Integrating Technology in Math Classes

As I am visiting math classes this year, I am encouraging teachers to integrate technology into their lessons. If anyone has any "best practices" that involve technology, please share them on my blog. Also, if you or someone you know, has found any outstanding websites that are math related, I'd love to hear about those.

Teach them to think!

I had been wondering what to post next. WOW! I found something powerful. Please take a couple of minutes to watch:
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=12272&title=A_Vision_of_K_12_Students_Today

This really makes you stop and think about the use of technology in the classroom. After watching, I am more motivated to incorporate and broaden my knowledge. Educators tell their students to "think out of the box." Educators must also "think out of the box." Hope you enjoy!

Technology at work

I attended a math articulation meeting this week at one of our middle schools where I found out some valuable information regarding technology. One thing was with Home Connect which allows parents to sign up, provide their email address, and receive scores when their child takes a test in Accelerated Math, Accelerated Reading, or completes an activity from Math Facts in a Flash. This is a great way for parents to stay up to date on the quantity and quality of their child's assignments. I immediately registered to receive my own children's scores. I feel like many parents would take advantage of this notification if they were aware of it. I hope the teachers will share this information and encourage parents to participate. Another bit of technology that impressed me was that the math department at this school has a WIKI for math vocabulary. Math terms are listed, and anyone can visit, edit, and save to add definitions. This site is a resource for grades 6-8. By the end of the year this will be an excellent way to review terms/language that students should be prepared to see on the EOG. The WIKI is accessible by anyone, and those who choose to submit definitions can post their name to receive credit for their contributions. This is a work in progress that numerous students have already visited and added to. I thought it was a great way to incorporate technology and a resource that will be useful, especially at review time. The students have an opportunity to help develop their own math dictionary. I would love to hear stories from those who have seen technology at work this week. If anyone else has had experience with Home Connect, please share your findings.

Sites of the Week

Kudos to our instructor on the websites for the week. I thought two of them were fabulous. I've got to start off with the Slydial. I had to try it to really believe it. I played a trick on my husband. He was my guinea pig. I used the slydial and left him a message. I later called him and said, "So you'll answer now, huh?" He saw that he had a message and could not figure out how he had missed the call. He told me the phone had been in his pocket the whole time. I then had to tell him about this "sly" resource. The other site that I really liked was WolframAlpha. This is a dream come true to a math student. It will graph, factor, solve, etc. Check out these sites if you haven't yet. If you have, tell me what you thought.

I have been meeting with schools recently regarding their action plans where literacy is a major concern by all. Our math plans for 2009-2010 include a key strategy to incorporate more writing. I woke up during the night last night with the thought to use blogs instead of journals. Considering how much time students spend texting and socializing via internet, this form of writing may be more inviting to them. It also would provide an opportunity to use technology for those who are not as experienced. Most classrooms have at least one computer with internet access. Computers are available in media centers and/or labs in most schools. Public libraries usually have computers with internet access. Some students have this resource in their own homes. Students should be able to get to a computer. If a reasonable amount was required, blogging could be a creative way to get students writing about math. I say "reasonable amount" because this amount would need to be adjusted according to the resources available. I'm thinking students would find blogs to be something different. So, what do you think? Please share your thoughts!