Emily+Kelley



I am a Masters student in the Curriculum and Instruction program with a focus in mathematics. I am originally from Madison, Indiana, a small town approximately an hour and a half from Cincinnati. I have been in the Cincinnati area (on and off) for about a year and a half. I live with my boyfriend, Andrew. He and I graduated from Hanover College in 2009 where we met while working on our degrees in mathematics. Now we are both busy working on our Masters degrees, but in our free time we like to watch television and movies on Netflix. Some of our favorites are the //Big Bang Theory// and //How I Met Your Mother//. Currently, I am tutor at a local tutoring center for mathematics. In the past, I have worked in a coffee shop, paint-your-own pottery studio, and in the finance department of a local college, so my interests and experiences are quite diverse. I have not done much teaching beyond my student teaching and while I enjoy teaching, I am still unsure if being a traditional teacher is my ultimate career choice. In my experiences as a Financial Aid Officer, I came to realize the deficits in the common person's understanding of personal finances. Because of this, I would like to once again bring emphasis to concepts like credit and debt management to light in the school setting. Furthermore, I would like to create mathematics courses that are interdisciplinary and focus on concepts like logic and reasoning, which we use everyday.

Links: The National Council for Teachers of Mathematics website called //Illuminations// provides lessons and fun math activities. NCTM Illuminations

BrainPops are cool little videos that are available for any subject area. They are usually about 3 minutes and are a great introduction to a lesson. Some are free and some textbooks come with complementary access. BrainPops

Reflection 1: Jonassen and Cronje It seems only logical that every person would have a slightly different concept of reality because each person's experiences are different from another. Even a brother and sister who grow up in the same household have a different set of experiences because they may have different peer groups at school or enjoy different after school activities. I think these experiences would play an integral role in a person's interpretation of events and acquisition of knowledge. I agree with the Jonassen article that decomposing and simplifying tasks can be detrimental to the learner and ignores some essential complexity that comes with some tasks. By over-simplifying tasks, the creativity of students is ignored as is the goal of supporting students in thinking for themselves. In ways, the objectivist approach as described by Jonassen scares me. According to objectivism students are not encouraged to make interpretations, but to use the interpretations the teacher makes for them. This does not model real life: as adults these same people will come across information that they will need to interpret to make important life decisions (contracts, political voting information) and specifically requiring that people not practice interpretation and decision making as young people will restrict them as adults. In fact, denying students the ability to interpret is in direct violation of NETS standard 1a as it does not promote student creativity and innovation. Cronje's idea of objectivism and constructivism intersecting at 90 degree angles does make more sense than being oriented on a line. The most important results of this new orientation are that objectivism and constructivism can coexist (in varying degrees) and that the inclusion of one does not mean the exclusion of another. The most important and surprising thing I learned from this article is that an activity can be high in both objectivism and constructivism. On the other end of the spectrum, I am interested in the idea of the Immersion ("chaos") quadrant (which is low in both). I find Immersion interesting because the articles suggest that this is the way learning occurs in our natural environment. The messy combination of objectivism and constructivism found in immersion seems as though it would be difficult to conduct in a classroom. Furthermore, it seems as though immersion is not the best way to expend energy needed to learn. This calls me to question if there is some better way we should be learning real-life lessons. Should our parents work harder to create these learning experiences for us (ones that are more organized), or is immersion still effective?

Discussion questions: 1. Is immersion too messy to use in schools (since it is chaotic)?

Reflection 2: Chaika (2003) and Anderson

NET Standard 2(a) states: "Teachers [should] design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity." Chaika and Anderson both suggested that the use of a computer as a resource for doing research or creating a project is essential in our technology age. The authors were careful not to say that the computer should be the sole resource of information (especially when computers are hard to come by) and that other resources (books, magazines) should be used as well. This NET standard uses the term "incorporate", which indicates that technology should not be the end-all-be-all of educational resources and I agree.

