Flickr

I enjoy flickr and have used it occasionally in the past to post pictures for friends and family to see, however, I am actually not sure how I would use it in the classroom. There may be occasions where I would put pictures on to show my kids maybe of my dog, or of some place that we might be talking about. Maybe if we wanted to put together an additional unit like Fibonacci numbers we could get some photos and collect them there.

I might also be able to use it to post a specific problem. If I were to do the problem and then take a picture of it I could make a link to Flickr so that students could see my example.

If I had the time and wanted my kids to simply use the technology for themselves I might have them create their own "slide show" introducing themselves and their families perhaps.

I will be interested to see how other people are thinking about using flickr in the classroom! Maybe some new ideas will come to me.

You Tube Videos

Pros and Cons of using YouTube.

A pro would definitely be the ease of use and the amount of content available on YouTube. If I posted a link to the "quadratic formula song" it is likely that some of my kids would click on some of the related links to the side and perhaps find another video that was more helpful for them. In this way, they would be designing their own learning. If they can take learning into their own hands, that's always a pro!

The cons for me personally is that I have not heard back officially if I will have a projector next year. I did not have one last year and it was ok because I did not have a lot of technology to integrate and if I had something I wanted to show I could borrow one from the library. This year, however, I can imagine doing much more and really needing that technology available. Another con would be that many of my students don't have access to computers so taking the time to search for and post these online might not be very good use of my time. We will see as the year begins on that one.

Overall, however, I have found enough videos to give me a good start on the year and I think it will be worth the effort of trying.

I have found several videos that could be used as a "warm up" activity. They could be used either to introduce a new topic or to review an older one. I would have students watch the video and then write 2-3 things that they will remember after watching the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2snPx3ujH8&feature=related

-- quadratic formula song to the tune of jingle bells

I think this cute video of a 4 year old singing the quadratic formula would show my students first of all that if a 4 year old can remember it, they can too. Also, I can see if they can put together the formula from the video as an introduction to what it is. I think that the kids could have a lot of fun with this. The quadratic formula comes at the end of the year for my algebra 1 students so this might be a way to get them interested in the lesson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C38B33ZywWs

-- Adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers

This is a basic lesson on adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers using a number line. It is a great visual example for my students to possibly relearn this material. It would also be a great introduction to adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers. I have also noticed that when we begin adding and subtracting positive and negative polynomials some of them really need to refresh what adding and subtracting actually is. This is a way that I could either show it in class or else post the link so that they could review it on their own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDpnNnjFB1c

-- subtracting polynomials tutorial

This specific video is on subtracting polynomials and there are several videos by justmathtutoring.com that I could use either as supplemental material or could even have read for a sub to show if I were going to be absent for a day. The lesson is very detailed and shows step by step just like would. The benefit of showing it on a video would be someone else saying the same thing in just a slightly different way. It is amazing how kids can learn something if you can just change your wording slightly. I think that I will plan to check this site out often as I am preparing lessons this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EWq9EZmIKg&feature=related

Here is a video of "the number line dance". I could use this to teach and remind my kids that when they add on a number line they go to the right and when they subtract (or have a negative number) they move to the left on the number line. They also use a story problem which students ALWAYS need practice on! This is also something I could use as an example and ask my kids to make a "movie" of one of our recent topics. I could see many of them really getting interested in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-VJjfw90jc&feature=related

-Order of Operations

Order of operations is one of the first lessons that I teach. This will be a fun way of introducing the topic, which many of them will have learned last year. I think it will be good to get students used to seeing technology early in the year and then hopefully I will be able to keep them using it all year. I will also be able to post this right away on the class wiki for parents and students to review outside of class if they get stuck on their homework.

I don't think I realized how education YouTube videos can be. I, of course, have seen all of the "fun" videos and searched for things that I wanted to learn how to do, like knit a certain pattern, but I'd never thought of using it as a supplement to my teaching. I am not sure if it will be blocked at my school and currently I do not have a projector from which to present it to the students, but even if the only way that I can use it is to put it on a class wiki or blog I think that several of my students will take the time to check it out. Especially those who want to learn the material but are just too shy to ask for help or have trouble staying after school. I am excited to use this in the year ahead!

