Wiki's: Wacky or Worthy?

Throughout this course, we have been adding information to a Wiki. The Wiki I am a part of is for Secondary Math. It is a great place to "collaborate" on your own time. I like the fact that all members can add and edit information as they deem fit. It is easier to post info on the Wiki than to swap jump drives or email multiple files. The Wiki would be a great resource for the classroom. It can be for teachers or for students. I like the idea of a Wiki for the math teachers at my school. We could post common assessments, lecture notes, videos, websites we like, and much more. It would be a common place to store information and links that we can all access at anytime. It could be a worthwhile venture.

The idea of a Wiki for students I am more hesitant to like. Since each member can post information, it would be important for the teacher to keep a close eye on what is posted by who. It could become more time consuming than worthwhile. Also, if classtime was used to work on the Wiki, it simply wouldn't work since only one member can edit the site at a time. You would have one student working and 27 others sitting around.

I do find myself asking, would I really keep up with a Wiki on my own? The answer is probably not. I am in favor of the idea of using Wikis, but the reality is I don't think I actually will. I am glad I now know what a Wiki is and how to use one, but I most likely will not be creating my own in the future. However, I will continue to refer to the Wiki created for this class (as long as it continues to exist), because it has lots of valuable information that I will use in my class.

Education vs. Salary: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

After learning about WebQuests, we created a similar type activity to use in our classrooms. We created a web-based research project for our students to complete. I decided to do my project on various jobs, the education required, and the estimated salary. Not only will the students use the web to conduct research, they will also be learning about different careers available to them. In researching these careers, I hope they will also realize the value of their education and the effect education has on their earning potential. It also meets a curriculum standard about analyzing data and creating a scatter plot graph. The students will also interpret the scatter plot and explain the meaning of the graph. Hopefully, the jobs they choose will reflect that the more education you have, the higher your job earning potential will be.

There is a great website, http://www.bls.gov/oco, that has an Occupational Outlook Handbook. It talks about types of careers, jobs, work types. You can find information on the type of training and education required, earnings, expected job prospects, what workers do on the job, working conditions, and much more! It is definitely worth taking a look!

In working on this project, I learned how simple it was to link the required sites to my webpage for easy access for students. I would much rather have them all go to one site for all their links than to be wasting time "searching" for the correct website. For the time being, I will probably use projects that are already completed, ones I don't have to create myself. Creating your own projects is quite time consuming. All in all, I now have some great ideas for projects and the know-how to organize them to maximize my classroom time.

I feel Inspired!

Our latest project in technology class was to create a diagram using Inspiration software. I have to say I really like the Inspiration program and could definitely use it in my classroom. My favorite part is that I can create my own diagrams and design the layout how I want it to look. I have used the uniform diagrams before and always felt that I was fitting my information into the diagram instead of the diagram fitting the information. The program was easy to use and gave me a lot of options to make each diagram unique. The only downside I can think of, is that I don't have the software on my laptop or on my computer at school. Otherwise, I would certainly use more diagrams to aid in the students learning.

Ms. Reasor's Classroom Website

In addition to other projects for my technology class at UT, I have created a website for my classroom. Knox County Schools requires I use the School Fusion website tool for our classes, so unfortunately this website will not be my current one. However, I plan to keep my new website and maybe refer to it from School Fusion. If I didn't have to use School Fusion, I would definitely use the website I created for my classroom. I think it is a GREAT tool to puts loads of information in one spot that all students can access at anytime. Everything from homework assignments, class syllabus, lecture notes, links to helpful websites, etc. The possibilities are endless. I plan to use aspects of my website on my School Fusion site. By creating my own website, I have learned how easy it is to use and update. I might even use my new skills to create websites for other types of things. Using Google Sites may everything pretty simple, but it did limit creativity. I sometimes was frustrated when I couldn't do what I wanted within the limitations of the template. I think this will be one of the most useful skills I have learned in class thus far!

