Name Describe one experience integrating technology into teaching and learning Reflecting back to this experience, what did it allow you or students to do differently in your class? Reflecting back to this experience was there an impact on student engagement? Please briefly describe. Reflecting back on this experience integrating technology into teaching and learning what challenges did you overcome in order to implement this use of technology? What is one thing you would like others to know about your experience implementing this use of technology in your class.

Lisa

 My students used a moodle site for small-group and whole class discussions.  I was able to provide a discussion environment which elicited active participation from all members of the class, rather than just the ones who are typically quick to volunteer.  It also enabled me to continue a discussion activity that had begun in class and that otherwise would have ended with the bell and required an additional class period to finish.  Because all students were expected to contribute, and because there was concrete evidence [visible to all] of their participation in the form of written comments, there was 100% student engagement in this activity.  An interesting aspect of student engagement with this activity was that a number of students continued to use the site to extend this and other conversations related to math without prompting (or a grade!) from me. Initially it took class time and access to the laptop cart to ensure that all students were able to access the coursesite successfully.  It took time for me to learn how to work with the new technology.   The time investment was worthwhile because it solved two common dilemmas for me associated with group discussions:  ensuring that all students contribute, and providing additional time to finish a discussion activity without devoting another class period to it.
Jan  The students logged into the Glencoe website and accessed the end-of-chapter review questions to study for the chapter test.  The students were able to do their problems on the computer and get instant feedback as well.  They prefer this to paper and pencil tasks. All students were actively involved. It was interesting that many of the lower-level students excelled when doing the problems on the computer and voiced that they did better because of it. The first time we used the laptops, they took a long time to start up. The Dells worked fine.  The students can access this website at home and use it on their own. They can review for tests and get additional problems as well.
Carole  I used "Teacher Tube" Videos to illustrate a lesson on graphing sine, cosine, and tangent curves. I followed this up with graphing worksheets. Students were interested in watching the graphing process from start to finish. It was a novelty to see something from "You Tube" in a math classroom. This was especially beneficial because I could give the students who were absent the site address and encourage them to use it to get caught up.  Students were engaged. I encourage students to manipulate the computer programs that I use and everyone gets involved in making hypothesis about the impact of possible alterations to the given equation and/or geometric figure.  I share a projector with another teacher. This means that I have to coordinate the times I use it and hurry to get it and borrowed speakers set up between classes. One problem is all the cords and wires running across the front of the classroom.  I still had to re-explain this topic, using the overhead,  for many students. However, this showed students a resource they could use outside of class for help and research.
Jeff  I used a Keynote Presentation for a Chapter Review before the test.  I was able to key in on vital points for the test in another media. Students gave possitive feedback about the review, they felt that it was very helpful.  I needed to dedicate considerable time to set up the Presentation.  Possitive experience but requires TIME. 
Walter  I created a Geogebra presentation that addressed a student's question.  It allowed the student to observe the impact of a parameter on the graphical behavior of a function.  The students in this particular class are normally engaged, so no impact was noted.  I had to learn how to create the presentation using Geogebra.  Technology can be used to present certain concepts in a way that is superior to other available options, e.g. drawing on the white board.
Carmen I used graphing calculators to create a list of data and to create and draw the best fitting “sinusoid” curve to this data.  The data was based on the “average daylight time for each month for a year.” It replaced “pencil” plotting.  The lists were quick to edit and we were able to do a scatter plot quickly on the calculators, which gave us more time to derive the equation of our sinusoid. Yes.  Students always love it when some form of technology replaces the tedious tasks of plotting by hand.  They were much more engaged and they were able to see how close their “sinusoid” graphs were to their data. Nothing.  We have a class set of graphing calculator for students to use and the overhead attachment is simple to install.  We’ve been doing this for a while in class now.  (This could easily be done on a “graphing” program on the computer as well.) Any technology that replaces having to do it “by hand” will engage many students and will give the teacher more time to focus on the harder material. 
Courtney  As a chapter review lesson, I brought my class down to the computer center to work on my portaportal.  Students used the resources that I had found relating to the chapter to practice their skills. This lesson allowed students to work independently and at their own pace. They were able to focus on their weak areas.  Since there were many different activities for them to be working on, all students were engaged for the entire class.  Finding good, effective resources and activities to post on my portaportal site took quite a bit of time. Also, some of the laptops in the computer center were not working properly or were just very slow.  This extra set-up time once we were in the computer center was something I hadn’t accounted for.   The students really enjoyed this review day! They liked being able to work independently and asked to do this again before the next chapter test. Because they were working independently and all doing different things, however, I found it difficult to monitor how much material students were actually able to review. I think using this in addition to a more structured review lesson would work well.   
Tom  I used an animation that explained the steps for multiplying matrices.

This allowed the students to view the process via the projector on the screen.

  All students seemed to be paying attention and watching the animation, including those that normally are distracted.  The only challenge was the time to set up the projector and access the animation.  

Using the animation as another resource that reinforced the lesson helped most students understand more completely.
Doug  I used the Geogebra program as an aid in teaching about quadratics  We were able to discuss topics more quickly(not having to wait for me to draw figures)and the drawings were more accurate.  The students were able to see the impact of changing equation form.  The students were attentive and engaged.  They "wanted" to see what was going to happen to the graphs when values were changed.  I had to be comfortable with the program(time) and overall anxiety of wondering how things are going to happen in class.  It was worth it.  The kids could better see the information and I could quickly bounce back to other drawings used earlier in the class. 
Laura  I have used Geometer's Sketchpad to support the idea of Least Squares Regression The presentation sketch gave students an opportunity to visually grasp the concept of Least Squares Regression which normally is difficult to visualize. Students were engaged in the activity, but I'm not sure that it can be attributed to technology.  The challenge I face which I haven't  overcome is getting Geometer's Sketchpad to load on my "Mac side" of my MacBook.  Due to Parallels, this is the only location the program would load, and I refuse to use parallels because it takes too long to change.  The portable Mac Lab has Geometer's Sketchpad loaded on them which allows students the opportunity to manipulate a Least Squares Regression Line.
Jillian Use of Agile Mind curriculum to introduce or supplement Glencoe text. Students worked independently exploring the activities and saw practical uses of concepts visually as well as conceptually. Students were engaged and enjoyed being able to explore and work at their own pace. Making sure the laptop cart/computer lab was available for the lesson.  Much time was spent on making sure student were logged-in in and found correct page. The activities, supplement material and tests available on Agile Mind are useful and lesson plans are already prepared for you.

 


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