First trimester Precalc blog

So my first trimester of setting up and maintaining a classroom blog with my Precalc Functions students went very well.  Some of my students have a natural ability of writing and they really hit their stride when it came to their weekly blog.   Some students didn't quite understand the idea of writing about what they were learning or had difficulty with and we can work on that for second trimester.  I have a new group of students and I'm excited about making the improvements to the blog and how I use it on a daily basis.

I was really happy about the online presentations students made for their Developing Expert Voices project. The creativity and self reflections were probably the best part.  Students found this project at the end of the trimester really beneficial as they reviewed for the exam.  I will continue to use this project and tweak it for this trimester and a new group of students.

D.E.V.

Amazing project that I would love to give a shot sometime this year...

Developing Expert Voices v3.2 from Darren Kuropatwa

Overwhelmed...

It seems odd to me that I'm feeling overwhelmed, but after reading about some really cool blogs I feel very far behind when it comes to giving my students the opportunities with technology in the classroom.  In the past couple of years I've been the one using the technology and I've done pretty well with it, however, on most days students are not interacting with the technology.

I use my iPad and an Apple TV as an interactive whiteboard.  Since I purchased the iPad with my own money, its difficult for me to hand it over to students who on occasion drop their own graphing calculator.  I'm not very trusting with my expensive iPad.  So on most days I'm the one use all of the technology in the classroom.  I do offer many tools outside of the classroom, but no where close to this math teacher, Darren Kuropatwa.  He is an inspiration when it comes to using blogs, wikis, podcast, and a ton of different pieces of technology in and out of his classroom.  He's not afraid to experiment (with parent and administration knowledge) with a new web 2.0 tool.  He's definitely been at this for a few years, but I feel that I need to catch up.  This blog is a start, but sometimes I feel that I don't know enough to compete with Darren.  

When I read posts made by Darren I feel embarrassed that I'm not as articulate or that I am not as critical of a thinker about education.  I sometimes don't know how I feel about education.  Sometimes I feel lost.  Blogs are suppose to be a higher standard to writing and right now this particular issue doesn't seem much more than a rant on how I'm doing.  This isn't how blogging in my mind should be, but I needed to put my feelings out there.  

I need to work on critically thinking about my position in education.  I need to read more than I have ever read on education.  My goal for this upcoming school year is to read more and to reflect on what I have learned.  I'll do that through this blog as much as I can.  

Is technology killing social skills?

I believe that if you don't know or communicate with people in real life, then you don't know them at all. It's important for students to communicate with people face-to-face and be able to learn about social cues, facial expressions, and other body language. You don't learn about people from the use of technology or from other social media sites. Don't get me wrong, I love using these sites in and out of the classroom, but to really get to know someone and to really connect, it has to be face-to-face. I think Skype or FaceTime are great pieces of technology that still allow students to connect, but in a way that uses what they know. However, its important for students not to connect with people they don't know in real life. Teaching our students to be responsible with this technology is very important. If we can balance the use of technology and real face-to-face time then students will build strong interpersonal skills.

Rules for blogging...

I recently read a fellow math educator's blog (Darren Kuropatwa) and this is one of his posts.  I feel that in addition to these rules, time in the classroom must be set aside to help teach students how to be responsible while exploring the Web.  Last year we had Kevin Honeycutt (@KevinHoneycutt) speak to our teachers during our beginning of the year PD sessions.  To be honest, I didn't expect to be entertained while also learning about our student's "digital legacy," as Kevin called it.

As we all know and have seen in the news, it doesn't take much these days to ruin a career, a marriage, a life when it comes to using technology inappropriately.  We have to teach our students how to be more responsible with technology.  Most students don't know that if they send an inappropriate picture through email or text that they can be put on the sex offender list.  Knowing the consequence for using technology is very important for students to know.