EDUC4105

Excel spreadsheets provide an environment where large amounts of data can be analysed more effectively than by hand. The spreadsheet can graph set data in a wide variety of formats, this allows students to compare the differences between the various presentations.

There are many advanced features that allow sliders and many others that can provide effective visual aids for students. Data can be manipulated to show how it affects the graph and different formulas. There are many more features that I am unaware of but have seem examples.

The advantages are that students are able to work with technology that will more than likely enter their lives after school and that large realistic data can be analysed. The time efficiency of being able to analyse a large amount of data in a short period is a benefit.

The disadvantage is that the software has so much to offer that training would be difficult. There could be a good chance that the students know a lot more than the teacher. This could also be an advantage as students might make suggestions to improve a spreadsheet that they are working on.

Another disadvantage is the fact the software does not graph directly from an algebraic expression, rather you have to input a data set that the software uses to plot the data.

The software is developing all the time, you can see from the video below that google spreadsheets has gadgets that can be added to animate.

Dynamic Geometry is the term used to represent the expanding group of software packages such as Geogebra and Geometers Sketchpad. ‘Dynamic’ in mathematics relates to motion and change. The software allows geometric constructions to be manipulated whilst maintaining the initial structure of the geometric construction. That is a square can be constructed, resized and dragged around the screen and the angles all remain 90°.

The software has many advantages over using the whiteboard/blackboard. Objects can be manipulated without the task of redrawing each change. Students are able to see relationships that stay constant, that is the angle sum of a triangle will always be 180°. The accuracy of the constructions on the Dynamic Geometry software allows students to see the information in a clear and precise method.

Using the software effectively takes a little time to grasp, but overall I think well worth it. The effect of an animated construction is far more effective than a group of diagrams. The students are also participating in the maths rather than passively receiving the information.

There are many resources on the internet that could be used for teachers who are having difficulty and also students could be directed to sites that they could try at home as Geogebra is a free program. Some sites give detailed instructions how to build constructions using the software. An example can be found at http://mtl.math.uiuc.edu/modules/dynamic/lessons/lesson1.html.

Here are a few interesting uses for Geogebra. Geogebra is used outside education to show how different mechanisms will work, good to let students know that the ssoftware has a use outside the classroom.

Dr. Bernie Dodge, a professor of Educational Technology at San Diego State was the originator of the WebQuest model descibes a WebQuest as an ‘inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet, optionally supplemented with videoconferencing’   The WebQuest is an exciting way to plan and organise mathematics lessons, that are designed for short or long-term tasks. The main idea is for students to use the internet to solve problems using methodical approaches.

The WebQuest allows for lessons to be carried over several weeks or months and gives students the opportunity to preceed through the task at their pace. That is the students having difficulty will not be rushed by the higher achieving students. Teachers can also set roles for different members of a team to cater for the different learning styles.

The Zunal site allows for editing after the WebQuest has been published, which allows the teacher to modify the lesson as it progresses over different days. The lesson can be modified and improved in line with the teachers reflection of the lesson.

The advantages of using the WebQuest format of lesson are:

•  The WebQuest can be designed to cover different subject areas, for example mathematics and science or mathematics and the social sciences.
• A good Webquest can assist with stuident engagement in  learning.
• Students today have access to alot of information via the internet, students need to be able find information and critically analyse that information. The WebQuest gives students a structured learning task that involves this life long skill.
• The many examples on the internet are growing, which give teachers to a vast supply of resources.

The disadvantages are:

• The time it takes to design the WebQuest.
• The limitations in the software available, for example, formatting is alot easier in say Microsoft word. I suppose whan one is fluent in the HTML code this would not be such a problem.
• My experience with the computer systems in schools is that they are very slow, this could cause problems keeping students engaged in the task.
• Mathematical symbols are not easy to enter into the formatting.

 Some links to math WebQuests that I have found on the internet:

• A WebQuest for Writing across the Curriculum
• Biography of Mathematicians
• Trigonometry, Crime, Intrigue - what do they have in common?
• THE TITANIC
• Simon say’s

The benefit I love most about the interactive whiteboard is the ability to have information prepared. In mathematics, teachers are always drawing or writing on the board, the interactive whiteboard allows for diagrams to be displayed neatly. In my studies at university I have realised the problems that can occur with a students understanding of a concept if they misread the diagrams or information given in the class. Having the information and diagrams presented professionally can only assist a student with understanding, the they are not distracted with trying to interpret the information. Care does need to be taken to keep the lesson from teacher centered to students centered. Teachers need to be willing to move away from the prepared lesson if necessary.

Creating lessons that use the full benefits of the interactive whiteboard are time consuming, however once they are created they can be updated more easily. Also as the technology grows the resources that can be found on the internet will increase exponentially.

The interactive aspect will allow students to interact with the activity rather than be a passive learner. Students will engage in the learning if the tasks are meaningful and are not overused. Changing repetitive chalk and talk lessons with repetitive interactive lessons will cause students to disengage with learning.

My major concerns with the interactive whiteboards in education is the rapid increase in technology. The boards are quite expensive, will they be outdated before they make it to the local classroom.

