An avatar is a personalized graphic that represents you online. I created my own avatar at http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/websites-to-create-unique-avatar/. Pretty cool! You can also create other graphics here.

The Digital Footprint

Have you ever googled yourself? Did you know that you leave a digital footprint every time you go online? Your digital footprint is a collection of all the places you visit in the electronic world. All your online activities are being tracked by other people and are in a digital dossier. A digital dossier is a collection of all your online data. The data can include your private records and your online identity.

It is very important that you manage your digital footprint by never posting anything that may be hurtful or embarrassing to you or other people, including pictures. Take care when disclosing personal information. Whatever you put online will never be erased, even if you deactivate your accounts. Information can always be retrieved by others.

This is what my digital footprint looks like. I developed it using a word cloud webapp called www.Tagxedo.com. If you would like to learn more, there is some great information at http://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Digital_Footprint.

Technology in Mathematics - Week 3

Literature Review: Learning Outcomes relating to the use of technology

Learning Outcomes met through this review:

1. Demonstrate the understanding of how technologies can effectively promote student learning.
2. Evaluate and use a variety of current technologies to enhance content instruction and to advance students’ technological literacy.
3. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of safe, ethical, legal and moral practices related to digital information and technology.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the use of adaptive technologies and other digital sources to personalize and differentiate learning activities for every student.
5. Evaluate, adapt and reflect upon emerging tools and trends by participating in local and global learning communities and by reviewing current research and professional literature.

Technology in Mathematics:

Steve Jobs once said:

“What a computer is to me is the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with. It’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.”

Technology has made a major impact on the way mathematics is taught and the way students learn. Teachers and students have access to more advanced graphing calculators, computer programs and smart boards. Technology can be a great asset if teachers and students are properly educated on how to use it. The article Smart Use of Technology in Mathematics discusses the pros and cons of using technology in math class and evaluates the factors that must be considered to make a successful online math class.

Technology is used by school administrators and teachers to promote learning and can be seen throughout our schools. Teachers use technology to record and calculate grades, record absences, communicate with parents and colleagues, and to create and teach lessons. According to Abida, Azeem and Bashir, technologies have changed the way we develop assessment tools. Assessments can be done online and teachers will often create their own assessments using the computer. Teachers can access their books online along with exams, worksheets and answer keys. They are able to engage students by using smart boards. Administrators use computer software to create student schedules, keep track of discipline records, and use email to communicate with other administrators, teachers and parents.

Personally, I find it really difficult to make the switch to using technology such as the computer and graphing calculators, but once I do, I look back and wonder why I did not do it sooner. I realize how powerful technology is and all the great tools it provides in life.

Technology Promotes Learning:

Technology promotes student learning by allowing students to experiment with math concepts while using technology. For instance, Sketchpad allows students to create geometric shapes and learn new mathematical terminology. Computer software allows students to evaluate statistical data and draw conclusions. Graphing calculators allow students to compare the graphs of different equations and make conclusions about what is causing a graph to shift vertically or horizontally. They also allow students to see two dimensional shapes that would be hard to visualize without a graphing calculator. Students can use their iphone as a calculator and can get immediate answers to challenging and difficult mathematical problems.

As a parent, I constantly see my own children do a google search on a math concepts. They are able to research the concept and will often find a youtube video that explains how to solve the problem. This helps parents who are unable to help their child because they are unfamiliar with the concept. This is such a powerful tool for students.

Technology, such as email and ASPEN, has allowed parents immediate access to administrators, teachers, and their child’s grades. The use of email and grades posted online in ASPEN can be both helpful and detrimental. It is helpful because it keeps students and parents informed regarding progress. It can be detrimental because most parents want answers immediately and most administrators and teachers are so busy that they need at least 24 hours to respond. Administrators are busy running the school and teachers are busy prepping for the next class and teaching.

