Inspiration and Web Resources

1. Inspiration is an excellent program for making flow charts, Venn diagrams, and other similar things. I think it would be a great investment for my classroom. Some ways I would use this program:
-if I wanted the students to explain the process of how they solve problems (such as order of operations or single variable equations).
-to compare and contrast different processes that might be similar but have different results (such as differentiation and integration).
-in geometry, when we are doing simple proof with right triangles, I can show the step-step procedure of showing 2 triangles are congruent.

However, I can also use it to make my own charts explaining how to use a graphing calculator or the order in which students should consider convergence tests when trying to find out if a series converges or diverges.




2. I have just been introduced to almost all the websites and programs about which we learned, so I am not sure which ones I will be even using. However, from just a few glances, I like Thinkfinity and eMINTS. I am sure this will change in the future, but these two are my favorites for now. I love Thinkfinity because I found my technology lesson plans there. I am sure once I explore the site some more, I will completely hooked. Thinkfinity had countless interesting lesson plans and activities that related to math. The technology lesson plans had interesting ways of explaining the concepts. It never occurred to me of explaining that way. I am really interested of how the actual lesson would work out. I will most likely keep this site and the lesson plans I found and use them one day. eMINTS is quickly becoming another favorite because it has a huge list of websites for different math subjects. It gives you links to sites that explain whatever given subject for which you are looking. Also, when you choose your subject, eMINTS lists the standards the sites cover. This is great for teachers because they can keep track of what they taught and what else needs to taught, so their students are prepared.
I will mostly use these two sites the most to look for additional resources that will help me become a better teacher. Perhaps, a website on eMINTS will use an interesting analogy or explain a topic in a way that would the students understand.

Social Bookmarking

I think Social Bookmarking can have applications in any classroom because computers and the internet are becoming more and more important in students' lives. In particular, I could use social bookmarking to find online textbooks and worksheets with math problems, and my students will not have the excuse of forgetting their textbook some where because they will be able to access it online. With online capability practically any where because of cell phones, they do not necessarily have to be at home to complete assignments. I could also bookmark websites that explain step by step porcesses of solving problems, in case someone missed a day of school and needs examples.



If I am teaching 12th grade students, I can use my social bookmarking site to find and bookmark websites that have scholarships for college. In my school, 7th and 8th grade students were split up into teams. If I am teaching 7th and 8th grade students in a similar set-up, the whole team can use a social bookmarking site and divide it into the according subjects. Each teacher could find websites that will be valuable to their subject, and it would encourage the students to learn by making the websites available all in one spot (on the bookmarking site).



Social Bookmarking would defintely help me as an Albright student. We take several classes every semester and organizing all the websites I need to use would allow for easy access. Because I am an education major, it would especially help me arrange all the standards, anchors, and other information that I will need to use on a daily basis. In particular, diigo will be a great social bookmarking website because I would be able to a create list for every subject that I will be qualified to teach. Diigo will allow me to stay organized and to gain access to my list of all the websites (academic and non-academic) from any computer.

Evaluating Websites

It is important for teachers to evaluate websites because they need to make sure that they are giving their students correct and accurate information. It is also important for students to evaluate the websites that they will use for research because they also need to have accurate information. Everyone who navigates on the web needs to be aware of the facts. Once the facts are established, they can form opinions based on those facts. However, many people use the world wide web to post their opinions on topics, and they have every right to do so. Nonetheless, this makes it harder for those who do not know anything about the subject to figure out the basics.

I think that many people do not understand and do not apply evaluation techniques. Because as we were showed in class, even professional journalists were tricked about the fact that Americans did not land on the moon. They stated that they did not know that the Onion was a satirical website. These journalists faced world wide embarrassment because they did not use proper evaluation techniques. However, other consequences will not be so severe but will still be critical. For instance, if a student uses an inaccurate website as a source for a research project, then they could fail that project. The student will most likely have to redo the entire project.

As a way to incorporate evaluation techniques into my classroom, I would give my students a list of famous mathematicians. They would have to find what their claim to fame was or to which branch of mathematics they contributed. I would tell them to write down the websites they used and why they think these websites were reliable.



It is crucial that students learn how to evaluate websites because the internet is becoming a central technology in their lives. Students are also our future, and they need to be correctly informed about everything that is going on in the world.

Incorporating Blogs in the Classroom

It is difficult for me to think about how I would incorporate blogs into my classroom because I will teaching math to high school students. However, I would probably use the blog as a way for students to help other with homework assignments as long as they aren't simply giving each other the answers. Perhaps, I would allow former students of mine to go onto blogs and become tutors in a way. Instead of having to meet me or another student after school, they could simply blog about their troubles online. Since many students have clubs or sports after school, it would be easier for them to talk about it online when they are at home actually doing the homework.

An interesting idea that I thought of for integrating technology into education is for English teachers. English teachers assign novels for students to read, and students often must take a quiz or test on that book. Tests and quizzes are not popular with students, so English teachers could create a blog for the book and have the students discuss the book online. They could post a list of questions that they want answered about the book. The teachers should require students to comment on what they think of the book, the characters, and other topics. Teachers do not have to use a blog for every book, but to give students a change of pace, teachers need to sometimes use devices that interest kids (a.k.a. the computer).

The advantage to having students blog about an assigned book is there is less paperwork for the teachers. If the English teachers require a (paper) journal, then it is extra weight the teachers need to bring back and forth from home to school and viceversa. If they use the Internet, they can just go on the Internet at home or anywhere(if you have a smart phone) to check if the students are doing their assignments. Another advantage is that students can complete their journal assignment on the weekend because the teacher can make the comments or discussion due on Saturday or Sunday.

The disadvantage to blogs is that students could take advantage of the fact that they will be able to complete assignments on the Internet. The students would constantly ask to push back assignment due dates. Another disadvantage is that students could possibly not read the book and ask their friends what to write as a comment. A balance of both written in-class tests and blogs would be the best solution.

Blog Numero Uno

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