While technology is a huge part of our society and many of us are always "plugged in", much of our resource tools (i.e. books) are not digital and teaching students to navigate between the traditional world and the digital world is important. This idea is reminiscent of Net Standard 4(b): "Teachers [should] address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources." The authors are very specific to say that equal use of resources should be closely monitored (especially in the situation of one or a few computers available). They suggested a random drawing of names, so students did not feel others were gaining favor by getting to go first. Furthermore, the authors suggested time on the computer be tracked with the use of a kitchen timer for 10-15 minutes. Last, Anderson mentions that it is not safe to assume that all students know the best way to use a technology. To ensure appropriate and equitable use of technology (and to relieve students fumbling around trying to find information), Anderson suggests bookmarking sites, reviewing search methods, and sticking to one search engine.

Discussion questions: 1. In a one computer classroom, how effective is it to have students create computer-based projects (PowerPoints, Prezis)? 2. For students with IEPs stating that they get time and half for assignments, would it be appropriate to turn a 10-minute computer session into a 15 minute computer session? How is this handled with other students so as not to single out or embarrass the student?

Reflection 3: Rosen-Nelson, Ikpeze-Bond, and Wang and Hsua

Ikpeze-Bond's discussion of the use of WebQuests in the classroom provides information for teachers to "engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources," (NETS 1b). Ikpeze-Bond's example of an environmental issues WebQuest is an appropriate example of the types of subjects tackled in that type of environment. Furthermore, I feel WebQuests can help alleviate some of the confusion that comes along with an internet research or exploratory activity. By offering a home base complete with a list of directions and resources, students who may typically get "lost" in the internet environment have a point of reference to return to at moments of confusion. Another advantage of a WebQuest, verses other games schools may purchase or subscribe to, is its ease of accessibility. Because the quests can be explored anywhere there is an internet connection, families have the chance to get involved by visiting the site from their home computer. WebQuests, although difficult to create from the ground up, are recyclable from year-to-year. Teachers have the opportunity to take the time to create an original WebQuest or use a precreated WebQuest. Making small changes each year will save the teacher considerable time once the initial trial has passed.

The Rosen-Nelson article made me think about the current situation of technology in the classroom and how to transition it into a Web 2.0 environment. Recently I spent a few months teaching at my former high school. In terms of technology use, not much had changed. All of the teachers had gotten Promethean boards installed within the last year, but they were really used as a writing surface and projector. I feel that most teachers did not know how to use them to their full potential (including me). When I was student teaching just two years ago, I began using PowerPoints and a projector. By projecting the presentations on the whiteboard, I saved a lot of valuable writing time, plus I could place video links inside the presentation for easy access. From the reaction by the students and other teachers one would have thought I had just shown cavemen how to make fire. My worry is that currently technology is being misused in the classroom. In my experience, teachers and schools seem to be so scared that students can't handle the technology (i.e. they may visit inappropriate websites or get off task) that they avoid it. Some of the more seasoned teachers (10 years +) and even newer ones may need to undergo some serious technology training in order to learn the environment for themselves before they are able to effectively implement it in a classroom. Honestly, I feel I even need training on some of the new technology that is out there. Until schools commit to a widespread training or technology initiative, there will continue to be a large gap between what new teachers know and are able to accomplish with technology and what seasoned teachers continue to do with the simplest of tools.

Discussion Questions: 1. All of this technology is great, but how do we not exclude students who don't have a computer or the internet? 2. How can blogging be used in a mathematics classroom (I feel like it would be hard to type any formulas or draw graphs that would be necessary to explain one's thinking)?

Reflection 4: Sweeder, Sprague and Prixley

Educational technologies have much to offer especially to those involved in inclusion classrooms. Because of the variety of roles that are associated with filling the needs of using an educational technology, it is easy for all students to find their niche. Regardless of ability level or interest, everyone can participate. Some may wonder why this type of medium for a project would be any better than the posters of the past; however, educational technology is easier to collaborate on. With the typical poster project, one student is designated to take the poster home each night or students must go to one anothers houses to work. With educational technologies, the students can do much of their collaboration via online tools and through email. In this way, all students can be working on the project simultaneously from the comfort of their own homes. Furthermore, some technologies allow teachers to see the login times and adjustments made by each group member. Because of this teachers can monitor group work and ensure equal participation by all. The use of educational technologies "[promotes] student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes," (NETS 1c).

