My Top 10 Math Teacher Websites

1. Graph Sketcher
   http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/GraphSketcher/?version=1.5.0_07&browser=MSIE&vendor=Sun_Microsystems_Inc.
   This applet can graph multiple equations in different colors.
   
2. High School Resources by Course
   http://www.nctm.org/resources/content.aspx?id=8822
   This website has fun, challenging resources and activities for high school teachers that are organized by subject.
   
3. Math Applets
   http://www.math.hope.edu/swanson/methods/applets.html
   This is a collection of middle/high school level java applets that can really help students visualize concepts.
   
4. Math Study Guides
   http://www.sparknotes.com/math/
   This site contains sample problems and has step-by-step example problems that students can refer to for extra help or practice.
   
5. Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles
   http://www.cut-the-knot.org/index.shtml
   This site is a collection of interactive math games and puzzles, which could easily supplement a lesson.
   
6. Countdown: Utilizing the Technology of QuickTime Movies to Develop Math Skills
   http://countdown.luc.edu/
   This website is a collection of instructional videos that could give math teachers an idea of how to introduce a topic as well as specific ways to teach a concept.
   
7. Alegebra Help: Calculators, Lessons, and Worksheets
   http://www.algebrahelp.com/
   Not only does this site have many algebra lesson plans, if you go to the applet that corresponds to the topic you're learning it will let you input an equation and tell you how to solve it step-by-step. I was very impressed!
   
8. Homepage for New Math Teachers
   http://terri.clarityconnect.com/terri.html
   This site is solely devoted to new teachers. It includes classroom management, multicultural mathematics, most popular problems, myths, etc.
   
9. Metric - U.S. Measurement Conversions
   http://www.easysurf.cc/menumt.htm#select1
   Students can use this to check any conversions. This website also hosts a metric-metric converter.
   
10. Math.com Calculators and Tools
    http://www.math.com/students/tools.html
    This site houses several different types of calculators including trig, different converters, and a function plotter.

The 3 Most Important Things I Will Utilize From My Intro to Instructional Technology Class

The single most important new thing I have learned from taking my Intro to Instructional Technology class is social bookmarking. Once I started my Del.icio.us site, http://del.icio.us/jwfunk, I could not stop adding my favorite websites to it. The content varies from math and teaching to fonts, cartoons, games, and every other random thing you can think of. These websites are now more organized with tags than they ever could have been in my Internet Explorer browser. I have a good start to my collection; for the moment it has 94. I also really like how I can use the private bookmarking option to store my online banking sites. Ironically, I have already used my site for educational purposes. In my Math Apprenticeship class, I taught a lesson on graph transformations in which I used an online graphing applet to show different relationships. Many of the students liked it and asked what the website was. When you look at it, it's about a paragraph long. So I just told them to go to my del.icio.us site and click on graphing to find it. This is definately something I will continue to use after the class is over.

One of the other technology resources I found to be very useful was United Streaming, http://www.unitedstreaming.com. This is an archive of instructional videos for teachers of any grade-level or subject. The only setback is that it is a subscription service, so your school district must subscribe to it. In addition, some of the videos are of higher educational content than others; some of the math videos were boring enough to put me to sleep. Since I only have a trial membership this semester, I downloaded and saved every possible math video that I thought I could use to a disk. Interestingly enough, I have already found educational use for these. When writing a geometry lesson plan for special right triangles, I consulted one of these United Streaming videos to determine the sequential order I should take in explaining the different parts, and it also gave me several good example problems to use. These videos would also be a useful tool to help the class review for tests or to supplement instruction when there is a substitute teacher. Don't worry, I'm not just going play these videos for the class and put my feet up on my desk! Since I have saved many of these videos, now I just hope that the school district I work for has the classroom technology for me to show them.

Another instructional technology resource I really enjoyed working with that I didn't even know I had available to me was PowerPoint games. Hollywood Squares, Jeopardy, and Who Wants To Be a Millionaire are just a few to name. You can put whatever questions you want on them, and the students actually learn and apply themselves by playing them. For my project I used a Who Wants To Be a Millionaire template to review content on least common multiples, greatest common factors, and prime factorizations. I showed it to my little sister who is in 8th grade, and she was impressed. One problem students face is how to "study" for a math test. It's hard to just pick out problems from the textbook and do them, some of which you might not even have access to the answers. Students would get a much better review done if they could use these games to practice math problems. Kids are hooked on games these days, why not teach to them in a way they will enjoy.

My Thoughts on Some Articles

1. U.S. Schools Lag Behind in Use of Technology
   http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-01-07-schools-lag-in-tech_x.htm
   I agree with the report on the fact that teachers should be required to take a technology class. I think that if many teachers knew how to use the new technologies they would. I also believe that the teachers who do use technology in instruction are seeing the students learn the information easier and faster. I do not agree with every student having a laptop in class. From what I've seen here at the college, many students who bring laptops do not pay attention; they just goof off on the internet. I also feel that cheating would become a whole lot easier and may be difficult to stop when the students know more about technology than the teacher.
   