More Links

http://edudemic.com/

--Connecting Education and social media

http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/Science/Mathematics/Video-Math-Tutor-Tips-for-Students-Video-Podcast/30629

--Math Tutor Video Podcast. 7th grade through college. Many student "tips". Study tips, finding a tutor tips, etc.

Wiki

Visit my Wiki here

Podcasting

Today I discovered how easy making and publishing a podcast can be. This would be something I could easily create during a prep period at school or even over lunch if I needed to. As a second year teacher, speed is important as I always have more to do than time to do it!

I think the most practical application for me using a podcast will be the ease of leaving a lesson with a sub. So often in Math class, my students get mixed up on a simple concept just because another teacher used terminology not familiar to them. If I could leave a podcast with notes or other visuals to go with it, I think it would be easy for the sub, less stress for the students, and effective teaching for me. I am excited to get back to school and show some of my collegues this technology.

I think that I would also be able to use podcasting to make at least an initial contact with parents. At the start of the year parents and students are usually willing to make an extra effort to try a new technology to get information. I think that it will also be a way to continue communication with parents who often feel like now that their child is in high school they don't hear from the teachers quite as much.

Another thing that I would like to do on a volunteer basis is to allow my students to post podcasts on a class wiki that allows me to get to know them a little bit. I have already suggested to the english teacher that I work with that we might be able to do some collaborative projects using podcasting. I was thinking specifically of students explaining how to complete a certain math problem using a podcast graded both for their ability to give the "speech" and the correctness of the students completing the problem.

Sometimes I have also noticed if I have to give the same directions 6 times they get less clear. In the past I have written the main points of the instruction on the board as well as explain the instructions. Instead of giving the instructions myself each time, I could record them and podcast them for the students to listen to so that I still sound enthusiastic 7th period! Also, students who needed to finish the project at home, or were absent would get the same set of instructions as the class. This will be particularly helpful when we work on semester projects. I recognized that my explanations were not as clear to absent students 2 days later as they were the first day.

I have completed my regular podcast with audio only. I have begun one with picture clips on it as well, however, I have not yet figured out how to play/export it to contain the photos. I will continue working on this in the days ahead.

I spent some time searching for sites specifically related to podcasting in the classroom and have found several which I will list below.

http://www.intelligenic.com/blog/ -"Kidcast" is all about using podcasting in the classroom. Many ideas for all grade levels.

http://www.epnweb.org/ - The Educators Podcasting Network is for teachers with a slew of information on podcasting including how to's. There are also examples for different grade levels

http://www.podcastforteachers.org/ -"Podcasts for teachers" provides a lot of technology related to education not just podcasting. They even review new technology.

http://oedb.org/library/beginning-online-learning/100-ways-to-use-your-ipod-to-learn-and-study-better -100 ways to use your ipod to learn and study better

A Collection of links for Algebra 1

Working on technology for my own learning has encouraged me to find ways to use technology in my classroom next year. I will begin to collect useful links that hopefully I will be able to share with my students as well as use through the school year.

http://www.math.com/students/homework.html#algebra

http://popmatics.wordpress.com/

Schools and Internet Safety

My school blocks both blogs and social networking sites.
There are probably several arguments that could be made on how students could use these types of sites in education. One that comes to mind might be "we know the kids are online, why not teach them where they are?" At the same time, I can easily understand why a school district would feel safer just to block these types of sites. I think a lot of harm could be done and the district could be sued for not not keeping students safe while on school ground. As we read in the cyber bullying article schools are already being pressured to protect students 24/7 I am sure they feel they need to be extra vigilant in protecting them while on school property.
I know some teachers who have created facebook groups for their students to interact outside of school. The benefit of it being linked to the teacher's facebook is that s/he would have ultimate control of the content. If something inappropriate was said it could be removed or the whole group could be closed.

Internet Safety

Personally, I think that it's important to remember that what I put on the internet is always there. So I find myself thinking twice before I post anything personal on the internet. At the same time, I realize that my students don't think twice about much of anything so it is definitely understandable how internet preditors find students. I have not yet had any issues with giving too much personal information on the internet.