Personal Learning Networks

The following is a list of Personal Learning Networks that will benefit me as a math teacher:

Khan Academy - This website has instructional videos for math classes beginning with pre-algebra and going beyond the high school level. It will be a good resource for students who need extra help or for me if I need help coming up with a lesson on a certain topic. Additionally, if I feel that I need to review a concept before I teach it, these videos will serve as a nice refresher.

Classroom 2.0 - Classroom 2.0 is another great resource. It offers math lessons, as well as advice on different topics such as technology, online education, dealing with gifted and special needs students, etc.

Pinterest - Pinterest is an online bulletin board that has tons of different ideas for high school teachers. Whether I am looking for a lesson, ideas for classroom management or a new way to decorate my classroom, Pinterest is bound to have plenty of options.

Cell Phones in the Classroom, On or Off? Go!

When I was in high school, there was a very strict no cell phone policy. If you were caught with one that wasn't in your locker, you were issued a violation. After three "cell phone offenses," you were required to turn in your phone to the office every morning for the remainder of the year. As high school students who seemed to have their phones glued to their hands at all times, that seemed pretty harsh.

Knowing that I will be in a position where I will have to enforce some type of cell phone policy, I have been thinking about their role in my classroom. Part of me says that they should always be turned off because the students need to be focused on the task at hand and not texting people across the room or scrolling through Faceboook/Twitter/Pinterest etc. However, cell phones are a reality in our schools today, so another part of me wants to embrace them and put them to use. Plus, how many students expect their teachers to tell them to take out their cell phones for a lesson? That in and of itself is engaging. Smart phones offer endless possibilities for classroom activities that have the potential to be extremely beneficial. Therefore, while there is a time and place for everything, I don't think having cell phones in the classroom is always a bad thing.

21st Century Students

One word comes to mind when I think of what to teach my students about living in the 21st century: technology. At the rate technology is evolving in our society, it is vital that they are able to understand and utilize it. Assuming I am in a school that has access to laptops, tablets, iPads, etc., I will be able to incorporate technology in a number of ways. First, I am a big fan of FluidMath, a program that can be installed on tablets, and would love to regularly incorporate it into my lessons. Next, it is important for students to have at least a basic understanding of Microsoft Excel, so I will be sure to make mine use it in certain assignments. This will be especially applicable in a Probability and Statistics class. Finally, my students will be required to use Power Point, Prezi, Windows Movie Maker, etc. when giving presentations to the class. I will set the example by using this kind of technology on a regular basis, however, I will hold my students to a high standard when it comes to them using it too.

Web 2.0

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives is a great website that contains a variety of games and teaching tools for all levels of mathematics. One of my favorite games is Turtle Geometry. This would be a fun game for students to play in a Geometry class after learning about degrees and rotations. The object of the game is to get the turtle through a maze. However, in order for the turtle to move, the user must give it directions including how many degrees it should turn and how many steps it should take. This is a fun, interactive and somewhat competitive way to apply what the students have learned.

Mathway is another great online tool for students and teachers and could be used in the classroom a number of ways. First, if students forgot or didn't have their graphing calculator with them, this site can serve as a replacement. It provides all of the functions of a typical graphing calculator and then some. It allows students to evaluate integrals, find derivatives, calculate probabilities using normal distributions, etc. Additionally, a teacher is able to click on a topic and have a worksheet of similar problems immediately generated. Finally, it is a good resource for students who need extra help. In addition to calculating answers, the student has the option of viewing the process step by step.