagues,

and others in face-to-face and virtual environments

This standard applies to my lesson because I am using technology to help my students better understand the concepts behind probability. With the use of technology in this lesson I can engage more students and increase my students conceptual understanding behind how to find simple probabilities with dice and coins.

 

I think part of the reason many students struggle with math is because they don’t find it interesting. By using an interactive white board to help visually represent problems, students will hopefully become more engaged in lessons. Being able to use an interactive white board effectively will also streamline lessons, giving students more time to work on problems in class, rather than listening to me lecture all class.

Week 4

Playing around with the SMART Board and software this week was really fun and interesting for me. Most of my teachers used SMART Boards when I was in high school, but I have never used one for myself so it was really cool to see how they work and everything they are capable of doing. One thing in particular that I liked was all of the math tools that I could easily use in my own classroom. Being able to use this software in my classroom would make it both faster and easier to show math concepts ranging from 3-dimentional shapes in geometry to the slope of a line on a coordinate graph. I also imagine it would make my lessons more interesting and engaging to my students. As of right now, I don’t have any specific questions about using the SMART Board, I just need to mess around with the software more and find more fun math tools that I could use!

Week 3

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

I thought this was a really interesting article. I wasn’t necessarily surprised by the fact that the difference between digital natives and immigrants is a real challenge in education today, being a “native” myself and encountering this problem firsthand as a student only a few years ago. Students in today’s classroom process information differently because of their mass exposure to technology. Implementing technology into our classrooms will undoubtedly have the advantages of our students becoming more engaged in lessons. Technology is certainly something that should be used more in the classroom and can be a great way to teach. My only concern is that if we take this idea too far we will lose some advantages of teaching without technology. Using a math example, what I’m trying to say is that calculators are great, but students should still know how to do calculations with a pen and paper. We need to be able to differentiate when technology is going to be beneficial and when technology is really just functioning as a shortcut to doing any actual work.

Demographics Write-Up

*The following is a mock demographic write up and some information is fictitious*

 

Classroom demographics

            In my 7^th grade math classroom at Kenmore Junior High there are 27 students, 15 male and 12 female. Of these 27 students, 6 of them have IEPs and 2 of them are ELL students. Parents are involved when it comes to their students’ grades and progress in my class, but I do not receive any help from parents during the day. In my classroom, there are several different types of technology available. I have a document camera as well as an ActivBoard. I have a classroom set of calculators for my students to use in class as they work through their problems. There are 4 extra calculators that are available for students to check out overnight if they do not have their own calculator at home, which are loaned out on a first come first serve basis.

 

School demographics

            Kenmore Junior High is located in the suburban area of Kenmore, WA, about 30 minutes north of Seattle at the top of Lake Washington. The demographic breakdown is as follows:

 

Grade Level	Reading	Math	Writing	Science
7th Grade	82.5%	75.9%	84.2%
8th Grade	75.2%	65.7%		77.1%
Enrollment
October 2011 Student Count				704
May 2012 Student Count				717
Gender (October 2011)
Male			334	47.4%
Female			370	52.6%
Race/Ethnicity (October 2011)
American Indian/Alaskan Native			6	0.9%
Asian			81	11.5%
Pacific Islander			3	0.4%
Asian/Pacific Islander			84	11.9%
Black			16	2.3%
Hispanic			62	8.8%
White			490	69.6%
Two or More Races			46	6.5%
Special Programs
Free or Reduced-Price Meals (May 2012)			162	22.6%
Special Education (May 2012)			100	13.9%
Transitional Bilingual (May 2012)			30	4.2%
Migrant (May 2012)			0	0.0%
Section 504 (May 2012)			49	6.8%
Foster Care (May 2012)			0	0.0%
Other Information (more info)
Unexcused Absence Rate (2011-12)			44	0.1%

 

Community demographics

Kenmore does get financial support from the Northshore School District as well as from fundraising from the PTSA. A large part of the current budget is going into the complete renovation of our campus, which will hopefully be completed this year. The Northshore School District has also put a greater emphasis on using technology in the classroom, and one result of this is the ActivBoard in my classroom. Parent involvement at Kenmore is usually very good. We always have enough chaperones volunteering for various events held on and off campus.

 

Technology Standards for 7^th Grade

 

http://www.k12.wa.us/EdTech/Standards/TechStandards.aspx

 

EALR 1 – Integration Students use technology within all content areas to collaborate, communicate, generate innovative ideas, investigate and solve problems.   Components 1.1: Innovate: Demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge and develop innovative products and processes using technology.   1.2: Collaborate: Use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.   1.3: Investigate and Think Critically: Research, manage and evaluate information and solve problems using digital tools and resources.

EALR 2 – Digital Citizenship Students demonstrate a clear understanding of technology systems and operations and practice safe, legal and ethical behavior.   Components 2.1: Practice Safety: Practice safe, legal and ethical behavior in the use of information and technology.   2.2: Operate Systems: Understand technology systems and use hardware and networks to support learning.   2.3: Select and Use Applications: Use productivity tools and common applications effectively and constructively.   2.4: Adapt to Change (Technology Fluency): Transfer current knowledge to new and emerging technologies. (Grades 6-12 only)

 

 

 

Class Blogs

Bethany's Blog
Alyssa's Blog
Sigrid's Blog
Whitney's Blog
Amanda's Blog
Heather's Blog
Angie's Blog
Monica's Blog
Trey's Blog
Sarah's Blog
Tootsie's Blog

Week 2

I found Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk to be very interesting. I was particularly struck by what he described as the linearity of our current education system and how it’s all about conformity, whereas life is not linear but organic and as a community we depend upon a diversity of talents. Logically, this leads to a greater need for teachers to be able to personalize education to the people they are actually teaching. This is something that is easier said than done. However, I think that using technology in the classroom can help teachers personalize education and make it more engaging and relatable to their students.

Week 1

I have decided to become a teacher because of the positive influence  many of my teachers had on me during my high school career. They took an interest and me and genuinely cared about me. I also had a volleyball coach that always told me that it wasn't about me, but it was about giving back to the next generation. I want to teach because I want to give back and be that positive influence on the students in my classroom. Technology is something that I do not understand very well. It generally makes me very frustrated and I dont use it very often in my everyday life. Any technology beyond using my phone and checking my email makes me nervous. However, I am really looking forward to this class so I can become more comfortable with technology and be able to use it in my classroom. There are so many benefits of using smartboards and programs like MATlab to help explain abstract math concepts and I'm looking forward to being able to use those tools to help my students.