Week 3 - Types of Software for the Classroom

Before anyone reads my blogs I would like to say that I teach high school math so the programs I picked out are in line for a teacher of math :)!

Geometer’s Sketchpad is a great software for students when they are studying geometry.  Often times student struggle visually seeing what is being taught in geometry and it allows students to have immediate interaction.  It is good to use as a discovery guide.  It will all students to help check to see if they made correct conjectures.  Students can easily move different vertices and see the results.  I used it in my college math classes and I wish that I could have my students use it now. 

Another useful program that I found is at www.usatestprep.com .  We use this site a lot of our school to help prepare for testing.  In the age of ‘accountability’ it has become a way for students to prepare more for the test.  It has practice tests, games, and vocabulary words.  It is not only mathematics but also English, history, and science.  My students seem to enjoy it because they are not just basically sitting in the classroom. 

Excel is very useful software.  Students need to be taught with stuff that they will use in the real world.  Excel can make spread sheets, analyze information, and share results.  It can of course be very handy for teachers to keep their grade book in but there is also many more uses.  Excel can be very useful when teaching in statistical material. 

I think that it is well past the day when teachers just stand up in front of the classroom and lecture constantly.  I need to move more away from that method and start incorporating more software like the ones mentioned above.  My students should see worth in what they are learning and realize that it is useful later on.

Week 2 - History of Education Technology

There are many issues shaping the role of technology in education.  They range from societal, educational, cultural, and legal issues.  One of the interesting issues that I saw was about the standards movement.  I am struggling with that right now.  There is such a high emphasis on passing the test that I am afraid from teaching or trying new methods.  When NCLB was passed it changed what the government and administrators saw was important.  First of all teachers must teach with a scientifically proven method and then all the focus is on the test.  There are teachers and schools that just teach to the test.  They want to meet AYP.  My school right now is all about WOW.  It is one of the latest educational fads about working on the work.  It makes sense.  We, as teachers, must provide meaningful work for our students.  Our students must be engaged.  However, I feel pulled from two different ways.  Pass the test vs. create meaningful work.  It is hard to do both.

Another issue I found interesting was the "digital divide."  I am lucky to be at the school that I am at right now.  We have a lot of technological devices that are useful in the classroom.  I have a document camera, a projector, and soon will have an active board.  I could not imagine teaching without some of these devices.  Also, in my classroom we have 15 TI-89 calculators that can be shared.  Not everyone class in the state or the country has these advantages.  However, some may have more.  The end of course test in mathematics for the state of Georgia does not allow TI-89's on the test because of equity issues.  One of the main reasons is that there is not enough monies to help buy these for all schools.

There are so many issues facing education today regarding technology.  There are some things that I think can be learned and they are mentioned in the book.  One of the main things is that the teacher is still important.  With all these new advances it is even more imperitive that the teacher be a guide for her students.  With that said, I also think that all of this new technological advances is not everything that it is made out to be.  Teacher and administrators just try to jump onto the latest fad without have realistic expectations.  I believe that the history of technology should teach me as a teacher to first find out what will work best for my students.  I need to search for what my students first need to know and then what are the best ways for them to learn that or even practice it.

Week 1 - Introduction

My name is Carrie Brown.  I am a high school math teacher at Northwest Whitfield High School which is in the northern part of Georgia.  It is about 30 minutes away from Chattanooga Tennessee.  I teach at the same high school that I went to.  After I graduated from Northwest Whitfield High School I attended Berry College.  I also am a basketball and track coach at Northwest.  I have been married for almost four years and have a beautiful 19 month old little girl, Rylee Jane.  My goal is to graduate with my master's from UWA by the end of the year.  I guess my favorite technology is my phone.  It is a type of android.  It amazes me every time I use it.  I especially like to check facebook on it!