Final ITouch

I have enjoyed exploring the Ipod touch this last quarter. I had never looked at it as a means of education. The endless educational applications are intriguing. I wasn't really able to use my ITouch in my main placement, but I was able to use it in my experiences through literature class. I also got the chance to use it with my math assignments and explore the opportunities it brought me through this. Mostly I've been given a stepping stone to find resources to expanding my teaching and education through technology. This was major part of the steps I'm taking to keep technology present in my teaching and in my own learning.

The most efficient way I've been able to consistently use my ITouch is through the option of voice memo.During all my one on one meetings with my literacy buddy, I was able to use the recordings to further my learning from my buddy. It wasn't too difficult to keep track of my conferences with E during these visits because I only was dealing with one student. However, when I have twenty one on one conferences these recordings will be extremely helpful. I can keep track of growth and progress in a more detailed and exact way! I can use it to show the students their personal growth. Conveniently it can all be stored in my pocket! I hope I am able to bring the many other applications and uses that I've been learning about through both other technology blogs and my cohort member. Even if the voice memo is the only thing I get to apply for now, that is still a tremendous help. I look forward to expanding my use with the ITouch for differential learning and sharing technology skills. 

Final Math Blog

Throughout this quarter I’ve been given a very unique and inspiring view on teaching and mathematics. The inspiration is continually growing. The tools you’ve given us are things and ideas we can apply in any subject while teaching. You’ve shown us ways to continue growth in ourselves and our students. These are incredibly valuable skills. I aspire to always be learning and as a teacher, I believe that’s something we must always be willing and seeking to do. Throughout the quarter I’ve been learning tools for myself and my future students.

Ideas and thoughts that I’m taking away are:

I’m thankful for the more emphasis and ideas about creating opportunities for integrated learning, specifically creating opportunities for connecting abstract concepts with practical application. I love the idea of having multistep problems that benefit the cohesive understanding of math concepts.

 

The missing and lack of use of manipulatives in the classroom has definitely stayed on my mind. I’m brainstorming how I can bring manipulatives into the class to strengthen the concrete understandings my students will have of mathematics. They deepen and strengthen my own understanding; I know they will help my students too. 

The need for alternative explanations is great! We as teachers need to be searching for ways to help students understand things in any way that we can. It is our responsibility to learn to teach other ways. It is a goal of mine to immerse myself in as much math as possible and in all different ways, even the forgotten ways such as the Mira!

I am experimenting planning my lessons backwards in creative ways. I’m still thinking about what I want them to learn and how I am going to get them there. How can we do this and use confidence as a motivator in math? We need to have “open ended work that can be assessed in different ways and taken in different directions.” We can do this in multiple ways, one way is by embracing and utilizing integrated lessons to build up students’ strengths and let it transfer over to math.  This even lets us get a whole different way to assess our students. It can be more cohesive for us and our students if we bring writing into math, or any other way of bringing other subjects to show students strengths.

Technology lets us access both math and education in a totally new and dynamic ways. I’m looking forward to finding electronic manipulatives with both the computer, applications and any other ways I can find for my students.  This is another tool to help create interest for our students.

Overall creating interest and confidence in our students is at the upmost importance and should be what governs our decisions so we are always making the best decisions for our students.