http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15702
That is a free download. It was something I searched for last year in EDTC 600.
The software use to cost around $20 several years ago and was bundled with MS Student. For a free software it does a lot. It allows you to graph in 2D and 3D and this helps some students who cannot afford a graphing calculator to have one at home or even on a tablet (the tablet has to be the full version of Windows, not its RT cousin).
What I like about it is the easy to use interface and the customization options (though it's kinda limited...it is free after all).
It does not eat up much system resources and ran pretty smoothly on my old computer which had 2GB of RAM (much more than what is required). It does also have a handwriting recognition tool, but it's not up to par with some other hand recognition software out there.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Monday, March 3, 2014
Calculators in math
For a while I was always told when I was younger that calculators have become the unbecoming of math.
Students typically, SpEd of GenEd students, use a calculator for even simple computations like double digit division or single digit integer operations. While I am fully aware that some students, like SpEd and 504 kids, require the use of a calculator I do not believe that some of these students are very capable of performing quick computations in their head without a calculator. However, they've been relying on calculators for much of their academic life and in a way are told that "I can't do this without a calculator". How much are we hurting the kids by giving them a calc?
I played basketball when I was younger and I was told that to be a better player I had to get the basics down first so that they become natural. Stuff like blocking the passing lanes or boxing out your man for a rebound. To be a better math person the foundations need to be set. These basic calculations are pretty much with you beyond your academic life. Spending time on these mundane calculations misses the points on the concepts.
However, calculators are not all bad. Without calculators it is impossible to go to the moon or build a smartphone. Calculators help us with the tedious calculations so we focus on the concepts that precede them.
Students typically, SpEd of GenEd students, use a calculator for even simple computations like double digit division or single digit integer operations. While I am fully aware that some students, like SpEd and 504 kids, require the use of a calculator I do not believe that some of these students are very capable of performing quick computations in their head without a calculator. However, they've been relying on calculators for much of their academic life and in a way are told that "I can't do this without a calculator". How much are we hurting the kids by giving them a calc?
I played basketball when I was younger and I was told that to be a better player I had to get the basics down first so that they become natural. Stuff like blocking the passing lanes or boxing out your man for a rebound. To be a better math person the foundations need to be set. These basic calculations are pretty much with you beyond your academic life. Spending time on these mundane calculations misses the points on the concepts.
However, calculators are not all bad. Without calculators it is impossible to go to the moon or build a smartphone. Calculators help us with the tedious calculations so we focus on the concepts that precede them.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Difficulty in avoiding gimmicky technology
We hear a lot about technology and how it can benefit us in our education. Throughout the past 15 years or so some companies have jumped on the bandwagon of developing technology to improve education. Unfortunately these companies have often relied more on flash than substance.
For instance, there is a software program at my school that has students type in answers to practice problems and gives them the correct answer after either a successful attempt or two failed attempts. This software was purchased by the county for use, but to me felt gimmicky because I didn't feel it was any different than a paper and pencil (along with an answer key). Granted the software did provide explanations to the problems, but so could a solution key or a teacher.
The other technology that my county uses is a SMART board (or in this case a Promethean Board). This technology is not gimmicky because it speeds up the process in which the teacher has to prepare. It also eliminates the need for physical tools such as extra colored pens/chalk, highlighters, drawing tools, a stopwatch, and an eraser since they are all on-screen icons. A lot of information can be stored on the computer without need to rewrite or redraw notes onto a blackboard.
How will future technology help us? I am not sure, but technology cannot replace a strong teacher...but it can aide one. The important issue about educational technology, software or hardware, is that it must have more substance than flash.
For instance, there is a software program at my school that has students type in answers to practice problems and gives them the correct answer after either a successful attempt or two failed attempts. This software was purchased by the county for use, but to me felt gimmicky because I didn't feel it was any different than a paper and pencil (along with an answer key). Granted the software did provide explanations to the problems, but so could a solution key or a teacher.
The other technology that my county uses is a SMART board (or in this case a Promethean Board). This technology is not gimmicky because it speeds up the process in which the teacher has to prepare. It also eliminates the need for physical tools such as extra colored pens/chalk, highlighters, drawing tools, a stopwatch, and an eraser since they are all on-screen icons. A lot of information can be stored on the computer without need to rewrite or redraw notes onto a blackboard.
How will future technology help us? I am not sure, but technology cannot replace a strong teacher...but it can aide one. The important issue about educational technology, software or hardware, is that it must have more substance than flash.
Monday, February 17, 2014
How blogs can be beneficial to education
1. Create a paragraph on your experience setting up or using the blogging tool.
My first experience with a Blog came around 2000, when I had a LiveJournal account. It was easy to set up and I had a pretty good run with using it (I stopped using it around 2004 and have since forgotten the password). It seemed more like a diary or a journal in online format than anything else. At the time, in 2000, it was a novel feature to have an online blog and it was not necessarily popular. When I signed on there were only a few thousand users and the blogging device was around for at least a year. It was one of the first personal journal sites (well before MySpace and well before Facebook) that allowed users to publically or privately post their blogs, either to friends or just to themselves. Comments were later added to the LiveJournal to allow users or friends to publically post comments after a blog had been published. It was one of the early Facebooks of the day. The design was very clean and not cluttery (this was a time when dial up modems still ruled the day, with speeds that typically averaged 56kbps and even for DSL and cable speeds averaged around 256 kbps) and I always embraced such minimalist designs. (previously posted in the discussion boards)
2. Write and discuss the pros and cons of blogging as a collaborative tool.
Pros: Relatively quickly to set up and learn. Written information that can be quickly referenced. Interactive capabilities that allow students to reach the teacher or other students that doesn't require them to adjust their schedule.
Cons: Limited to those with internet capability (there are some students today that still do not have internet access). Since it is a public extension of the school, students and teachers must be extra careful to review what they post.
3. Explain how you might apply the blogging tool to your classroom or future classroom.
Some examples of how I could potentially use blogs in an educational setting would be setting up a problem that the class can solve to earn points that can be later used to turn individual quizzes into group quizzes. A student who has solved the problem before cannot solve another problem. Homework solutions can also be posted to the blog..which would force users to check the blog more often. Links to videos that could not be shown in class due to time constraints can be shown to students at their own leisure. (previously posted in the discussion boards).
Saturday, February 15, 2014
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