Jana+Wier


 * Jana Wier ****'s Page**

==== **I use technology very often in the form of my computer and cell phone in my personal life. In my teaching experience, I have used programs such as Geometor's Sketchpad as well as Smartboard software.** ==== =

= ** Online Assessment Tools ** media type="custom" key="10374422" align="left" width="130" height="130"


 * [|Poll Everywhere] **

** What are the benefits and challenges for this technology? **
====** A benefit of this technology is that it is a good way for teachers see if students are understanding concepts presented in class. A challenge for this technology is that students need access to a computer in order to complete the poll and some students may not have access to one at their home. **====

** Would you use this technology in your future class? **
====** I most likely would not use this technology in my future classes I feel a lot of work must go into creating the poll and in most situations the teacher can probably get the same information just by asking for a show of hands during class. **====

**Video Recording**

**[|Linear Equations 2]**
==== **This video is about solving two step equations. By seeing what the narrator is writing, the student can learn how you use reverse order of operations to get the variable on one side of the equation in order to find out what it equals. I think that this can be particularly helpful for students who need to see more examples worked out for them. I could see myself using a video such as this for possibly a more complex mathematical concept than solving equations so that my students could listen to someone else teaching the concept.** ====

**Microsoft Mathem****atics 4.0**

[[image:edf425fall2011/Jana_Graph_#6.png width="800" height="422"]]
**Would you use Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 in your future classroom? If yes, how would you use it? If not, why not?** **I do think that I would use Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 in my future classroom especially if students did not have their own calculators to use. I think that students being able to extend the processes of mathematics will help them see what the calculator is doing step by step and therefore help them learn the material better.**

**Would you recommend your students use this software at home as a homework supporter? Why or why not?** **Although I do think that this is a good classroom tool, I would not want my students to become dependent on using the calculator for simple calculations that they might use it for for homework. However, if students would like to view a graph or do more complex calculations, they should have access to a calculator.**

**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 solftware?** **I think that using this software lets students view the "big picture" of math easily and very efficiently. With a few clicks of a mouse, students can see graphs, their equations, and can easily interpret how they relate to each other. It is also helpful for students to extend the steps of a problem so they can learn how to go about solving similar problems on their own.**

**Smart Board Math Tools**

[|Lesson Activity]
 **MA.9-12.IA-2.7: Carry out a procedure to graph translations of parent functions (including y = x, y = x², y = square root of x, y = absolute value of x, and y = 1/x).**  **This activity is an interactive lesson in which students can visually see how changing the equation of a quadratic graph effects its position on the coordinate plane and vice versa. The activity gives students a chance to guess what graphs will look like and explore the concepts of transformations of quadratic equations and graphs.**  **This is different from a traditional lecture because it gives students exact pictures of the graphs and gives them opportunities to guess what the graph would look like before they actually see it.**  **It is different from using Math 4.0 during instruction because the slides are already prepared rather than the teacher or students using the software to graph during the lecture.**  **Since most of the time, classes will have more students than the number of examples presented in this lesson, a problem that could come up is that students are not given an equal chance to answer the questions on the slides. To overcome this, I would ask students to work on the examples at their desk so they all have the opportunity to think about what they answer would be before I called on a student randomly to answer the question aloud.**   

** Geogebra Reflection **  ** I think that a dynamic mathematics environment helps students to see firsthand how manipulating variables contributes to the problem. I think that this type of environment is very helpful because by students seeing how the mathematics works in terms of a problem, they will better understand the concept. **  ** Personally, I prefer Geometers Sketch Pad rather than GeoGebra. I think that GSP it is easier to use if you are not familiar with the mathematics concepts and the text feature is also much simpler than the dynamic text feature in GeoGebra. **