CEP 812 Course Reflection Blog

Through this course in the technology certificate program, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of grounding technology with effective teaching strategies. Technology is best utilized when proven teaching strategies are at the heart of the implementation of the technology. Technologies that scaffold, speak to multiple intelligences, and that promote self-discovery are more valuable than technologies that simply allow for a vivid lecture. Technologies should not be employed if there is a “change without difference”. There are a plethora of technologies around. If a technology fails to exceed the learning experience without it, a different technology should be used in its place.

The other important thing I have learned about incorporating technology is that it should not be done haphazardly. The problem of practice should be addressed prior to choosing a technological solution. This ensures that there is indeed a worthy problem and allows for the educator to critically examine it before choosing a solution. Perhaps, the best solution may be to exclude technology.

Web based technologies have changed my view on technologies greatly. One of the key areas that I focused on through this course is instructional software. There are a ton of stand-alone resources for students on the internet, and present great opportunities for a teacher to give the students additional practice outside of the classroom. However, instructional software should be closely scrutinized before implementing. While certain instructional software presents great opportunities, others contain invalid information, and bias. Educators should be critical of the potential dangers of web based resources, and should definitely stress how to utilize the internet ethically. If the students are aware of how to safely use the internet for learning, and the teacher guides the students there are unlimited opportunities. My TechQuest project demonstrated to me the large volume of videos, simulations, and tutorials on the internet.

I had several personal goals for learning about technology integration. My main goal was to be able to create a one-stop spot for my students to master the material in multiple mediums. This course allowed me to bring together several different aspects that I hoped to incorporate into my site. Specifically, I was able to explore the more advanced features of blogs, and learn how to vodcast and podcast. I additionally was presented with an opportunity to critically examine the potential dangers of the internet, which allowed me to be more effective in my creation of an online resource page.

My other ambition was to be knowledgeable enough to be a technology presenter during a professional development. This course has definitely enabled me with the knowledge to do so. I feel comfortable presenting on creating a classroom website, and utilizing blogging in education. This course, along with 810 and 811, has given me the confidence and supplied me with some of the necessary skills to guide others in technology use.

My new goal is to be a technology leader at my school. I am definitely on my way to achieving my goal, yet there is still aspects of technology that I hope to learn. I do not feel that I have mastered podcasting just yet, as I never was able to get my audio on iTunes. Additionally, I would like to become more competent in html. In order to achieve these minor goals, and in order to emerge as a technology leader at my school, I must stay active in learning about emerging technologies. This program has taught me dually about the great resources on the internet and the value in educational RSS feeds. I hope to utilize my resources to stay on top of the ever-changing educational scene.

Project Evaluation Blog Entry

This TechQuest project has certainly assisted my growth as an educator. I have become aware of the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing the internet and stand alone instructional resources to educate students.

Stand-alone instructional resources are wonderful tools for students that are highly and internally motivated. Initially when I implemented my project, I saw students eager to master skills through technology. However, in the past week I have also come across students on academic probation that have mandatory tutoring, and that are highly unproductive. This immediately became a problem, given that the classroom website does not hold the students accountable for what they accomplish. I would construct another project of this type differently. I would require each student to create their own electronic portfolio to which they would submit all of their work. The students would need to upload their worksheets to the portfolio, as well as upload screen shots of quizzes and games. I could easily give the parents the hyperlink to their portfolio, which would encourage student dedication to the work.

One very important lesson that I learned through the completion of this project is to not re-invent the wheel. There is an unlimited amount of resources on the web waiting to be implemented. However, so many resources can overwhelm students. By creating a one stop spot for the students to learn via video, PowerPoint, games, and simulations both the teacher and student benefit. The teacher does not need to create a plethora of resources and can filter out those that are incorrect and complex. Additionally, the student does not get lost in the millions of resources on the web. One other important lesson that I learned from this project is to have an end in mind. I could have proceeded to add different algebraic information forever, if I did not have a concrete plan of what I hoped the end result would look like. A project such as mine can consume you, and can be less effective if too much information is present. It is important to be aware of your goals and important to remember that even if your classroom website does not look perfect, it is still going to benefit student learning.

In my mind, this project was a phenomenal success. I definitely plan to create a similar project again, weather I am teaching Algebra or U.S. History. Giving the students additional practice outside of the classroom is extremely beneficial. In implementing a similar project I would definitely foster a greater degree of accountability through portfolios or rubistar. In addition, I would like to collaborate with teachers from other grades. It would be great for student in Algebra II to have their teachers’ site linked to mine so that they could review past concepts. Similarly, it would be advantageous for my site to link to the Geometry teachers’ site so that my advanced students can challenge themselves with future concepts.

Project Implementation Blog Entry

Internet Research for TechQuest

TechQuest Internet Research

Joyce Valenza stresses that students could immensely benefit from understanding how to utilize Boolean operators, and from realizing that “searching is an interactive and recursive process” (Valenza, 3). Through searching for resources that would aid me in implementing my techquest project, I was reminded of the complications and value of searching for the “best information”.

First, I began a search that would support the educational need that my project is hinged upon. Given that I would need scholarly information on the stark contrast between math academics in high school and college, I immediately began to search through the Michigan State University electronic resources. ProQuest led me to several rich resources, but required some thinking outside of the box. I searched for “college mathematics”, “high school mathematics”, “deficiency in mathematics”, “math fundamentals”, “study on high school math”, and utilized several Boolean operators to garner as many articles as I could.

