NETS-T5 Reflection: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

The focus of this blog is to reflect on the standard “Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership” and to pick an indicator to incorporate into my discussion. The technology goal that I have chosen to focus on is the first indicator under this standard, which is “participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.” I chose this because, having only taught for three years, it is very important for me to determine when to use technology in my Mathematics classroom, and be able to evaluate how that use of technology benefits my students.

I was searching the internet for different views on incorporating technology into Mathematics, and came across a really good article called “Issues in Mathematics Education”. This site was published in 2000, but it highlights reasons and methods of using technology, and not so much what kind of technology to actually use. One of the really good topics that is brought up in this article is the use of calculators, which nowadays seems like a part of every- day life. The point was made that in order for students to develop number sense and mental math skills, calculator use should be limited to those times when the lesson would be inhibited without its use. I totally agree with this point, and I think most Math teachers these stays stick by that criteria.

Another topic that is discussed on this site is the fact that programs like “Geometer’s Sketchpad” and other interactive computer resources benefit students because it helps apply the concepts they are learning to real- looking figures. On these kinds of programs, students can graph lines, drag line segments of polygons, etc. This really helps students visualize the concepts and use “creative applications” to improve their learning.
I found another site through The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics listing and discussing all the different kinds of technology that can be used with Math. The ones listed are:
· WebQuests
· Videostreaming
Applets
Podcasts
Personal digital assistants
Interactive online learning, including simulations
Web pages and blogs
Digital cameras
Document cameras
Electronic white boards
Spreadsheets
Animation
Calculators (including fraction, graphing, and scientific calculators)
Software (including, but not limited to, interactive geometry software, dynamic algebra software, and/or dynamic data analysis software)
Environmental probes
Electronic testing devices
Data collection devices
Global positioning systems

I have used very few of these with my students, and I have to admit that I don’t even know what half of them are! The tools that I have used and found effective are spreadsheets, software, animation, electronic whiteboards, and calculators. I did a little research on webquests and found some good ideas at Teachnology . I would love to do a culminating activity with my students to have them research real-life math topics that relate to the concepts they have learned.

I am excited to learn what some of these other tools are and how I can use them to enhance my students’ learning. I am going to continue my research on finding other technology tools that I can use, and also to find out how to use some of the ones listed above.