Thing #23 Final Reflection on the 23 Things

I am very glad to have participated in and completed the Clovis 23 things . I learned about the vast array of Web 2.0 tools and resources that are available. While it is not practical to attempt to incorporate all of these into my personal life and classroom, I have found several of these tools to be quite beneficial personally and professionally. Personally, here are the tools I am now using or planning on using in the near future:

1) Diigo is my favorite tool that I learned about thanks to the 23 things. The first aspect of Diigo that I like is being able to store and access my bookmarks from any computer using any browser. I can also choose which of these bookmarks to share with others and organize them using tags and lists. What sets Diigo apart from other social bookmarking sites is the ability to highlight text on any website and add sticky notes to any website that can be seen when revisiting these websites. I am almost done transferring all my bookmarks to Diigo. The only problems I have encountered using Diigo so far is that their server is occassionally down for brief periods and their Facebook app doesn't work yet. I also upgraded to an educator account for free, which allows me to create student Diigo accounts for my classes so that useful and relevant bookmarks can be shared among students in the same class.

2) Google Docs provides the free online equivalents of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. While it also allows for the sharing and collaboration of these types of files, I plan to use it primarily in order to access files that I frequently access and edit. For example, I currently have a Word file where I keep my favorite quotes and an Excel file where I keep a list of books that I would like to read. Previously, I just kept these files on my home computer and only accessed and edited them from there. With Google Docs, I can access and edit them from any computer.

3) Google Reader allows me to efficiently read online articles on topics that interest me by organizing all my favorite RSS feeds in one place. I like how it allows me to place a star on articles that I particularly like and want to easily find again. I also like how it keeps track of which articles I have read and which I have yet to read. While I consider this primarily a personal tool, it also allows me to keep up-to-date on the latest developments in education and technology which help me develop professionally.

Professionally, here are the tools I am now using or planning on using in the near future:

1) Weebly offers the best way to create a free website that I have seen thus far. I am in the process of changing my classroom website to Weebly from Google Page Creator. The layouts of Weebly look more professional and like Page Creator, it also allows for the use of html code. Weebly also offers a great deal of free storage for files and allows for the creation of blogs as well.

2) The blog for the 23 things is the first one I have ever written. It opened my eyes to possibility of using a blog to assist in my teaching. I used Blogger to create my blog for the 23 things and I found it very easy to use and customize. I also like that you can use Blogger with your Gmail account without having to create another username and password. This upcoming school year I am planning on creating two blogs, one for each of the classes I teach. Each school day I plan on posting on my blog the topic(s) we covered in class along with providing links to the following: my graphic organizer notes, the video of the notes created with my new Livescribe pen, other classroom handouts, real world applications, and supplemental resources. I hope that in conjunction with my website, these blogs will help my students more easily catch up when they are absent, gain a better appreciation for how the mathematical content they are learning is useful in the world, and further assist students who are struggling with understanding the material. I am still undecided on whether to use Blogger or Weebly to create these blogs.

3) I found some good online resources with relevant mathematical content using Curriki and Thinkfinity and I plan to continue monitoring these sites to for more content and ideas that can benefit my students. I really like the format and idea of Curriki and how it allows teachers to pool their resources and ideas.

It has been exciting to see how these Web 2.0 tools and resources can positively impact student learning. I plan to continue to stay informed of the latest developments primarily through the Classroom 2.0 Ning and the Free Technology for Teachers blog . Hopefully, by incorporating these technologies and the ones to come in a well-thought-out manner, I can continue to improve as a teacher and help my students to reach their potential.

Thing #22 Copyright and Creative Commons

With so much free information available online, it is important that copyright law be respected by teachers and students alike. This Disney video is an entertaining and informative discussion of what could be a dry topic. I think it could be used with students to spark a discussion on why copyright law exists. Here is another informative article titled 10 Big Myths about copyright . This would also be a useful article to share with students to clear up confusion about copyrights. For teachers, this website, Copyright Laws for Teachers, is very comprehensive in answering questions related to materials and educational use. Here's a blog that discusses Creative Commons, a way for creators of materials to choose to share it with others. In teaching about copyright law or other ethical issues, it is important to provide accurate materials to give students background information. As a teacher it is also important to be prepared to ask and answer difficult questions. Students should be encouraged to develop opinions that have solid reasoning behind them and to address the weaker points of their position as well.

Thing #21 Online Games

Searching for online games was definitely one of the most enjoyable things of the 23 things. There are lots of online math games to choose from. However, the majority of math games are geared toward elementary or middle school level mathematics. Some games are very entertaining but not that beneficial while other games are very beneficial but not that entertaining. My goal was to find the games that are both entertaining and beneficial. Here are the top three that I found:

1) Solving Systems of Equations Battleship is a game on Quia that requires students to solve a systems of linear equations for each time they hit one of their opponent's ships. It also includes problems that have no solution and those that have an infinite number of solutions.

2) Algebra vs. the Cockroaches is a high quality game that asks students to write the correct equation for the line that the cockroaches are crawling along in order to eliminate them. It gives students good practice with writing the slope-intercept form of linear equations.

