William+Shuler

[[image:the_rock.jpg width="320" height="527"]][[image:IMG_2592.JPG width="400" height="300"]]
Hello,

My name is Will Shuler. I am currently in school at Clemson University working on my degree in Mathematics Teaching. My mother and father were both teachers that instilled in me the will to teach others. There is nothing better than seeing first hand a student learning, and actually understanding something that you taught them. I am a senior, and will be student teaching at Daniel High School in the spring. I am also currently working as an equipment manager on the football team here at Clemson. I love athletics, water skiing, and being outside. I hope you enjoy my page.


 * **What are your current beliefs concerning the use of technological aids in the teaching of mathematics?** I believe that technology is something that is improving and being used more and more everyday. In math classrooms technology can be used to display information to the class in a variety of really neet ways. For example, Geometer's SketchPad is a program that could be very beneficial in a Geometry class because it allows different views that a textbook could never give.
 * **How did your teachers use technological aids when you were learning mathematics?** In high school, many teachers used Smart Boards and things like that to display notes to the class. Here at Clemson many of my education teachers have used programs like Geometer's SketchPad and Maple to help with class lectures.
 * **Please give me a brief summary of your experiences using technology** //– i.e. in what aspects have you used the computer and/or other technology devises? Be sure to include any technology you used in teaching experiences as well as personal experiences.// Last semester I was required to write a lesson plan using the SmartBoard. I also became very familiar with Geometer's Sketchpad and the new Casio Prism calculators through the same EdSec class. Some of my calculus classes used Maple to help solve very complex problems extremely fast. Also Maple was capable of displaying 3D images that really helped me learn very complex concepts.

**//Online Assessment Tools//**
media type="custom" key="10374556" My Poll

Reflection
 * 1) **What are the benefits and challenges for this technology?** The benefits of this technology is that it allows us as teachers to assess our class. For example we could give problems, like the one above, and allow our students to answer them in class. This will show us as teachers who is getting the material and who isn't. Another benefit is that it could allow students to use their cell phones to vote. As much as students love cell phones it gives them a chance to use it for educational purposes. The challenges for this technology is that some classrooms may not have access to enough computers to use this website. Another challenge could be that the students use their cell phones for something other than the poll.
 * 2) **Would you use this technology in your future class? Why?** I would use this technology in a future class because it allows me to asses my students in a fun and different way. I believe students would really enjoy this technology and learn from the fun they are having with it.

**//Video Recording//**
media type="youtube" key="9IUEk9fn2Vs" height="345" width="420" Reflection In this video the teacher is using a form of technology that allows his students to see his lecture on line. In this lesson the teacher is working linear equations problems. These problems focus on variables in the denominator of a function, and then solving for that variable. This is a very important part of mathematics because this algebra is built upon for the rest of mathematics.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//**Microsoft Mathematics 4**//
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Reflection
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">**Would you use Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 in your future classroom? If yes, how would you use it? If not, why not?** Definitely! This is something that students of all levels can interact and learn from. I would use this program similar to the way we used it in this class. Give them tasks to do to understand and learn from the features this program gives. I would make sure to have gone over how to do everything by hand first. Then expand using this.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">**Would you recommend your students to use this software at home as a homework supporter? Why or why not?** It depends. This could be a great resource to use to check your answer. The only problem is students could simply plug in problems and receive step by step answers. This evolves no learning at all, so as teachers we must be careful.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">**What kind of mathematical view(s) emerge(s) from the Microsoft Mathematics 4.0? Assume that you are a high school student and you use this software at home or during some of your mathematics classes with the guidance of your teacher. How would you view or perceive mathematics in the light of this software? Explain it.** It could show students a whole different side to mathematics. It allows students to graph really complex equations that can facilitate learning and help give them meaning to what they do. It also could spark interest in students to explore and see what all mathematics entails.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//**Smart Board Math Tools**//
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">In this lesson students are asked to solve multi-step equations by simplifying like terms on both sides of the equals. This lesson is different from a traditional lecture because it is very interactive. It allows the teacher and students to come up and actually click and drag things around the screen. Whenever students are actually getting up and interacting with a lesson there is definitely learning involved. This is different then MS Mathematics 4.0 because it actually allows students to go up to the board and drag things around the screen. In MS Mathematics 4.0 you can type things in and it just gives you answers. This lesson allows a student to work out problems for his/herself. Some problems that could come with this lesson is sometimes Smart Boards get out of sync and it is hard to drag these tabs around the screen. Also having students moving around the room can be hard to handle for some teachers. Class can get off topic really quickly with lessons like this. These problems can be overcome by making sure to sync the board before class. Also good class management from the first day of class can train your students not to act out with lessons like this. A teacher could always just go back to the white board if there were too many problems.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">http://exchange.smarttech.com/curriculum/curriculum-list.html?curriculum=enuscurr129&grade=enuscurr129gr010&subject=enuscurr129gr010su010
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Solving Multi-Step Equations

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">//GeoGebra Reflection//

 * 1) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">**What do you think about dynamic mathematics environment? Do they contribute to students learning? How?** I really like GeoGebra. I believe it creates an environment that really promotes learning. Not only can students design challenging mathematics, but they can manipulate what they create. We all want our students to be able to perform on paper, but this program can mean so much more. Students can actually see mathematics. Sometimes it is hard for students to really visualize what is going on. This can do so much for student's learning. Overall, I believe dynamic mathematics is essential in a mathematics classroom. It really promotes students learning and gives students new meanings to what it is they are learning.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">**Compare GeoGebra with GSP regarding your experiences! Be specific with examples, tools, and design features both have.** GeoGebra and GSP are very similar programs. They both have some very awesome tools and design features. From experience I would have to say that I like GSP a little more than GeoGebra. I feel this way because GSP is a little easier to use. For example, the dynamic text in GSP is as simple as just clicking on the parts you want to make dynamic. In GeoGebra dynamic text was very confusing for me. On the other hand, I feel that GeoGebra does a much better job with graphing. You can graph anything by simply typing the equation in. This is much easier than GSP. All in all, both programs are great, but from my experiences I still like GSP slightly more.