   
2. National Education Technology Plan
   http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/edlite-default.html
   I think that the future of education looks very promising. There were a few things I saw that I think might be problems with their plan for the future though. I am not sure that digital textbooks could work as well as printed textbooks. For one, I like to take notes in the book in the margins and on the diagrams. I like to highlight what I think is most important for me to study. Would we be able to do this with a digital textbook? Plus, I don't see how they could be any cheaper. The authors that write the books still need to be compensated; they are not just going to write them for free.
   The biggest change I am curious to see in the future is the transition from high school to college education. Right now many students have a year of college credit done by taking dual-credit classes in high school, which I think is great. But at my high school, the only college class offered was English Comp I. So in a way, I started off behind many other students. How is that fair to me, when I didn't have access to the same classes as others? I think that whatever becomes of this transition, everyone deserves an equal opportunity to it.
   
   
3. National Educational Technology Standards Project
   http://cnets.iste.org/
   I agree with the fact that technology now allows us to communicate in ways we never dreamed possible. It is essential that students are learning these new ways to communicate in their school so that they can apply these skills in the jobmarket later.
   I believe that technology is the gateway between a classrooom and anywhere in the world. I enjoyed reading about the Chicago class that did a field trip "virtually" and traveled over 200 miles away in their classroom to learn the same things they could by actually going. This is a really exciting concept because the boundaries for learning are now nearly endless.
   
   
4. Adopt and Adapt
   http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=art_1423&issue=dec_05
   I believe that when we do get to the point of every student having their own laptop, students should be able to personalize it. When you look at anyone's personal computer, they have their own background, shortcuts, mouse settings, etc. In a way, it's just how their brain has organized it; it represents their own learning style. If students aren't allowed to express this on their school laptop, I feel that it might hinder the desire to learn.
   I think that our society is stuck at the point of using old ways to teach. I believe that one of the reasons why is because of parental objection. Many parents don't want their students to be taught in a way they weren't, and many view it as letting the students off easier and that they don't have to try as hard. My belief is that technology helps students go down the same learning path but with an easier mode of transportation; you get to the same destination but getting there quicker allows you to travel farther and learn more.
   
   
5. Highschool.com
   http://edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=Art_1270&issue=apr_05
   To be honest, I'd never heard of students taking online classes for high school credit. I do see some of its advantages. In high school I ran out of classes that I was interested in taking. I wouldn't have minded taking an online class. I also remember several projects being due at the same time. Had I had the option of turning them in when I wanted to, I honestly could have and would have put in more thought and effort. I also see the problems of some classes just not being able to be taught online. There's no way you could do a chemistry lab on your own and if you did would it be safe. Some students' learning styles would not favor distance education either. I am sure online learning will find its place in high schools.

Altec Resources

The teacher resources on http://altec.org are endless! You can make all of the following online: rubrics, quizzes, lessons, outlines, worksheets, posters, etc. Most importantly, almost all of these tools are free. They also offer online professional development seminars and help with grants and projects. What more could a teacher need?
These resources are invaluable. They will save teachers time, money, and frustration. They simplify technology so all teachers can utilize their potential. I am curious as to where they get their funding.

The teacher I shared this with was really impressed with the http://4teachers.org resources. She said that its "Web Worksheet Wizard" was easier for her to create her worksheets and had more options than the CD-ROM the school gave her. She said that she is going to bring it up at the district's next technology inservice.

Apple Learning Interchange

After creating an account and poking around on the Apple Learning Interchange, I've come to the conclusion that it is a Facebook for teachers. Similar to Facebook's groups, you are categorized by content areas and grade levels. You have access to other teachers' lesson plans, curriculum guides, videos, pictures, podcasts, etc. You can send messages and post your comments in forums. There are many videos on how to use educational software. I think that this is a perfect way to collaborate nationally on certain projects and standards. You can look for fun activities that other teachers have found to be worthwhile. You can ask specific teachers what methods of teaching a topic have worked better for them.

A teacher I shared this with sounded very interested in using it. Although she has previous teaching experience, this is her first year in her new content area and age group. She said that the transition has been very challenging and being able to see what her other collegues are doing and using would be really helpful. She said that it would also be nice to just pop another teacher a quick question.

I can't even think of the possibilities of using this in the future once more teachers and found this awesome educational tool and utilize it!

Middle School Assignment

Now that you have practiced solving equations with more than one step, please reply to this post to give me your feedback.

Was it difficult for you to grasp what to do first and what to do to eliminate it?

Did have have trouble coming up with the equations when they were given as word problems?

Do you see how you might actually use these in real life?