Andrew+Drake


 * Hi guys, my name is Andrew Drake and I'm from Winnsboro, South Carolina. Currently I am a Mathematics Teaching Major at Clemson. Deciding to enter the School of Education was an easy choice for me, as was choosing to specialize in math. I came from a family of educators, and I understand the commitment it takes to be a successful instructor. I was lucky to have many outstanding teachers when I was in school, and I hope to one day be able to return the favor to many students. I understand the relevance of an education; I know where it can take you, and I know how necessary it is for success in our society today! My main goal will be to communicate this relevance to my students, motivating them to learn the content I present and accept the challenges I place before them. **

I believe teachers have a responsibility to integrate various technological aids during instruction. Nearly all of the jobs our students will have will require some form of technical expertise. By incorporating aids in the teaching of mathematics, we are exposing students to an environment that is forces them to be reliant on more that just traditional methods of learning mathematics. Unfortunately the use of technological aids was not emphasized when I was in high school. Besides the use of graphing calculators and the occasional doc-cam, very rarely did we use anything besides paper and pencil. Graphing calculators were primarily used to do basic numerical operations or to find properties of graphs. I think I've had many of the same experiences using technology as the majority of people in our class. Of course I've used a laptop computer, smartphone, and ipod for my personal use. As far as teaching experiences go, I've used graphing calculators to show properties of functions. I've also designed a lesson using SmartBoard software, but I didn't have the opportunity to teach the lesson.
 * What are your current beliefs concerning the use of technological aids in the teaching of mathematics?**
 * How did your teachers use technological aids when you were learning mathematics?**
 * Please give a brief summary of your experiences using technology. Be sure to include any technology you used in previous teaching experiences as well as personal experiences.**

= [|My Poll] = media type="custom" key="10374554" This is a great tool teachers could use as a form of formative assessment. It offers instructors immediate feedback if students have access to a cell phone or a computer with internet access. Students don't have to worry about being put on the spot with this application. All results are anonymous. Unfortunately, using this application may take a little more time compared to creating questions for the iClicker. Another challenge will be insuring that you have an internet connection. I don't know if you can access this application via a mobil device. Without internet access, the instructor will have no way of monitoring the results. Implementing this application in a classroom setting will depend mainly on two factors. The first is school policy. If students are allowed to use cell phones for educational purposes, then it may be worthwhile to use this technology. The second significant factor determining whether or not I will use this application is student access to cell phones or computers. It is important that all students have access to all resources at school. If I can not insure this for a specific task, then it will not be included as part of my lesson plans.
 * What are the benefits and challenges for this technology?**
 * Would you use this technology in your classroom?**

=**Video Activity**= [|Khan Academy Train Problem] This showed a pretty neat way to integrate video into instruction. Using the set up that the creator used in this video allowed him to emphasize with color and underline text. This is easily completed in the classroom on a computer, but is difficult to simulate at home. The great thing about the creation of this type of video is that you can upload them on your class webpage or wiki. The benefits for this technology is that it enables students to access the instructor as a resource outside of school. The main challenge is insuring that all students have access to the technology being used. Another challenge is allotting time to create these videos. I'm not sure if I'll be able to start this during my first year of teaching, but I do believe that I could experiment with this once I get a feel for what students actually need, as far as supplemental materials are concerned. It would be a great additive if done correctly and effectively.