3) X Detectives has a series of games of varying levels of difficulty that help students practice and understand solving systems of equations, graphical transformations, working with positive and negative numbers, and graphing linear equations.

Thing #20 Digital Storytelling

I have always loved listening to or reading a good story so the idea of digital storytelling sparked my interest. However, I did have a difficult time tracking down digital stories that applied to teaching high school level mathematics. Here are the best five that I found:

1) This digital story gives a brief history of the Pythagorean Theorem along with some practical applications of it. It could easily be incorporated into a lesson about the Pythagorean Theorem.

2) This digital story shows how specific equations of parabolas have been used to build numerous arches in architecture. It is fantastic for showing students how useful parabolas are in the real world.

3) This digital story titled A Day Without Math is a clever and powerful story about what the world would be like without math. It provides a great way to show students how many of the things that they take for granted would not have been possible without mathematics; it's very helpful in showing why math is so important to everyone.

4) This digital story is more interactive. It shows students how to write linear equations using the graph. Students can choose from three animated characters to give further explanation and hints. This is a good tutorial for students who are having a difficult time writing linear equations using the graph.

5) This digital story provides some good applied probability problems for students to solve along with two animated characters that students can choose to give them additional assistance. This story could be used as assessment or practice assignment for students who have just completed a unit on probability.

Thing #19 Video and Audio Tools

This is the first time I've tried to make a video using an online video tool. I was trying to decide on whether to use Animoto or Big Huge Labs Slideshow . In the end, I chose Animoto since it allows you to upload photos not just use photos that have a hyperlink. I created a video slideshow of my son. You can view it at this link. Animoto worked well but I still prefer using the non-online software Windows Movie Maker which I learned to use earlier this summer at Tech Bootcamp . Movie Maker easily allows you to incorporate audio, video, and images in a very adaptable and user-friendly interface.

Thing #18 Podcasts

I've been listening to Podcasts through iTunes for a few years now. The ones I like the best are A New Beginning with Greg Laurie and Just Thinking with Ravi Zacharias. This is the first time I've searched for podcasts related to mathematics. After listening to several math-related podcasts, my favorite by far is Dan's Math Cast. The author, Daniel Bach, started this podcast in November of 2005 as a way to share his love of mathematics and help others to understand and appreciate mathematics. His podcasts contain a variety of components including reviewing topics in algebra and trigonometry, answering listeners' email questions, debunking mathematical myths, presenting challenging mathematical topics, and demonstrating how math applies in the real world. I plan to continue to listen to Dan's Math Cast and share it with my students who may be interested. Since many students in Generation Y love listening to their iPods or other mp3 players, perhaps they would be open to listening to educational and engaging podcasts such as this. I could have my students listening to this podcast and share what they found to be the most interesting, helpful, surprising, etc. With the vast number of Web 2.0 tools available to integrate into the classroom, I don't think creating my own podcast is a top priority.

Thing #17 Online Videos

I am very familiar with both YouTube and TeacherTube. There are numerous instructional videos related to math on both of these sites. Some are entertaining; some are humorous; some offer quality instruction; and some aren't so great. These are great supplemental resources to provide to students during class or on a classroom website or blog to allow viewing outside of class. Here, I've embedded a video from YouTube that is a very creative song parody that discusses some of the uses of derivatives in an amusing and perhaps a bit dorky manner.

Thing #16 Google Earth, Literature Stories, Google Sketchup

I watched the tutorial videos on Google SketchUp and learned the basics. The image above is the 3-dimensional basketball court I attempted to create. Perhaps I was a bit too ambitious for my first attempt at using SketchUp. It was both fun and frustrating as I became more comfortable using this program. I was able to create translucent windows and an pole and backboard on one side of the court, but I finally conceded when failing in my attempts to create the hoop. Sketchup has a lot of potential in the classroom to help students understand the concepts of volume, area, and a measurement through a highly creative and interactive medium. This is not to mention how fantastic a tool it would be for those students interested in architecture, construction, and design.

The LitTrip I took followed the voyage of Aeneas in the ancient classic, The Aenied, a book I read while taking Latin in high school. It was very interesting to follow the path of Aeneas' journey and see the locations of all the places and a few of the structures in the story. This is an excellent way for students to see how history and geography is connected with literature and hopeful more fully engage them in the books they read.

Thing #15 Online Collaboration Tools

I decided to use Dabbleboard to share ideas for a new card game with a couple of friends, one who lives in Massachusetts and the other in the Bay Area. Like any new program, the user interface took a little getting used to, but overall it worked fairly well. By the time we were finished, we had developed the basic structure, rules, and objective of the game. I could see how beneficial using Dabbleboard could be for teaching students who are enrolled in an online school or who cannot all meet at the same physical location. It could also allow students who are working in groups to brainstorm their ideas without having to be at the same place.

After taking a tour of Library Thing, I decided not to set up an account because I already use a Books application on Facebook that does essentially the same thing allowing me to rate and review books I have read and display books that I am currently reading.