One of the resources that I located was a study conducted by Nancy Kilian, a doctoral candidate from Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Kilian conducted a study on the tendencies of incoming freshman attempting to meet the college mathematics requirement. She concluded that there is a strong increase in the number of students taking math remediation courses, which prepare students for college-level courses “by learning basic concepts that should have been attained at the high school level” (Kilian, 13). According to Kilian, this placement immediately has a negative effect on student self-efficacy, as students begin to doubt their capabilities and have a higher dropout rate than student placed in higher mathematics courses (Kilian, 17).

ProQuest also supplied me with an article published by the New York Beacon, entitled “Study Shows Gap Between High School, College Expectations”. The article stated that the cause of the gap was a divergence in pedagogy; “college instructors rate a rigorous understanding of math fundamentals as being more important than brief exposure to advanced content” (Study).

These articles demonstrated to me the importance of hammering the fundamentals into my students. Furthermore, these articles showed to me the value of databases. Databases are superb resources when attempting to locate formal articles regarding research and theory. However, when I turned my focus to searching for resources that would directly aid my implementation of blogs and StAIRs, databases were not as giving.

Again, I attempted to use Boolean operators and several different phrases to yield resources, however I found “stand alone instructional resources” to be unrecognized by several different search engines. Resources on blogs were plentiful, however I was unable to find one that connected to teaching mathematics. I was able to locate one article from a database after my search evolved into a broader exploration for information on how to teach mathematics online.

Lexus Nexus led me to an article by Heather McClean. McClean interviews Tom Barrett, a veteran teacher who is a strong proponent of implementing mathematics computer games into the curriculum. Barrett states that “gaming is the simplest way to keep the students’ attention” (McClean). This demonstrated to me that creating hyperlinks to gaming sites could really draw the students to additional practice. Aside for this article, I was unable to find any other articles from the electronic resources that provided guidance on how to teach mathematics via the internet. Thus, I turned to more informal search engines, such as Google and Yahoo.

Google led me to a very valuable article from the Rochester Institute of Technology, entitled “Teaching Math Online”. A RIC faculty member, Tim Gilbert states that one of the issues that arises when taking a class to an online environment is that educators cannot perceive the visual cues from students when they misunderstand a complex concept (Teaching Math Online). Although tutoring will still not entirely consists of online individual work, I must take this into account. When creating resources on the website I need to provide immediate feedback, and offer several different alternative methods for students to learn complex concepts. Tim Gilbert additionally recommends that “examples have to be typed up and supported in great detail” (Teaching Math Online). No matter how simply I perceive the problems, it is imperative that I give an in-depth explanation of each step. Tim Goodwill, another RIC faculty member states that it is vital to make sure the content is “clear and concise” since follow up questions cannot be answered immediately (Teaching Math Online). This is another feature I will need to keep in mind when constructing the site.

Google additionally led me to a website entitled “The Future of Math”, which gave recommendations on ways to implement blogs for mathematics. The site recommended using blogs to give students writing prompts (The Future of Math). Having the students write sentences about how they are solving problems could definitely instill in them the processes of certain problems. The site also recommended using links and digital images on the blog (The Future of Math). This would be a great way for me to draw in the dynamic software program Geogebra. Students could follow the link to the site and create and post graphs. This would certainly engage the students. Lastly, this site presented a caveat. It suggested that you as the teacher must control all of the comments being posted on the blogs (the Future of Math). This seems like a tedious task, however simply accepting comments a few times a session can prevent cyber-bullying, and can exclude incorrect posts that may confuse students.

Via Yahoo I was able to locate several gaming sites that Tom Barrett would approve of. Cool Math, and Math Playground were the two most valuable website that I located.

This research reminded me of the benefits and pitfalls of search engines. Through the use of Boolean operators I was able to locate some very beneficial scholarly articles which detailed research on the current mathematics gap between high school and college. However, my search via ProQuest and LexusNexus for informal tips on educating students online was a failure. Next time I would consider more carefully what I am looking for. Research and scholarly articles are copious in databases. However, if I am looking for suggestions from other teachers, I should not be afraid to turn to more informal search engines. Google and Yahoo provided me with great resources from other educators.


Work Cited

"Classroom Blogs." http://futureofmath.misterteacher.com/classroom_blogs.html. Future of Math. Web. 2 Apr. 2010.

Kilian, N.. Self-efficacy and remediation of higher education mathematics students. Ed.D. dissertation, Oklahoma State University, United States -- Oklahoma. Retrieved April 2, 2010, from Dissertations & Theses: A&I.(Publication No. AAT 3387627).

McClean, Heather (19 Jan 2010). Do the maths: Technology/Comment/Resources: It's a
numbers game: Computer games are just one way technology can transform potentially
dry subjects into relevant and engaging experiences. Guardian NewsPrint Supplement;
Pg. 6

Study shows gap between high school, college expectations. (2007, April 12). New York Beacon, p. 34. Retrieved April 2, 2010, from Ethnic NewsWatch (ENW). (Document
ID: 1269724761).

"Teaching Math Online." http://online.rit.edu/about/newsletter/one_article.cfm?which=70. Rochester Institute of Technology. Web. 2 Apr. 2010.

Valenza, j (2006 :2) Web 2.0 meets information fluency. Joyce Valenza’s
NeverEnding Search, blog. http://joycevalenza.edublogs.org/tag/informationfluency/