Mathematics education requires students to be able to make connections between different representations of the same concept. Using the graphic calculator allows students to have a visual representation that can be connected to the written representation. The graphic calculator could be used as aid for the normal approach to mathematics education, that is it provides benefits to a students understanding of a particular mathematical concept. This use of the calculator provides pedagogical benefits through the provision of a varied representation of concepts. This approach could cause students difficulties if not monitored successfully. Students could fail to link the representation on the calculator to the written mathematics (Kastberg & Leatham, 2005).

However, if the graphic calculator is introduced into the NSW Mathematics syllabus, the calculator use would have to be more substantial. Students would need to be able to use the calculator as a problem solving tool, this would require teachers to have a good understanding of what the calculator is bale to do. Students would also need to be introduced to the calculator early in their mathematical education.

The graphic calculator provides opportunities to plan learning activities across subject areas. Okoda & Lee (2004) found that the use of graphic calculators and technology provided a tool that could assist in planning learning activities that provided knowledge integration between mathematics and social studies. This could also apply to science.  was a pedagogical  provide knowledge integration between mathematics and different subject ares, such as social studies (Okoda & Lee, 2004) and science would be beneficial to students understanding across the subject areas.

The pedagogical benefits of using the graphic calculator in mathematics education is reliant on the way it is used. Using the calculator because it is available is not beneficial, the activities have to be integrated into the lesson to provide deep understanding of a particular concept.Teachers will need to be confident in the use of this technology to have any chance of pedagogical benefit in mathematics education.

The resources for graphic calculators in mathematics education on the internet is vast, once teachers are proficient in using the calculator they have access to many resources that would provide pedagogical benefit to mathematics education. As a part of a teachers professional development, the mathematics faculty could do some co-operative learning and all take one activity to master and then present to rest of teachers. many resources can be found here.

References

Kastberg, S., & Leatham, K. (2005). Research on graphing calculators at the secondary level: Implications for mathematics teacher education. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education [Online serial], 5(1). Available: http://www.citejournal.org/vol5/iss1/mathematics/article1.cfm

Okoka, C. N. and Lee, J. K. (2004) “Interdisciplinary Uses of Graphing Calculators in Mathematics and Social Studies” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Delta Chelsea Hotel, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Online <.PDF> Retrieved 2008-04-23 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p117636_index.html

I was reading a blog by Paul Reid ”ePortfolio - dead concept or holy grail in education?”   and agree with his thoughts on the greatest benefit of an e-portfolio system. 

I feel that it would be beneficial for all students entering school to have an e-Portfolio set-up, preferably in a package that has been set up for such a purpose. A student would be able to keep a record of their learning activities through their schooling.

This has three main benefits:

1. Students will take ownership of the work and present it with pride (hopefully?).
2. When students change schools, teachers are able to view samples of the students work.
3. Students will have a permanent record of their learning, rather than misplacing assignments in the home.

Social bookmarking provides an environment to store all your online resources (bookmarks) in a central place that can be shared with others. The benefits are the quick an easy indexing of information, this allows for people to search for information using keywords. Information such as how many people have bookmarked the page are shown which will allow teachers to consider the reliability of the source. 

Teachers using the social bookmarking sites allows for easy ideas and information exchange, rather than searching google which displays many thousands of sites which may not be related to the keywords typed in.  

As a collaborative tool, teachers can set up networks so they have immediate acccess to all the sites of everyone in the network. If a group of teachers needs to teach a unit of work, they could split the research up and everyone would have access to the relative sites through the network. Using social bookmarking on the internet allows for the exchange of ideas world wide, teachers in different countries are able to share their resources world wide.

Social Bookmarking can also be used as a learning tool for students, students could have access to sites that have been bookmarked by teachers, that is they should be appropriate for students. A presentation of effective pedagogical strategies for socila bookmarking can be found http://www.slideshare.net/ekunnen/educause-2007-social-bookmarking/. 

An e-portfolio is a tool that facilitates life-long learning and career development. A person can journal their progress from a student to a professional in their chosen career. The portfolio allows an individual to present a collection of information that represents their effort, progress and achievements in their lives. The portfolio also allows for self-reflection.

The e-portfolio can be used for a variety of information presentation of storage. Students can document their learning experiences, people can keep records of their achievements and reflections regarding their lives and the portfolio can be used for a presentation of information about yourself which can be presented to a possible employer.

The e-portfolio is so much more than a resume, it can be the presentation of yourself as a life-long learner who reflects on situations that arise.  

Presenting a well documented e-portfolio to a perspective employer gives them an insight to you as a person. The documents that can be presented, such as resume, philosophy, certificates of achievement do not give the same level of understanding of you as a person to the audience as a reflection on an achievement.

An example of an e-portfolio that has been used to document the journey from students to professional can be found at  http://dianadell.com/eportfolio/index.html.

proof97.doc

proof1.docx

proof1 document only works if word07 is used.

Graphics Calculator Link

I just finished my webquest, what a nightmare. I liked the idea of using and designing webquests, however I feel that the software needs to be improved. Formatting the instructions caused plenty of problems. The software is not user friendly and I feel that there is plenty of room for improvement.

Why can’t we produce the document in microsoft word and paste directly into the webquest? This would allow a more efficient formatting process. I have many questions with formatting that I was unable to find answers to, such as what happened to my dot points. They disappear when I save the page, do they show up after it’s published????

I have found a site that explores webquests through microsoft power point. This is a far better option I feel. The software is user friendly and the webquest does not have to be stored online.

Looking through the a rubric for a webquest I feel even more strongly that the power point software would be easier to use.