Should I Blog?

I don't really like keeping a journal but I need a way to communicate what I am thinking about the use of technology in Mathematics. I like using the Internet and have at least ten websites. This is a problem since I need to keep them all updated. One issue is having an rss feed or way to interact with folks on a website. Maybe a google group? The other possibility is the Ning site. I need to pursue how this might work over the next month.

Product Information - Brain-Based Teaching in the Digital Age

This book will be required for purchase and will be the source of your readings for the rest of this semester.

Product Information - Brain-Based Teaching in the Digital Age

Textbooks and Technology

This past week I attended a textbook adoption fair in order to examine the new books for the State of Indiana adoption cycle. I asked many of the publishers about what technologies were used by the students. The answer was that the books were online and on CD so they could access them from anywhere. I was also told that all of the supplementary materials were online for the instructor. One company even has their teacher notes as podcasts so you can listen to "how to teach the lesson" from your mp3 player. The interesting thing was that all of these folks were talking about productivity technology, like using power point notes, lessons on video, smartboards, mobie's (tablets with clickers), test banks, online planning guides, and other supplemental type stuff. No one was talking about how students investigate the mathematics. Publishers are giving away lots of perks, like free TI-emulators, smartboards, overhead projectors, hotmath.com subscriptions, applets they have developed in-house, online graphing calculators (in house), and much more. This is not the case for the non-for-profits though. They can not afford to give these things away so it is really an unfair system (and is illegal). Indiana is one of only a handful of states that even allow this type of marketing. So, needless to say, I had to really think about how I asked my technology question because I was looking for answers like spreadsheets and Geometer's Sketchpad. One guy had never heard of this and I had to say that GSP has been around for 20 years. It was an educational event and I am glad that I took the day to investigate.

What did I find out? Graphing calculators are really the only cognitive technology that is mentioned by the sales reps. TI-83 and TI-84 was really it. To find activities for GSP or TI-NSPiRE, you really have to start with those companies and search it backwards to the text book. Then you will find the activities.

Week Four Assignment Reminder

Week 4 Assignments:

All files, and videos SHOULD be linked to the Google Site.

http://sites.google.com/site/bsumaths331/

1. Terrapin Logo - artifacts to ilocker
2. Reading - Gee article and reaction to ilocker
3. Journal entry to Blogger

F2f class on Tuesday and online class on Thursday

The topic of this posting is National Lab Day (NLD). The link below will take you to the official website. I would like to encourage a team of students from our class to get involved in this event either locally or virtually. NCTM is encouraging our involvement to meet President Obama's goal. Internet collaboration between schools, and between students and experts is a fast growing phenomenon. Let's think outside the box about how we could contribute in a unique way!

National Lab Day

Hey guys, if you are following my blog you can enter a comment to any of the postings that you find interesting. Tonight's entry will showcase a few more videos. How about a nice Mathematica Screencast. Here is an introductory (20 minute) and advanced screencast. (I have learned a new term - screen cast). Below the link is a message from Wolfram about a new training course that is offered, online.

http://url.wolfram.com/bQ019Va/

Our newest student resource is "M10: A Student's First Course in
Mathematica," a video-based training course that allows students
to access more in-depth Mathematica training at their own time
and pace, for less than $30. Students can work alongside the
videos with the included exercises to practice the skills they've
learned. For more information and to order this course, visit:

http://www.wolfram.com/services/education/courses/m10.html

Check This Out.

I have postponed a decision to spend more time on Moodle, after working on Google Sites today. Google sites seems to be exactly what I am looking for, with multiple author features. This web 2.0 tool will interact with other Google products, so it reduces the introduction of yet another user interface. Those of you interested in web design can me assist in the set up of the team modules.

Google Earth

This morning, I downloaded Moodle but got a bit confused on the Internet settings, so I will need to seek out some tech support in order to finish installing this web service on my laptop. If anyone is interested in helping with this exploration you may let me know. You do NOT need to download this to investigate how Moodle works. I suggest you look at sample classes.

After grading some statistics homework, I investigated Google Earth. I downloaded the product and watched a few training videos. I zoomed in on Indiana and Muncie. It looks like they have added some video production tools so you can capture your "journey" as you "move" over the Earth. The link below will give you a nice overview. Note that this video packs a lot of information into a 1.5 minute clip. Create a clip in Google Earth for a distinguished activity.

http://earth.google.com/tour.html#v=1

General Journal Prompts:

I learned ...

I discovered ...

I wonder ...

I was puzzled by ..

Next, I will ...