As I see it, podcasts are an excellent way to fix the dilemma caused by student absence or teacher absence. Typically when students miss several days, catching up on the material can be extremely difficult and students may experience the effects of that absence (in the form of deficits) for the rest of that unit and sometimes beyond. When a teacher is absent, students are often given some sort of worthless worksheet or "work time". Essentially they lose a day of instruction time. In fact, sometimes two days of instruction time are lost as the teacher must teach the previous day's material when they return. With the use of a podcast an absent teacher could record their lecture (if they had the time and were not too sick) and just post it to a common site or email it to another teacher. Through the podcast the teacher could lead the students through a lecture in their textbook or online or include a graphic organizer/study guide for the lecture. Videos, PowerPoints, or Prezis could even be embedded for a richer learning experience. Because of the ease of access of a podcast, the students could listen and follow along as a class or individually in a computer lab equipped with headphones. For student absences, teachers could offer to record lessons either during a planning period or even a regular class period (although background noise may be a problem). Once again, these can be easily sent to the student or posted on a school hosted website so the student does not fall too far behind.

Discussion Questions: 1) Is there a way to record a regular class lecture into a podcast without the background noise of students being too distracting?

Rubric for [|Assessing Factoring]

Reflection 5: Armstrong et al. and Rochelle

One of Armstrong et al.'s (2005) initial sentences struck a cord with me: "[Interactive whiteboards] are not necessarily used interactively and can actually reinforce teacher-centered styles of delivery," (p.456). This sentence sums up all of my IWBs experiences outside of this class. When I was a student teacher we had an Airliner (a more portable IWB) but we did not use it for a long time because of some installation issues (the host computer was really old). Once they got it fixed, it was fun to use; however, because my mentor and I had no training on it it didn't really add to the class. The only advantage was that we could pass it around to the students to write on which helped some student engagement. Once again during a long-term substitute teaching experience, I had a Promethean board in the classroom. Because I was kind of "thrown" into the classroom I received no training on the device except 5 minutes by the regular teacher who showed me how to turn it on and write on it (actually, the regular teachers did not receive training either). Because I lacked experience, I used it as a writing area (like a chalkboard but without the dust) and it advocated me having a teacher-centered classroom. From my short time with the board, here's what I liked: 1. Different colors for writing 2. No dusty hands 3. I could save and print what I had written (helpful with one student who had handwriting issues and also for when someone was absent). Here's what I did not like: 1. It was bolted to the wall. 2. If the bulb blew, you were without the board for the rest of the day. 3. There was not a scrolling feature, so for longer math problems I had to constantly navigate between pages. 4. In some classrooms, the board had been bolted over the only chalkboard so there was only this writing surface. I feel there was a confidence issue with me just as the teachers researched by Armstrong et. al demonstrated. When I first came to the class I used an overhead projector for most writing. It had the advantage of being easy to use, easy to display, and it promoted vertical writing which I needed in a math classroom. After a week or two that bulb died. I tried to get a new one, but the school stopped buying them since they had the new "fancy boards." I had no choice but to try out the big orange monster. I see some of the advantages of the IWB, but I had an issue with software portability. I tend to like PowerPoint because I can create them at home and email them to myself at the school and use them in a lesson. With the IWB there didn't seem to be this option: If I wanted to create a nicely mapped out lesson I would have had to do so at school--there was not a home accessibility option (that I know of). IWBs are not cheap. If schools are going to spend the money on them, they need to provide training so they are used properly. I know there is so much they can do that I cannot even imagine and that would probably make the lives of teachers easier; however, they will continue to be misused without this training. Without this training teachers cannot appropriately "design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity," (NETS 2a).

When I thought of mobile devices, I thought of iPads and iPhones and other things that seem beyond my technological reach; however, it turns out I have used a mobile device a lot over the years: a graphing calculator. As a math student and teacher it is in fact one of the most valuable pieces of technology I've used in math. I've used it to create exploration lessons (students can graph different equations and see how the plots change, etc.). Furthermore, this is a piece of technology that most students feel comfortable using (they've used normal calculator, then a scientific, and now have stepped up to this). I can see where these mobile devices would be especially helpful in a sociology class (the passing of a secret) or in science (any type of data collection) and even in math (we could examine the data). If used in any of these ways, mobile devices help "engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources," (NETS 1b).

Discussion Questions: 1. Is there a free website or something where you can go and create presentations for your IWB (like a PowerPoint) or must it be done on the IWB itself?