Gap between standards and lesson plans

I have a huge gap between my lesson plans and the Ky core Content. I teach to the test alright, but it is the ACT. this is the test that is going to get them scholarships and be the one that is on the records and accounts for something. I feel that the ACT is a harder test anyways and if they can do that test than they can do well on the CATS testing. Kentucky is suppose to be teaching to the program of studies, but all teachers are asked to tell how their lessons link with the KY core content. I am not a Kentucky native and feel that it is not an acceptable practice to test students all year long because by the time the students get the CATs testing they are all tested out and don’t really care about the CATS test by then. In New York, where I’m from, they have the Regents examine which contributes to their education by placing them in their classes next year by their scores and they don’t pass a class unless they pass this end of the year exam. Wish we had something like that here. The students are not held accountable for their education state wide.
Ok back to subject, my lessons are focussing on the ability to be able to work equations and understand what they are used for in the real life situations. I think that this is sufficient to have students learn. PLease comment this so I know if I am legal or what you think.

Using tools in the classroom

I was going to comment on this earlier in the week, but I wanted to wait to see if I change my mind after reading other blogs, but I didn’t. I feel that you should focus on a couple of tools instead of trying to integrate every tool that you come across. This is because you can become more proficient with the one tool and do more things with one than if you only learn a little about several tools. I hope that this makes sense to all of you like it does me. I just received an Interwrite pad today, but I have already had trouble doing things on it. So, I will work with that tool until I feel proficient at it before I try to add other things into the classroom. So one or two new tools a year would be sufficient, but I don’t feel that switching tools the next year would be good. Just add more tools to your class while keeping the same tools, of course, that is if they are working for you and aiding in learning.

Questions

I have some questions I forgot to ask earlier:
1. Has anyone ever played runescape and is it hard to learn?
2. Has anyone use the slide maker in wordpress blog page. I seen it and thought I might be cool to use and download onto a CD for christmas presents, but don’t want the whole world to se them. Let me know what you think. I only viewed a demo, so if it is hard or doesn’t work well with macs let me know.
3. Does anyone have any cool activities to do with basic multistep equations. I am to the point of a test and need something to get the ones that won’t do anything motivated to at least try.

Some closing the week thoughts.

I have been looking into all these new things, but feel that they are all geared towards communicating across classrooms. I haven’t really seen a tool that jumped out at me that would be good to teach math with. Maybe I just don’t see it, if that is the case please let me know. I really feel like if I was a spanish, foreign language teacher or english teacher I would have hit the gold mine, but math is not easy to type into a computer.
Seems to me that these tools are all use to make distance not feel so far away. I have used IM with my father a long time ago, but he is a slow typer so that was short lived. We even called each other free on the computers through a phone service that I can’t remember now. Again really great tools for english or foreign language, but I don’t see the number connections. I am not complaining because I love these tools and I may need them to finish out my educational technology degree, but i will probably not use them in a math classroom.
I do thank you for your comments clarifying the skype data. I looked it up on the wikipedia that it was a video email so I am now officially understanding that it isn’t ALWAYS accurate, but until then it always has been.
Ok, here are some things off of the subject, but thought they would be a great idea. Some ideas that I’ve thought of just reading through your blogs:
using Second life by having the students log on with you and giving them problems to do as they find you. for instance, they must find you complete a problem (for math) then in order to get the next question they have to tell you the correct answer and find another person for a question or move location and ask another question. Not really great, but a change from the normal.
use a wiki by creating a math vocabulary page where student can add or change the definitions as they see fit.
A classroom blog on what they did that week that required math. This would not only allow them to reflect, but to almost create a journal of the students activities for the week. This could later be printed out into a book for the student to keep as a reminder of that year in their life. I’m sure someone could tell me how to print them out. Also, maybe make a CD of the whole class and burn it for the class to take with them at the end of the year. This may be better for elementary or middle school.
ok, these are just some things I thought of, please alter or change them to help me out in anyway you see fit and let me know. I am needing new ideas for teaching. I have a very live, unruly bunch of students that are dying to do something cool, but I am not able to do it. Please help?

