2009+Overview

How I use technology in my classroom: ** Each student has a laptop with internet access and a comprehensive range of applications. Our school intranet allows me to place links, all file types and announcements that track the day to day learning. I have a laptop, data projector and smart board in my classroom. I came to teaching after being a computer programmer and jointly running a small business with the help of a PC. I trained to be a Secondary Mathematics teacher in 2003. I have been playing with applications and web based possibilities since then. The applications that I use almost daily are Geometers Sketchpad and Excel. Geometers Sketchpad allows me to show mathematical concepts in a precise and colorful way. The greatest advantage this has over a white board or electronic static resource is the movement. Students also use Geometers Sketch pad to investigate the behavior of graphs, transformations and moving constructions. I use excel with conditional formatting, pivot tables, random numbers, graphs and formulae. I explain to students that the formulae in excel is the algebra of everyday life. The internet is used on a daily bases. [|www.Mathletics.co.nz] is a web based learning program that allows students to work in a supported manner at their own pace. Teachers can change the course as often as they like, and I tend to do this with each new topic. I encourage students to use [|www.studyit.org.nz] and explore the links provided. [|www.scholarnet.co.nz] is used by some students for notes, examples and practice tests. I have found some great PowerPoint’s using [|www.google.com]. I store my favorite links and some resources on my own wiki [|www.geoart.wikispaces.com]. GeoArt using [|**GeoSketchPad**]. I have a creative unit which I call GeoArt in which students construct images using transformations. For example: Bikes that move with wheels going around, ferris wheels, balls bouncing using simple harmonic motion. This unit allows students to be creative and use prior knowledge to develop their own creation. The unit is stored in the clouds at [|www.geoart.wikispaces.com] and can be downloaded by interested teachers. I have included [|www.youtube.com] instructions as well as the Geometer Sketchpad files to help get people started. There are so many to choose from, however, one that I have used every year in more than one class since I found it is **The UFO Race**. I found it on the UK Teacher Resource Exchange site [|www.tre.ngfl.gov.uk]. [|**UFO Race**] Students pick a UFO at the start and shout support while the race happens, this is great fun and leads to the probability of each UFO winning. There are two virtual dice, and their numbers are added to move the corresponding UFO. The UFO’s are numbered 1 to 12. Of course number 1 cannot move, and number 7 usually wins, so it is best to get students selecting their UFO’s fast, before they have a chance to think. See [|www.geoart.wikispaces.com] for the full link. There is so much available and there are brilliant applications and resources that are free. GeoGebra [] is an outstanding example of this. The access to these resources means teaching and learning mathematics is a fun, dynamic, colorful and rewarding experience. Teachers need more time to share their best lessons and all schools need adequate access to computers, the internet and the time to learn how to use them. Talk to each other; be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. Share your experiences with others and listen to theirs. Make time to play and search the internet. Go to relevant professional days and enjoy lifelong learning. Do not expect to be an expert, it all moves so quickly that no one is really an expert or truly up to date. If you do not have a Data Projector fixed in your classroom and you are keen to use one then keep asking for one until you get one.
 * August 2009
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Other Software used in my mathematics classroom at Diocesan School for Girls in 2009. [|DayDream Interactive] these are fun and very helpful [|New Zealand Maths Text Books softcopy and hardcopy] it is good having both