Thing #14 Online Resources Curriki, Thinkfinity, etc.

Using Curriki , Thinkfinity , and other websites I was able to find a number of online resources that with content that can directly benefit my students. Here are three of the resources I found:

http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Coll_IsaacNewton/BuyOnegetXFree has a compact lesson that introduces a practical application of limits at infinity. I can use this brief lesson in Chapter 1 of AP Calculus AB that deals with limits.

http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Coll_torquedellipse/Rationality_0 is a short digital textbook that contains quality examples and practice problems on the topics of rational functions, interval notation, domain, asymptotes, and graphing. I can use this material as part of the summer packet, Prerequisite Chapter, and/or Chapter 1 in AP Calculus AB.

http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=L769 gives the details of a series of lessons designed to help students conceptually understand that the slope of a linear equation is a rate of change. These lessons could be integrated into the summer packet I give my students entering AP Calculus prior to starting the school year.

Thing #13 eBooks and Online Books

I really believe that online books have the potential to replace traditional textbooks. Wikibooks has some good mathematical content that will hopefully continue to grow. If many math teachers contributed to the content of wikibooks, it would be a great resource for both teachers and students. It's also very exciting to see how easy it is to have a book published and distributed through sites like Create Space . If I ever get around to compiling my calculus book, I may try to publish it this way. The textbook publishers websites are adequate and at least for the meantime they allow students to view their textbooks online rather than having to haul them around. Google Scholar contains a vast database of academic reference material that can be useful to both teachers and students. Of all these ebook and online books, I think Wikibooks and Google Scholar currently have the most potential for helping students in high school mathematics classes. I could have students research mathematical topics with these online resources or have them seek supplemental assistance from Wikibooks and Google Scholar.

Thing #12 Social Bookmarking, Tags, Delicious, and Diigo

I started using Delicious last year and have found that it is a fantastic way to keep track of the numerous websites that I use both personally and professionally. Initially tagging every bookmark can be tedious, but once this is accomplished adding new bookmarks is a breeze. I used to try to organize all my bookmarks within folders; this was somewhat effective but not as good as tagging, especially when trying to find a useful website of which I don't remember the title. It's also nice to have access to all your bookmarks no matter what computer you are using. I also like how Delicious allows you to see sites similar to those you have bookmarked based upon how others have tagged them.

After viewing the Diigo tutorial and exploring the Diigo website I might consider switching from Delicious. It seems to have all the features of Delicious plus more. I really like its ability to highlight and annotate webpages and create lists. It also has some nice features for educators and working with students. Both of these sites allow both teachers and students the ability to organize and discover valuable academic content online in an efficient manner.

Thing #11 Generation Y and Education

Most of what I read and listened to regarding Generation Y was not surprising to me. Having been a high school teacher for the past 8 years, it largely confirmed what I have observed. Just like any other generalization or stereotype, it is important to point out that there are many students who do not fit the descriptions of Generation Y despite their birthdate. However, I have found that most of my students in Generation Y respond well to praise and recognition, enjoy working with their peers, desire instant gratification, and highly value "fun" in their learning.

The Millennial Leaders Blog had some thought-provoking ideas about how education should change in response to Gen Y. I wholeheartedly agree that textbooks in their current state are largely ineffective in helping these students to learn; I have gone further and further away from using textbooks during my teaching career. I believe that more interactive and adaptable resources can better engage students in Gen Y. I disagree that collaboration should replace competition; I think both are important skills and there should be a healthy balance between the two. While I agree that ideally students would receive less lecture and more experiential learning, I also think that it is not always practical to expect students to discover knowledge that took many years to develop historically. I also agree that efficiency and short-cuts should be encouraged so long as they do not interfere with the ability to perform more complex tasks. For example, I encounter many bright students who are not good at showing their work when solving mathematical problems. They often use shortcuts and solve problems in their head rather than on paper. Almost always, these same students begin to struggle as problems become more lengthy and complex and require the ability to show intermediate steps in order to arrive at the correct solution. As for quality over quantity research, I agree to an extent. I believe quantity has a value if it also requires students to examine research from idealogically diverse perspective in order to discern what is really true.

Thing #10 Wikis

Here's what I posted on the calcurriculum wiki:

Idea #18 I think students would enjoy creating their own motivational-style posters. To make it applicable to math, I could have students create posters that illustrate the importance or application of a mathematical concept. I think this idea could be used for a variety of academic subjects. You and your students can make your own by going to http://bighugelabs.com/motivator.php

I have learned that Wikis can provide an effective online collaboration platform. Wikis make it easier for people with common interests to share ideas and information on a specific topics or range of topics. I think wikis are a good way to allow students to team up upon any academic topic they are researching or studying. I could see the potential usefulness of creating a wiki containing the variety of mathematical topics they are studying and having students contribute to a wiki that describes the many different real world applications of these topics. Another idea I have is to have students research a specific mathematical topic and contribute to the actual Wikipedia entry for that topic. If I was to create my own wiki, I would create one that allowed people to ask and answer difficult questions about God, the meaning of life, and related philosophical and theological topics.