Adam+Ridlehoover

== = = Hello, my name is Adam Ridlehoover. I am a Senior, Secondary Education Mathematics major at Clemson University. I am involved at my church, NewSpring Church. I love sports and I plan to teach high school after graduation. I also would like to pursue coaching basketball. = = = =

What are your current beliefs concerning the use of technological aids in the teaching of mathematics?
I believe that teaching of mathematics should incorporate technological aids in a manner that is helpful to a student's learning. I think that teachers should use as much technology as possible to help their students learn. Technology is always evolving and students are usually always current with the latest technology. I think that teachers should match the entertainment industries that use these technologies in the classroom as well. This will help students learn more effectively.

How did your teachers use technological aids when you were learning mathematics?
My teachers used smart boards, calculators, and videos to teach me mathematics. The Smart Board had just come up and our teachers tried to use them effectively. My teachers did notes on the smart board and tried to help us understand using some neat features the smart board provides. My teachers also taught us to use calculators to help us with our learning. Using a calculator is difficult, but our teachers made sure to show us how to graph on the calculators and many other features.

Brief summary of your experiences using technology.
I have used Smart Boards in my high school classrooms. I am also competent in using a calculator. I have not worked very much with many other technological advancements in the classrooms. I have used my computer and Geometer's Sketchpad to help develop lesson plans for my Junior Practicum.

=Online Assessment Tools= media type="custom" key="10374564" align="center"

[|Poll]
=What are the benefits and challenges for this technology?= I think the benefits for this technology are a way to gauge your student's understanding of material. I also think this is a fast way to get students involved using technology. I think the challenges for this technology is using this in a timely manner. I think that allowing students to use their phones can be distracting. If I do not have access to a computer lab, then I do not feel that I would be able to use this technology in my classroom. =Would you use this technology in your future class? Why?= I think I will use this technology in my future classes because I think this is a great way to get students involved in their learning. I also think that it is different from normal assessments, so students will respond well to using this type of technology. I also think it will be good for allowing student to vote for student government and things of this nature. I think it is great to use in the classroom.

=Video Recording=

http://www.khanacademy.org/video/lattice-multiplication?playlist=Arithmetic

I thought this video was very helpful in explaining how to use lattice multiplication. I do not agree with lattice multiplication but it does seem to make it easier for students to learn to multiply. I think this video could be shown to a student that is struggling with multiplication. The way this teacher goes so slow to teach each aspect of this method of multiplication is very helpful for a student to learn this method. I think this could aid in a student's learning if they are willing to watch the video and work along with the way he is working.

=Virtual Graphing Calculator=



Would you use Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 in your future classroom? If yes, how would you use it? If not, why not?
I think I would use Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 in my classroom because it is such a useful tool for exploring so many mathematics. Many teachers use calculators in their lessons and try to get the students to follow along with their lesson. Using this software, the calculator is on the board for all to see and each student will be able to see exactly what the teacher is doing with each step. I also love the fact that Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 has solution steps. Many calculators just spit out an answer and do not show how they solved the problems. I love that students will be able to understand how the calculator actually solved the problem.

Would you recommend your students to use this software at home as a homework supporter? Why or why not?
I think I would recommend my students to use this software at home to check their homework because it does allow students to see the solution steps used to solve the problem. Also, students can use this software to explore graphs quicker and allows them to find roots faster. I think we could have students find roots of graphs by hand and then use the software to check their answers/understanding. I think I would mainly use this as a check for homework. I would make sure students still did the work needed, but using this software to check their work. ==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.== I think this software could help students make connections between mathematics. This software has graphing and solving integrated in it and students can look at both of these options to solve a problem. I think this will help students see mathematics as interconnected. I think it is a great tool for students to use and it brings a view of connectedness to mathematics.

=5. Smart Board Math Tools=

http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=edc7f9c2-bc04-4465-b2e6-bcdf75a72f1b

EA-3.6 Classify a variation as either direct or inverse.

This lesson looks at ratios and proportions using the SMART software. This lesson is a great use of assessment. This lesson has many questions that will allow me as a teacher, to assess my students knowledge on ratios and proportions. The students must show their work on their own sheets of paper to the problems in the lesson. I will then work the problems out on the Smart board or allow the students to come show their work. The students will be forced to show their work on each problem.

This assessment is different than a traditional assessment because it does not use the normal paper and write in the answers. I could turn this into a virtual assessment by allowing students to text in their answers using Poll Everywhere. This would provide instant feedback on each problem and allow me to show students how to solve certain problems. I like the idea of having a virtual assessment because it could also take the pressure off the students because it does not look like a normal assessment. Also, I could turn this into a game and allow teams to solve problems. The team with the most correctly solved problems, with the correct work, will win a certain prize.

I feel that using the Smart Notebook activities is more personal that using MS Mathematics 4.0. I feel that MS Mathematics looks like a computer and is really great. I feel that the SMART Notebook activities have the ability to be more personalized and can be made more relevant to each student. I think that MS Mathematics is great but I feel that SMART activities will allow students to learn more effectively. Also, I like that SMART activities can be used to let students solve problems on the board with their own writing. I like the personal touch that SMART activities allow. Also, teachers can design their own lessons with SMART software. Using MS Mathematics, they are not really able to design their own lessons.

A few possible problems emerging for student's learning is that there is less feedback from the teacher to the student because it is a virtual assessment. Students will not get the proper feedback because they could be using Poll Everywhere and they will not know why they missed a problem. Also, if students do not write down all of their work and only focus on the answers, there will be no way for me as the teacher to explain why they missed the problem.

I think I could overcome these problems by requiring work to go along with their explanation of why their answer is correct. Also, using technology I will allow students to use the SMART board to write all of their work on the board. I can save each person's work and create a page of work for each student. I think a way to get rid of this problem without technology is making students show all their work on each problem. They will be forced to turn in their work and I will be able to provide immediate feedback on their work.

=GeoGebra Reflection=

What do you think about dynamic mathematics environment? Do they contribute to students’ learning? How?
I think the dynamic mathematics environment is great. I think it really helps students’ learning because they are able to visibly see the way a dynamic component affects a graph. I feel that it is important to use this in your classroom because it does help all the visual learners. For me, I think it is important because it helps me see the affects it can have on a function or on a graph.

Compare GeoGebra with GSP regarding your experiences! Be specific with examples, tools and design features both have!
I think I like GSP better than GeoGebra. Geogebra has a lot of difficult syntax that takes a while to get used to. I found GSP a little more user friendly. They both have a lot of great applications to them. I think they both have sliders that helps show the way a certain aspect affects a given function. I think they are both useful in classrooms and should be used by teachers. For me, I feel that I will use GSP over GeoGebra because I find it a lot easier to use.