Blogging

Blogging has certainly been an experience and something new. I have tried to keep an open mind to it but after this class I will probably stop blogging. Its too hard for me to keep up with or to try and find something interesting to write about. However, I did enjoy reading some of the educational blogs. It was nice to get different ideas from actually teachers. I will certainly continue surfing through other peoples blogs as a future teacher and I might have my students look at blogs for information. 

My advice for new bloggers is to give it a shot first before you decide whether or not you like it. I am a Math major so maybe writing a blog every week isn't the most appealing thing for me but others might really enjoy it. I also think that it is important for new bloggers to look at other blogs and find topics of interest that they can write an opinion on. 

Excel

Just recently I used Excel for a Statistics take home quiz. We had to enter a bunch of data into a spreadsheet and then create a scatterplot to find the least fit line. I only know the basics of Excel but it was fun to play around with and was definitely something I could see using in the future with my students. I wish I had known about it a long time ago because it certainly makes graphing a lot easier. I am going to continue to experiment with it so that eventually I will become an expert and be able to demonstrate it in front of my future classes!

When should we use calculators in a classroom?

After I talked about my TI-89 in class last week a few questions were brought up that really made me start to think about my future classroom. How often should calculators be used? And, is it important for kids to know how to do things by hand? As we have been told a million times, technology is the future. A good point was brought up that when kids get out into the real world their bosses aren't going to tell them not to use a calculator. Employers aren't going to make sure you can do it by hand as long as you can get the job done. This is exactly why I think calculators should be an important part of any math class. TI-89's are very complicated but have so much to offer. Most of the stuff that I have learned how to do on mine has been by trail and error or just playing around. If kids were taught easy ways to compute hard problems then maybe math wouldn't be so frustrating or confusing. Don't get me wrong, I think it is incredibly important to understand the process of what you are doing, but I also think that math doesn't have to be made out to be as complicated as it is... especially if we have the tools to make it easier.

Praxis II

For a while now I have been putting off taking the Praxis II because I strongly disagree with standardized tests of this sort (but mostly because I am a huge procrastinator). This was a horrible idea seeing as I have just recently been told that I need to pass it before my EDG course next semester. I didn't freak out too much because I had taken the computer-based Praxis I and it wasn't that bad. For that test I just picked a day of the week that worked best for me and called up to register. Pretty simple. Naturally, I figured the same would go for Praxis II. After some small calculations I came to the conclusion that I would have five chances to pass it before next fall. Obviously, I am hoping to pass it on the first try, but if worst comes to worst I like to have a plan. However, worst came to much worse when I was informed that the Praxis II is only offered paper-based. This means there are specific days in which you can take the test and there are only two during the summer. This is not looking good for me. Why wouldn't they offer Praxis II on the computers? I am shocked that they still offer paper-based versions when doing it on the computers is so much more convenient. Praxis I, the computer-based version, gave your results instantly after you finished. Not only that but tests were offered Monday through Saturday instead of only having a few designated times. I think if we are forced to take this test then it should be more accommodating, such as the computer-based test was. 

Interactive Whiteboards

This past Saturday I went to a Future Math and Science Teacher's Conference. It was set up really nicely and I definitely got a lot out of it. One of the workshop sessions they had to offer was a lesson on how to use an Interactive Whiteboard. I have used one once before while teaching a math lesson at my old middle school and even then I was incredibly impressed with its capabilities. Now that I have gone through this workshop and have a better understanding of all that it has to offer I am even more impressed. My old middle school math teacher decided to do away with his textbooks and spend that money on installing a SmartBoard. I think this was a really good idea and certainly an investment for the future. It's too bad more teachers don't follow his lead. It is also too bad that aspiring teachers need to attend workshops to get a handle on new technology. I think there should be a course that goes over all the things you can do with an interactive whiteboard... because there sure is a lot!

Digital Immigrants vs Digital Native Blogs

Last week I wrote a Hot Topics paper that was about Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. This was a subject that I had never heard of until I was assigned to write about contentious issues dealing with technology. While researching the topic I found that there were several people who believed that teachers labeled as "Digital Immigrants" (or those who are uncomfortable with technology) are inadequate teachers for the new, digital generation. In my paper I stated that we do need to incorporate technology with learning but that doesn't mean that those teachers who are not digitally inclined aren't getting through to their students in a positive way.

I thought it was ironic because today as I was searching through educational blogs for something to write about in my own blog, I came across a woman from Mass who shared a similar view on the whole idea of "Digital Immigrants" teaching "Digital Native" students. Kathy Schrock wrote, "Many so-called digital immigrants, teachers who came later to the technology arena, are doing a wonderful job infusing technology meaningfully into teaching and learning. These tech-savvy educators are teaching to the current generation of so-called digital natives in ways that support these students' varied learning styles." I think her blog will be one that I continue to follow.

Louis CK "Everything is amazing, and nobody is happy"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGYx35ypus

I thought this youtube video was extremely true and incredibly funny so I had to share it. It gives a comedic spin on how much our society takes each new innovation of technology for granted. We have become so impatient and don't realize that half the things we do these days are actually incredible feats that we should marvel at. However, because we are used to having everything happen instantaneously we consider any little glitch to be a complete hassle. It really made me think about all the technology that I use on a day to day bases that often doesn't even cross my mind.