In my search through the various “Tools”, I ended up with two sites that I’m going to use for my web based project next Fall.  The first site “Latex Equation Editor“, will allow students to take algebraic problems and solve them using Latex.  The second site from “PB Works” is a wiki that I created for my Algebra Honors class.  Student’s will be able to take their algebraic problems from Latex and insert them into my wiki.  Because the wiki is so user friendly, then can create text, edit text for anything they enter.  Other members will be able to go in and view a complete overview of the math topics covered.

The online Conference I attended was PROVE IT KEYNOTE: “Asking Bigger Questions About Assessments“.  Gardner Campbell gave an insightful talk about basing assessments on something that has value and that gives true meaning to what a student knows.  A wonderful comparison to many of Shakespeare’s plays, Gardner brings us through a quick evolution of assessments.  From the oral dissertation in front of an audience to the regimented rows of a filled classroom, he makes you think about how one can improve the type of assessment and the way we use assessments in our classrooms.  I thought it was a great conference and I need to see how I might implement some of his ideas.

Creative Commons (aka “CC”) is ultimately going to make life easier for educators.  Content placed on the web, while owned by the individual, is now publicly accessible for anyone to use.  The only caveat for me is an awareness of what you put out there.  Since it’s shared, anyone can used it (and conceiveably, abuse it).  I’m still a bit leary of publishing content under my name.  I still fear that something will come back to bite me.  Perhaps once I start actively publishing my fear will dissipate.

I really enjoyed looking at the different Wiki’s that are out there.  I would love to incorporate one in my algebra class.  Perhaps something to do with assessment review.  I could group kids together and each group would be responsible for a particular chapter.  They would detail all the review material in the Wiki.  When completed, the class could reference what everyone did.

My favorite Wiki was the AP History Holocaust project.  The layout of the page was easy to navigate.  If I have to look too hard to find something, why bother.  What was really cool was the adventure they took you on.  Depending on what link you pursued from the storyline, would lead you to a particular destination – sometimes good, other times not so good.  Another good Wiki was Primary Math.  It was simple, age appropriate and had just enough extras to keep you interested.  Mr Reich’s Chemistry Wiki was simple, to the point.  It was a place where student’s could get a sysnopsis of the class on a week by week basis.  Anything you needed to know was in Reich’s wiki.

Eventhough is’s a quick little blurb, I found the comment on “The Need for Textbooks” to provide a chuckle and time to ponder.  John and I just had a conversation at lunch about classrooms without textbooks.  To summarize a 10 minute discussion, it basically came down to “while it would be a great idea to move in that direction (given technology, blah, blah, blah), it won’t happen for a while.  Why?  The companies would lose too much money not being able to replace lost or not usable books every year!”.  Talk about “duck and cover”.

In response to the Student 2.0 article I have to agree with those that don’t know what they want to do with the rest of their life at 18 years old.  For the most part, they’re just starting their freshman year in college.  That alone is an incredible experience where you really start learning more about yourself than you ever have before.  Interests that may not have been there in high school, are now in abundance – particularly the overwhelming number of courses that you could choose from.  The social experiences range from the sublime to the intense.  I didn’t know what I wanted to do until I was out of college and even then, I had gone through a job that I realized I had no interest in whatsoever.  I felt as if I had to have a particular kind of job, not necessarily the one I was destined for.  Had I taken the time to really think about my life and not rush in, I would’ve made the obvious choice from the start.

The article on “Why I Don’t Assign Homework” really reved me up.  Ah!, if I only could get myself to do such a thing!  Help me please!  As an algebra teacher of an honors class, I am compelled to assign homework routinely for fear that my students will not grasp all the concepts of a particular section.  While most of the class time (only 40 minutes) is instructional, there’s not always enough time to have them start an assignment in class.  With only having done examples from the board, I don’t feel there’s been enough practice to grasp and understand the concept.   Algebra topics typically build upon each other.  You miss one topic and you pay dearly in the next section.  How can I set a student up for that kind of possible failure?   Perhaps it’s just the way I was taught algebra.  You learn a new topic and then you do problems for reinforcement.  While I do give homework, I don’t count it as a graded assignment or as a graded category.  I have a tough time counting homework as a portion of their grade when it’s expected at the honors level.  While I look more for the assignment being complete rather than completely correct, I use it as a bonus tool at the end of a marking period.  If all the assignments were done well, (correct answer not included),  I’ll boost their final grade up to a maximum of 0.5 points.  If it wasn’t done well, it could be as little as 0.1 points.  I would be most interested to hear from other algebra teachers and how they handle this situation.  I’d be willing to try no homework, but I won’t use my class as a “test sight”.

The Machine is Us

Incredible to think how the information that people provide to the web just keeps expanding expotentially. It’s like the movie “The Blob”. You start with a small piece of information on the web and then someone Googles and picks your piece and then adds more information via their link. Fascinating for how powerful the web is and what you can do with it.

Shift Happens

Wow! Hard to imagine what technology will be like in even 5 years. It’s hard to project what’s the best way to educate the children of today. All we can do is keep up with the cutting edge of technology and hope it’s enough to educate them for the world they’ll be living in.

The Vision of Students Today

Huh! Interesting message – that’s about it.

7 Habits of Life Long Learners

Habit #1 – Begin with the end in mind

Habit #2 – Accept responsibility for your own learning

Habit #3 – View problems as challenges

Habit #4 – Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner

Habit #5 – Create your own learning toolbox

Habit #6 – Use technology to your advantage

Habit #7 – Teach/mentor others

Habit #7.5 – Play!

Q:  Which habit(s) may be most challenging for you to employ as part of your K12 Learning 2.0 experience?

A:  definitely #4.  If I don’t get something immediately, I get very frustrated.  Part of the problem is that I don’t hear everything so that makes it a bit more of a challenge.  I’m used to learning things fairly quickly and putting this blog together is a challenge in itself!

Q:  Which habit(s) will be easiest, or are most resonent for you as a lifelong learner?

A:  Habit #7 is something that I really do enjoy doing.  Once I can understand what I’m doing, I really enjoy helping out other people.  My initial frustrations are gone and I can really assist those who have a tough time understanding and using technology.

Q:  Which habit do you think will be most important for you as you work through this course, and why?

A:  Habit #6 – I get stuck in ruts and typically play it safe with repeated habits.  Using technology to my advantage will force me to take more risks and therefore enable me to look for and use new tools that I can use to further my tech prowess.

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