Saturday, May 10, 2014

The Last Technology Blog Post for Math 371 for Spring 2014



The students did their final presentations on Monday.  They had to create a video lesson over a statistics or probability topic, show us the video, and respond to the following:
·         Why you selected the particular math content for the lesson.
·         Which app or program you used and why.
·         What you learned while creating the lesson.
·         What you would do differently if you were to do it again or had more time.

The 11 students were divided into 4 groups.   It was very interesting to me that each group used a different technology for their lesson.  The following technologies were used:  Knowmia, Educreations, Camtasia, and a webcam.  Three of the groups presented with slides of material and audio added to the slides.  One group was brave enough to actually put themselves on camera and do a demonstration.

All groups did a great job and learned a lot—the most frequent comment was that it took longer than anticipated.  I think that one of their biggest takeaways from the course is the amount of time needed to use technology well in a math classroom.  I do think that this year’s class seemed to be more hesitant to embrace technology.  Several of them started the semester disliking technology and I think that they may feel the same way at the end of the semester.  This concerns me and is something that I need to think about before the class next spring—how can I convince them that technology can be very effective in a math classroom and maintain the philosophy that technology should not be used simply for technology’s sake?

What should you expect in this class in Spring 2015?
·         I think I am going to try to have students make an iPad app.
·         I am going to somehow incorporate my new Da Vinci 3D printer.
·         More blogging—and encourage them to think outside the box when they blog.
·         I want to figure out how to create animated lessons.

As you can see, it looks like I will be busy learning between now and January 2015.  One of the things that I love most about teaching is that I am always learning!

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