Say "Cheese"!

Today's class was all about pictures! We worked on using digital cameras to download pictures, resizing photos in Photoshop, scanning images, saving clipart from a cd collection, taking screenshots, and using Picasa. All in all it was a busy class! Picasa is a great tool for sharing photos. I like that it allows others to view, order, and print photos from the comfort of their own home. Also, the photos aren't fuzzy or too small to view such as photos from Facebook. Another great thing about Picasa is that you can store your photos online. If your computer happens to crash, you have not lost your photos! I am learning a lot about Photoshop as I use it more and more. It is a powerful tool that I hope to continue learning about. I am sure I haven't even scratched the surface of what it is capable of!

Yay Math!

I just completed a review of YayMath.org for class. I have used this website to refer students for extra explanations and additional homework help. Many students have come back and told me it helped them to hear a second explanation of the material. They liked being able to pause the teacher to catch up on notes, rewind and listen to a section again, and fast-forward through sections they already understood. Students also like the craziness of the teacher.

As a teacher, I like this website for its simplicity and ease of use. Students can watch the videos using free utilities like yahoo and youtube. The videos were accurate and the information correct. I liked the worksheets that students can follow along with. This is a great reteaching tool for students. The teacher in the video is very energetic and entertaining to watch which helps hold students attention. I highly recommend this website as a resource and aid for students. It should not replace teaching, simply act as reinforcement or clarification. It is also useful for students who were absent in class and need additional explanation than the textbook can offer.

?En Ingles, por favor?

In response to the video, "Blogs in Plain English", I have a better understanding of the background of blogging. I was fully aware of and follow several blogs, however had never created a blog of my own. I tend to explain things in a concise, here is what you need to know, manner, so I appreciated the video and its simplicity. Often times I find myself asking, "What is the bottom line?" I wish there were more videos on a wide variety of topics that gave you just the "bottom line" of what you need to know.

Pay Attention!

The video "Pay Attention!" really did catch my attention. There are so many possible uses for technology in the classroom that I can't decide whether it's overload or truly teaching students. I believe that schools need more funding for technology in the classrooms in order to make many of the possibilities a reality. The school I teach at is Title I, thus many of the students do not have access to computers or the internet at home. Our school is not even on par with other schools in the county. I find myself torn between wanting to use more technology in my classroom while not alienating students who do not have access to the same technology.

I recognize the abundance of materials available at our fingertips in today's technology oriented society, it is the implementation of these materials into the classroom where I struggle. Just the first few days of a technology class at UT have made me realize how little I really know about all the applications available to me and my students. The statistics in the video were eye-opening and really got me thinking about ways that I can use more technology in my classes.

As a math teacher I am a strong advocate of students learning how to solve problems without having to use their calculators. I require students to show their work and each step of solving the problem. As important as showing work is, I feel I could find more creatives ways to change things up once in a while. Instead of requiring students to write the steps to solving a problem, I could have them text me their answers or have a blog in which students can respond.

One of my goals for the fall semester is to find new and innovative ways that I can use technology to help make the math more relevant to my students. The video helped me solidify my decision to use more technology this coming semester in my classroom.

Who am I?

My name is Rebecca and this is my first blog. I just completed my second year of teaching high school math and am truly enjoying my work. My favorite part of teaching is working with the students. No two days are exactly the same! As a teacher, I get excited when my students feel confident about the material I have taught. It is a rewarding (and challenging) career which I look forward to each day!

I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. I loved Knoxville, so I decided to stay. Ten years later, I am still in Knoxville and have no plans of moving anytime soon. My favorite past times include spending time with my friends and family, enjoying the beauty of Tennessee, reading, and watching movies.

Finally....my first blog!

After a few technical difficulties (thanks to UT and the old Mac computers), I have now created my very first blog. This blog will be about technology in the classroom for my TPTE 486 class at UT. I hope you enjoy my posts as I further develop my blogging skills!