Welcome students and parents. Here is a place to find information about our class.

A look inside the classroom

Integrated Algebra/Geometry 1

Class Guidelines
Class syllabus
Notebook tips
Supplies

Geometry
Class Guidelines
Class syllabus
Supplies

Honors Geometry
Class Guidelines
Class syllabus
Supplies

MAHETC

Entry #9

What an exciting day!

Today was the first day of the Mid-Altantic Handheld & Emerging Technology Conference held at SU. It began with a fun and informative speech by Tony Vincent. From there I spent the next couple of hours with James & Courtney White learning how to create a movie maker production. Since I had to leave for a dentist appointment :( , my last session today was presented by Todd Fishburn about the newest Web 2.0 tools. I left with so many new and exciting ideas, references, websites, and statistics that I can not possibly share them all here! But I will try to give you my favorites and links along the way so you can do future research.

First, Tony Vincent who opened the conference. What an incrediable speaker, very motivating, entertaining, and engeric. The notes from his presentation can be found here, and I encourage you to explore his site for some time. He has a lot of cool links to really fun Web 2.0 tools most of which can motivate, encourage, and sitmulate the young minds in our classrooms.

During his presentation, he gave the following statistics about today's students:

Millennials: Born 1982-2002

28% of 12-grade high school students believe that schoolwork is meaningful
21% of 12-grade high school students believe that their courses are interesting
39% of 12-grade high school students believe that schoolwork will have any bearing on their success later in life

The saddest part about these statistics, based on the way many of us are teaching today myself included, the kids are right. The work that is being required of them isn't going to be meaningful in the long term, it isn't interesting to kids today, and may have little to no bearing on their later success. We generally, aren't teaching the skills they need for tomorrow's workplace. Don Tapscott, in his book Wikinomics, states that "The ability to use wikis will be a required job skill in five years." I just learned what a wiki was this month, (they have been around for over 10 years!) and I am supposed to help give these kids the job skills they need. Kind of hard to do, when I don't know what those skills are.

One other quote from Tony's speech I want to throw out there is:
"I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand."
So true. In order for our kids to be competive in tomorrow's workforce, as pointed out in both Wikinomics and The World is Flat, they must able to use tomorrow's tools and understand the processes that go into using those tools. The new Web 2.0 tools are collaborative tools, they are interactive tools, they require everyone to participate, no one will be able to sit on the side lines and watch if they want to get ahead.

Another important point must be made. Tomorrow that's not some time in the future, that is literally 24 hours from now. These times are not just a changin', they are evolving into something totally different! The ride we are all on is fast; so pay attention, get involved, and participate in the show.

Second, Movie Maker.
I had seen this technology used by another student in a class last semester, I even had one of my students turn in her final project as a movie made on movie maker last year, but before today, I had never seen how it worked. I not only saw how it works, but I created my first movie. (I was so proud, I called mom and made her watch it. While she didn't appreciate the topic of my movie, my pet snake Sushi, she was impressed with her daughter's newest technology skill.) If only I knew how to share it here... will work on that later. Figured it out, click here and look for Sushi movie. Again, resources for workshop are avaliable online >>>> here.

I love how now everyone is posting their resources online, I don't have to worry about taking as detailed notes, or losing the handouts! It also makes sharing all of this valuable information so easy.

The last session I was able to attend today was presented by Todd Fishburn entitled The Future of the Internet: Web 2.0. I honestly didn't think a person was able to give out so much information as quickly as he did and not confuse a single person. Of course, all information is found online at > well here.

Biggest tip I feel Todd gave was that as teachers, we should try to add 2 more tech tools into our toolbox of supplies to use with our students each year. This year I was already planning on having a blog for my students, but now Todd is challenging me to add another. I'm feeling a wiki, calling. Speaking of wiki's, I just edited on for the first time! Very exciting. Ok, I didn't really have anything to add, but I wanted the experience and that is what the Web 2.0 is all about, experiencing. If your interested, I added a small paragraph on the Todd's wiki > here.

Todd also described was he calls Education 2.0. This new wave, where education must go in order to keep our students engaged and learning, will: have more choices, collect and use data, have the input and participation of many, remove barriers, have people keep experimenting and documenting growth, work will all stakeholders not just a few, and will embrace differentiated instruction. There are already tools available, free tools available online to help teachers create this type of learning atmosphere in their classroom today. It is our job, no it is our responsibility to our students to learn these tools, and use them in our classrooms to bring our content to life. What we do today, will effect them for the rest of their lives.

That was only day 1. Can only imagine what tomorrow will bring...