=**Microsoft Math4 Activity**= I would use this technology in my future classroom. I found this technology very user-friendly. The home screen was very easy to navigate, and I never had trouble finding the applications I needed within the program. This would be a great tool to demonstrate properties of functions. In secondary mathematics, we are always trying to help students make connections to mathematical topics. This program makes making connections that much easier for the instructor, because the graphs and equations can be manipulated by the user with ease. I would recommend my students to use this software as a homework supporter for some specific tasks. Because images can be easily saved and copied, this programs makes constructing complex graphs and transferring them to a word document simple. This enables me to create tasks where students can provide an illustration of a complex graph and write about it, within the same application. I do not think I will allow this to replace the use of handheld graphing calculators, because those are the devices students are allowed to use on most forms of assessment. They still need to develop fluency in handheld devices. I don't know that my views will change after using this software. It has the same capabilities as handheld graphing calculators, such as the Casio Prism and the TI-83. The only thing that may be more visible is that there are numerous applications available to help solve mathematical problems. Using an interface as common as a PC may be of some relief to students who are unsure of how to navigate the complexities of graphing calculators. However, this is not rooted in mathematics, but the development of fluency with the use of specific forms of technology.
 * Would you use Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 in your future classroom? If yes, how would you use it? If not, why not?**
 * Would you recommend your students to use this software at home as a homework supporter? Why or why not?**
 * What kind of mathematical views emerge from Microsoft Mathematics 4.0?**

= **SmartBoard Math Tools** = [|Identify and Graph Common Functions] Standard: IA-2: The student will demonstrate through the mathematical processes an understanding of functions, systems of equations, and systems of linear inequalities. This lesson activity aims to teach student about how to recognize different types of functions based on their algebraic and graphical representations. Instead of just listing information, this lesson allows students to interact with the material. Before completing this lesson, students should be familiar with plotting coordinate pairs, and students should know how to right basic functions in standard notation. This is different from traditional lecture because there is a really defined route for the way instruction will proceed. Based on the order of the slides, the students know exactly where their lesson is going. There is little room built into the lesson activity to allow students to explore concepts that the instructor does not see. Another difference between this and traditional lecture is that students are able to immediately see graphs, instead of having to wait on the instructor to carefully draw all the curves after plotting a series of points. This will be very beneficial to teachers when dealing with tight time constraints. This is different that using Microsoft Math 4.0 because the instructor is unable to create graphs instantly. The graphs for this lesson are included in the activity as part of a complex sets of movable objects, where as in Microsoft Math 4.0 the instructor has the ability to pull up graphical representations instantaneously. One other notable difference is the ability to incorporate a complete lesson in Smart Notebook Software, which can't really be done in Microsoft Math 4.0. The only problems that may emerge from using this lesson are regarding the actual depth to which this content is covered in the activity. I really don't think one example of each type of graph and algebraic representation will be enough for students to develop a solid understanding of the mathematics taking place. Also, I'm not convinced that the activities are really assessing students understanding of the topic at hand. For example, matching activities only reflect students abilities to remember and pair ideas. They do not necessarily reflect learning and command of subject matter. I think many of these problems could be covered with this same basic lesson format, with or without technology. As long as the instructor focuses on student understanding of the material, you should be good to go. To do this, the person teaching the lesson should allot time for exploration. Students need to have a few moments to play with the numbers, plug them into the functions, and plot the points on their own. They need to have some prior knowledge to connect new material to. Its not a bad lesson, but I believe it could be made better if the instructor provided problems and room for exploration.

= **GeoGebra 4.0 Applet** = GeoGebra 4.0 is an application capable of creating dynamic geometric figures with labels. This application is also capable of graphing algebraic equations. The dynamic tools available to users makes this program excellent for illustrating transformations, changes in rates of change, and the effects of changing angle measures and other geometric properties. With limited knowledge about the application, students could create simple geometric constructionsI. I think one of the best things about this application is that its free for everyone. GeoGebra 4.0 is available as a download online. One of the only drawbacks is that there is not a great deal of material available for this application. Teachers and students wishing to use GeoGebra 4.0 will either have to develop their own tasks, use the applets from sites like GeoGebraTube, or modify tasks from resources designed for other software like Geometer's Sketchpad. I can definitely see myself using this application in my classroom. I was impressed with the graphing capabilities of the program. I think this will be a useful addition to a classroom that embraces technology as a means of solving problems and furthering students' understanding of mathematical concepts. I feel like the program is very easy to use. This is not a program that will require you to train students extensively before they are able to graph simple equations or do basic geometric constructions.