Skype

I have blogged about things that I am unsure of in the past, and this will be no exception. I think I have the basic idea about skype. it is in short a video email. This can be used for a public speaking class with will allow a student to visually see and hear themselves in order to make themselves better at public speaking. I also feel that skype or any type of video email can be used almost like a video conference. The emails are quick and could be used to answer questions. As for students, I’m not for sure with the traditional classroom it would be used for. Any thoughts I’d love to hear them. Also, if I am way off, let me know. I don’t want to look like a fool if I mention them to the students.

wiki

I have lots of thoughts about wiki, but I am unsure which would be the most accurate. I have been cheating (don’t tell the Nate please) I asked my students what wiki was. I know I’m not suppose to ask an expert. Ok, enough joking, I really did ask several students, but none of them knew what I was even talking about. Good think I didn’t wait to the last minute huh. So I decided to look it up on the net. This led to a little more confusion, but from my understanding it is like an active email or blogging account. You can give out things or ideas to post on, like what happened to you last that is related to math and all the students will have to respond to it. I also have the understanding that it is like a web page that you allow blogs on. Some you post a question and others respond? Am I hot, cold, warm, luke warm?? My next step is to try to create them, but I have spent the last two nights on the internet so I am going to do this tomorrow. Looking forward to lots of comments on my insight Or non-insight (if that is a word).

Toolbox addition

Since I have been surfing the net to find MOO’s, MUD, Lecture-ware, Skype, and a Second Life, I found a tool that think we should add to our toolbox. I just found it and registered on it and it looks like it has really great resources as far as I can tell. So, tool that I would like to add is a online classroom. The one that I found is at edu20.org. As I said I just subscribed so I don’t know much about it, but you can post privately for your own class to use or to the net for all the world to use. It has a place for lesson plans that will let you incorporate pictures and links into it as well as examples they provide or you can find them on the net yourself. I think this is going to be a great tool in order to have a change of pace in your classroom. They are set up for self pace lessons thus if I do an entire unit on the computer I can assign it for extra practice at home if they need it.

Second Life tutoral

I just spent the last 3 hours on second life. At first I was going to just read about it and not actually participate in it, but you have to in order to completely understand it. I went through some of the tutorials. They discussed how to drive, fly, and change clothes.

I got to speak with a person from Argentina, but he must not of liked my broken Spanish from years ago because as I was typing to him he walked away. It was fun while it lasted.

Anyways, I added Nate to my friends, I think?? I did it twice, so if you have two invites Nate, you’ll know why. I had a great time looking around and learning all the new stuff, but was a little disappointed that hardly anyone stopped and chatted with me. Most just said a couple of words and went on. I did talk with one person that was bored in there and decided to leave. I think this is a great tool for online groups of the same interest. I hope that I will be able to use this site more in the future.

Maybe if we can find a way for all of us to get on there and go around together we could help each other out. If you do get you a name on Second Life add me to your friends, I’m Barbara Janick. I know how to look up groups, events, and people., but unaware of how to actually find them or contact them. That can be for another night since I have been online so long my computer is even tired.

I do know that if you purchase a membership (which is quite expensive you can build houses and sell them for money) I seen a flyer that will show you how, but I don’t have that kind of money right now. You can use this type of stuff in math easily, but not on a teachers salary. I think that it is a great site if you have a lot of time to work on it. I think that you could create a lot of friendships and business connections. I know that you could meet people from all over the world thus, spanish students could talk to other people speaking spanish in other countries.(isn’t technology great) I wish I had know about it years ago, maybe I would of been able to say more than , Hola and los estados unidos. And I didn’t even spell it right. That is probably why the guy just walked away.

Thoughts

I can only wish that my students felt the way I do right now. I just read the requirements for this weeks blogs and became overwhelmed, but very excited about the new technology that I will be learning. This is probably why I am getting my masters in technology because I love it and like to know as much about it as possible. I read our agenda and don’t know anything about MUD, wiki, 3D, or lecture-ware. This is the feeling I want to be able to be able to reproduce in my classroom. So, this brings me to the question: Can I get my students this excited about Math. Is is possible to get someone excited about a subject that they care nothing about??

I am only wondering this because I can see the boredom in my students’ eyes when I discuss angles. I know they can care less if they ever know what an acute, right, or obtuse angle is. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure you really need to know that for any reason what so ever. What do you all think? I know that I am not able to create this in my class, but if anyone has ideas of how to or are currently doing this in their class, I’d love to know how.

I apologize for posting so late, but I wasn’t sure if I read the correct thing. This site is very confusing and I really don’t understand it’s purpose. I read some of the other blogs to try to understand, but I don’t think I truly do. I read the article about winding up a duck. This article shows you the computer terminology that you would use to wind up the duck and talks about the other possibilities that could happen besides the expected wind up and hop along. It talks about if you pick it up what should happen. From what I gathered from this, I was designing a game that would deal with a computer generated wind up toy. All of this reminded me of DOS system from back in the 1900’s (ok 1990’s, but still long time ago). The site that I read is located at:

http://tecfa.unige.ch/pub/documentation/MUD/MOO/jduj-duck-tutorial.text

When I read through the other blogs I think I was suppose to go to different sites, but I didn’t see anything. I hope this is what I was suppose to get out of this assignment.