My thanks goes out to everyone who helped put this conference together and especially to Dr. Royer for requiring me to attend. Without you, I would have missed this important learning opportunity.

Isn't it nice that we have people in our lives that push us to do what's best.

Oh, one more thing. I need help. I researched all about Twitter yesterday. I understand how it works, I checked out other people's twitter, and I even participated in the conference's twitter. But WHY DO PEOPLE REALLY SPEND THEIR TIME DOING THIS? Am I just too old, at 33, to understand this, or what?

Sticky Ideas

Entry #8

Last night I was lurking around David Warlick's blog where I came across an interesting entry, Reading and Becoming.
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/2007/07/22/student-panel-at-njelite-leadershp-conference-2/

His blog considers the question of what educators are reading today and why. He says: "What's got my head itching is the reading that we are doing - we, being educators." He continues "what are we reading now? Are they business books? Are they philosophy books? Are they lifestyle books?"

In the last few classes I have taken at SU, I have had more insights into how we need to teach based on my reading of business books. The Flat World and Wikinomics described the world around me that I didn't even know existed. They have informed me of the workplace skills my students desperately need and the consequences they will face if we fail to give them these skills.

I personally, believe educators are reading more literature outside of the field of education because the world is changing so quickly due to the technology we now have. The U.S. educational system is known for being one of the last to change with the times, we seem to always be behind the eight ball. We are struggling to connect with the Net Generation in our classrooms because we don't understand the life they live. They talk to each other in the hallways in a language we have never heard. We need to learn what they already know. Where are we going to find this information? How are we to understand how they are spending their time online and their motivations behind it? Books like Wikinomics help to explain this. And better than that, by reading these business books we learn what we need to teach our students to prepare them for the real-world. A real-world that most educators have never been a part of. I myself, went from my mom's house to college to my high school teaching career. What do I know of the real-world, other than a few waitressing jobs? The only way for me to learn is to read outside of my field.

What should we read? Why not start with what the experts in our field suggest. At the beginning of David Warlick's blog he sends his readers to Doug Johnson's blog in which Doug discusses the book Made to Stick; Why Some Ideas Survive and Other Die written by Chip and Dan Heath. http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2007/7/21/are-your-ideas-sticky.html.

This book is about how to sell our points of view, ideas, etc. to others so that they will remember what we told them and make decisions based on the ideas we give them. While this book was written by a business professor and a business consultant, it sounds exactly like the job of an educator, doesn't it?

Doug Johnson lists what the authors of this book state are some common characterists of 'sticky ideas.'

"Sticky ideas:
are simple
have elements of the unexpected
are concrete
come from a credible source
contain emotional appeal
use stories to make an impact."

While I was reading this list, nothing on it seemed new to me, but I felt this is a call for me to get back to basics. I need to remember to keep my focus simple and concrete. "Being simple means getting to the core of your message. Not burying the lead. (It's about improved learning, stupid. Not the operating system or the size of the print collection or the latest 2.0 application.)" Sometimes I get so wrapped up on a new set of manipulatives or software, I may miss the educational point. It is easy to do an activity or to play with the technology and forget the simple, concrete concept that was supposed to be taught. Technology is a tool to use to better communicate and problem solve, not just a new toy.

As teachers, we must first focus on what we need our students to learn from the unit. I guess I have been working with the Understanding by Design (UbD) method so long now that I have finally internalized that concept. The idea behind UbD is to first, decide what needs to be learned by the students, second, decide how to assess students' understanding, and lastly decide what teaching methods, activities and technology will help students achieve these learning goals. As educators in today's global economy, we need to remember to teach our students the skills they need to compete in today's world. Blogs can be motivating, wikis seem cool, games are fun, but the point is to learn how to communicate and collaborate with peers in order to problem solve not just to play with the technology. Keep the learning clear, simple, and concrete and then students are more likely to buy into them.

How does this relate to what educators are reading? We need to read what the experts in our field suggest. David Warlick and Doug Johnson both suggested the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die which tells me this is probably a good place to start. Afterall, we need to learn how to catch the attention of our audience (aka students) so that they will "listen to us, believe what we say and remember to act in ways we'd like them to act." (Doug Johnson) Additionally we need to read what CEO's of today's companies are reading to find out what skills are necessary of tomorrow's employees. For example, "The ability to use wikis will be a required job skill in five years." (Wikinomics by Don Tapscott, page 254) I had never heard of how power wikis can be in the business world before this book, now I know that I need to have my students use this tool to study mathematics while helping them get ready for the workplace.

Current Issue: how to connect with the Net Gen and prepare them for their future

Possible solution: read, read, read... read educational experts blogs, read what these experts read, read what the CEO's of industries are reading