Calculator Craze

Have you seen Dawn's calculator? It is the new TI-Nspire by Texas Instruments. They had a booth at the conference and I tried to stop by, but there was a long line of people waiting to learn more about it. The calculator allows you to take off one screen and add different screens to allow you to different functions. Check THIS out. You can link the class' calculators up to your laptop and see who got the answers correct because you can see each student's screen. I think this is very cool because you would know who is paying attention and who says they get it, but is really lost and afraid to ask for help.

David, could you use these calculators in your class? I know Ms. Grant is working on finding money to buy some calculators, but I don't know if this would be the most practical in our class. Perhaps having a few in your class would also help facilitate group work. I don't think I realized how far calculators have come. The website also has tutorials to help you use the calculators and activities for the TI-Nspire or any other of there calculators. I am impressed with the company!

I will ask Dawn about her calculator and if she takes advantages of all its crazy functions.

I used to be against calculators because I thought they held students back and encouraged laziness, but now I see that if used properly, they can actually allow you to do a lot more.





THIS is another site that has a list of resources and articles on how to best include calculators in the classroom.

Lori-Constructivist video

Lori,

this is a video about a constructivist method of grading homework. I thought it might help you with your research next semester. The video is about elementary kids, but the idea can be applied to high school. I like that the homework is completed in pencil and the group work is completed in pen. It could be just a different method to use for homework grading every once in a while-perhaps when you have tried to teach the material a few different ways and some students still don't seem to be getting it. Sometimes students can explain it to other students in a way we overlook!

Free math videos! Just need the popcorn.

HeyHey! I hope you guys are having a good weekend. I haven't started writing my summaries of the math conference from Friday, but after reading the description of the assignment, I think I will have plenty to comment on.

On Wednesday or Thursday I mentioned that the teacher I worked with last year took the time to show short little clips of other teachers (found on the Internet) teaching mini lessons. She did this to keep the students interested and to give them someone else to watch every once in while. She said it also helped her because there were times when someone else could teach a concept better than her, so it made sense to show the better lesson.

I have been looking for good sites for my student teaching in the spring, but haven't found the ones my old teacher used last year. I do like the videos from the math tv site, though.

I like THIS ONE because the teacher shows ALL the steps and it really walks you through it. I can see this being useful when one student is having trouble and comes for tutoring (perhaps during mustang pride). I don't know if showing it in front of the whole class is beneficial because they might lose interest. I know that we can't technically play videos during school, but if we find a good site, it sounds like Ms. Huff will help us get the site on the acceptable list. I will ask her about first thing in January.

Another site I love is the FUTURES SITES.
This site shows short videos on careers that use math (fun careers-like making ice cream or designing bikes). It is geared towards a younger audience, though. I could see being able to show one once a week in our sheltered class, but not in a fast paced high school class. In my class it would be shown more for engagement and to get the class thinking about different careers than what might normally come to mind. It is all about branching out and trying new things! The site also has useful activites and lessons.

Oh! So this is what the 21st century looks like! It is pretty!

This is my first blog and I am rather excited about it. Ideally, it will be an easy way for our RTM group to communicate as we navigate through our student teaching experience at Meadowcreek High School.