The Negative Side of Technology:

Technology can also have a negative impact on learning if it is not properly used or accessible to all teachers and students. Calculators and other forms of technology can speed up the lessons such that students may not be able to understand what is being taught. I was recently teaching students how to use the calculator to find the zeros of a quadratic function. The lesson went really well but when I asked them to calculate the zeros on their paper and pencil exam, most of them were unable to demonstrate the concept. I found that unless they physically do this using pencil and paper, they will often not understand what the zeros actually mean.

Using technology such as the computer and the iphone can cause problems in education if they are not properly used or monitored. I often collaborate with other teachers on lesson plans. I realize that it is so easy to get a worksheet online that many of my colleagues will choose standardized worksheets that are not completely aligned with the lesson, thus causing students to become confused and frustrated. Although the iphone has picture taking capabilities and a calculator on it, teachers must be careful during exams if they choose to let the students use their iphone. I have had students that have tried cheating the system by texting their friends for answers during exams and this is why I do not allow iphones to be used during exams. Iphones also have picture taking capabilities which becomes a liability in the classroom. Teachers have to be careful that students are not taking a picture of the exam and giving it to other students. For this reason, I stress the importance of no picture taking in my own classroom and no iphones during exams.

The Importance of Training Teachers in Technology:

Teachers who are not properly trained in the use of technology may not understand when and how to use technology. This can adversely affect the students and teachers. Recently, a teacher who was not properly trained on how to use email, mistakenly sent out an email to the entire group of people on the return address, when it was intended to only go to one person. This was very embarrassing to the teacher and hurtful to some of the other colleagues on the e-mail list. I also had another experience where a guidance counselor accidentally attached a student’s confidential, legal document in an e-mail to me. This became a great liability to the guidance counselor and the school district. Technology is expensive and some teachers and students may not have access to technology outside the classroom. This puts them at a disadvantage in a technology driven environment.

Technology and Online Learning:

Technology has made it possible for universities and colleges to offer online courses. Online courses engage students and teachers by promoting group interaction. This collaborative educational effort promotes learning. Taking classes online works well with non traditional students that are working towards getting their high school, undergraduate, or graduate degree. 

According to Fital and Akelbek, students often find online math classes challenging because they must learn how to write mathematical equations using an equation editor. This is time consuming and often requires additional training. My son recently called 15 schools throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire trying to sign up for an online Linear Algebra Math class and found out that very few schools offer online math classes. The few schools that do offer online math classes only offer a few select math classes. When he asked why they were not offering online math classes, their primary response was that students find it difficult to learn math online.

According to Fital and Akelbek, there are five key factors to a successful online math course. They are:

1. Easy, clear navigation throughout the course with a clear time frame.
2. Recorded lectures with lots of clear examples.
3. Homework submission every two weeks with work shown.
4. Quality feedback on homework in a short time.
5. Quick teacher response to student questions.

Fital and Akelbek did a two year study comparing the percentage of students who completed and passed a classroom course versus an online course. The data showed that the passing rates for an online class can be as high as a course offered on campus.

Conclusion:

Technology is here to stay. It is everywhere we look. Cell towers are seen from major highways, phones are in our pockets and computers are seen throughout places of employment. Most important, use of technology is being taught in our schools to prepare students for future employment opportunities. Technology allows math students to visualize new concepts, speed up the computational process and discover new theories. They will be able to successfully take online math classes that are designed for all students that may come from different math backgrounds. The online lectures will be slow paced, detailed, recorded lectures that easily can be navigated and have lots of great examples. It is a wonderful addition to education when students of all backgrounds and learning abilities can take an online class and successfully learn mathematical concepts.

References:

Abida, K., Azeem, M., Bashir Gondal, M. (2011). Assessing Students’ Math Proficiency Using Multiple -choice and Short Constructed Response Item Formats. International Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society, Volume 7, Issue 3, pp. 135-150.

Fital-Akelbek, S., & Akelbek, M. (2012). Smart Use of Technology in Mathematics. International Journal Of Technology, Knowledge & Society, 8(4), 65-72.

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/20-most-memorable-quotes-from-steve-jobs.html/?a=viewall

Slope-Intercept Form