Thing 10

I think that it will help me most professionally with the fact that I can post my PowerPoint lessons on the internet with out fear of copyright issues. I use pictures, videos, and sounds in those lessons to help my students apply geometry to their lives and to add interest. Currently, I do not share any of my content on the web, but I would like to through a wiki. It would be tough to have an interesting wiki without using pictures and other items from the internet. CC will allow me to do this and who knows what I can find once I put the time into it. The only negative that I see with CC is the limitations you have on what you can add to your site or lessons. It is SO nice to just use Google images, find what you want quickly, and put it into your lesson. CC will force me to be more creative with more limited amount of material to pull from.

Thing 8

I really enjoyed Vicki Davis' story of how wikis impacted her classroom and in turn impacted the entire school. I looked at the study hall wiki and the other course wikis to see how they were used by students. I found a useful study guide created by students for breaking down King Lear. I found this interesting and very applicable to my course, geometry. We have a great deal of vocabulary and a wiki might be a good source for my classes to compile their notes, vocab, ect. in one convienent place from which to study. I looked everywhere for a good geometry wiki and/or blog and thus far I have been unsuccessful. Maybe that will be enough incentive for me to create my own. I would have liked to see more pictures on this wiki, but I guess it suited the purpose for which it was created.

Another one of my favorite wikis was of elementary school math. In this wiki the teacher used geometric pictures from the environment to teach patterns. I think I would like this format to be used in my geometric classroom. I could have the students take their own pictures and upload them to the wiki for all to see. We could investigate patterns, shapes, solids, area, tesselations, etc and the best part is that the students are finding examples that interest them and they are learning at the same time. Of course, the downfall to all of this is you must trust the students will use the site in a positive and educational manner.

The third and best wiki I found was concerning Chemistry. This wiki was very good because it was totally student-centered. The teacher posted his notes and then asked his students to create their own timeline for the various atomic models. I am not certain how I would use this, but maybe I could have them do a project on tesselations and the various types. Students could learn about the types and find pictures on the internet. They could also take their own pictures to ensure that they know what the different types are and how they are different from each other. Overall, I see wikis as a very useful tool that I would like to incorportate in my methods of instruction.

I am even considering using a wiki in my other passion - woodworking. I will have to see what is out there first.

Thing 5

I found several interesting things while reading the feeds that I subscribed to. I would like to discuss the idea of a mini-term. This student seemed to really get a lot out of this project that deviated from the normal routine of bells and rotating from class to class. I think it would be nice to see something like this in my school, but I do see the drawbacks from a teacher standpoint. It would take away from critical classtime, takes a lot of creative thought, well-thought and detailed planning, and requires highly skilled and pationate teachers. The instructors would have to totally buy-in for the project to be successful.

Teachers would have to develop a "hands-on" project like the one described and be very well organized. I read a few of the comments on his story and one said that it was too teacher-centered. While I agree with that statement, I understand the reasoning behind that fact. It was the first time trying something like that before. If the program is deemed successful, then I suggest it become more student-centered as they modify and change the program to improve it.

I also really enjoyed the fact that the writer, Anthony, could assess his learning at such a deep level. He gets the big picture of learning. This idea would probably be a very successful move for those students that feel confined or are board with the routine found in a typical schedule. I am not sure how successful this program would be if it were done more than twice in a year. We would lose out on the time necessary to cover all the material necessary for a student to have the foundation for college. Otherwise, I like it and would like to try to find a way to do something similar.

Thing 4

Blogging appears to be a useful tool for discussing a topic in great detail from many different views. Reading a blog is very different to me from reading from a textbook, newspaper, magazine, or any other paper communication tool. Everything is in a fairly narrow vertical area and does not allow you to scan all of the content at one time. Instead you scroll through the material to read it or find what you are looking for, because you are limmited to the size of the computer screen you are using to access the information. After reading through the recommended blogs as well as other content on the internet, I can say that I do prefer reading out of a book. I can get more information in less time, because I can easily look over the content that I am not interested when reading out of a large book. For some reason, when I am looking at a blog I feel the need to read everything I see and thus spend more time than I would like obtaining the desired information. My time seems to be waisted rather than used to its fullest extent.

A positive difference is that when blogging you appear to have more tools on the internet to use in demonstrations (in my case mathematics). You can link to videos and (I imagine) include music on your blog which is not something any other written form of communication can do. This can add an incredible amount of interest to your topic and even set the mood you want when reading your material posted.

Commenting is a very unique aspect to blogging. When writing an article or book the reader can never talk or interact with the author. Blogging has totally chnaged that and it seems to have a lot of positive results. I was really interested in everyone's take on homework, or lack there of. The discussions of math teachers and how they assigned homework was interesting. The only way to get all of the different views on this topic was to see how his readers were commenting.


It also can be used to allow students to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of specific topics. I really enjoyed the students' posts in this SCRIBE blog from another math teacher. A scribe is a student summary of a lesson that is posted in a blog. The best scribes are selected by teachers and other students and are added to the "Scribe Hall of Fame." It was a very different way to assess the learning of each student and can even add to the learning of the student readers of the scribe posts because the info could be presented in a different (and possibly more meaningful)manner than the original lesson.

Thing 2

I initially was a little overwhelmed in seeing how much is out there that I am not too familiar with. I have never blogged nor recorded my own voice for the internet. It was strange to do both, but after I got over the initial nervousness it was pretty cool.

I really love the videos on Web 2.0, so I would like to bring that aspect into my class as a demo tool and those videos maybe something my students can produce. I also see blogging as a way to continue learning outside of the walls of the classroom if I can take the leap and get it started this year or at the very start of next year. We could discuss real world problems and the different ways students approach and solve problems. We often do not have time to discuss multiple methods or strategies to solve word problems, yet this could be the solution to the constraints of time.

Blogging might also be a tool for me to learn more about myself through recording info like a journal or maybe using it to follow my studies of the Word of God. Who knows, I do not see that I have time in the day to do such things, but I do think they would be a valuable tool for me to grow as a husband, teacher, parent, coach, bible study leader, etc.

Thing #1

The most challenging habit for me would have to be "Create Your Own Learning Toolbox". I love to learn new things from many different areas, but my biggest problem is finding my new tools in my toolbox. Once I learn something, sometimes I will have trouble finding accessing the tools that I discovered during my studies. I get frustrated and just decide it is easier to continue with the my comfort zone rather than search through all of the material to find the tool that I need.

The easiest habit for me will be "Use Technology to Your Advantage". I really enjoy learning about technology and trying to find ways to use it in my life and in the classroom. I learned to teach using technology in college and any time I can use it to my advantage I will.

The most important habit for me will be "Begin with the End in Mind". I am already behind in the class and my hope and prayer is that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and keep running until I get there. If I can just make time to work and not let the chaos of every day life prevent my progress, then I will make it.