Week eight journal

I think Fathom is a very cool program. It is very similar to tinker plots but i think i might like it a little better. It is definitely easier to plot data on graphs than tinker plots. Fathom makes it very easy to drag attributes from either the inspector or a table into the desired axis on the graph. Also I like how, like GSP, the data is live updating. If you drag a point on the graph the table values change, and if you change the values in the table the graph changes. One problem i had with Fathom was adding a filter to a summary table. I don't know why but I type exactly what the activity told me to but the filter kept erring in computation. I really wish I could have gotten this to work because it would be a very useful tool. The problem isn't as much with the program itself as it is with the activity sheet. Overall I really like Fathom and think it is a awesome way to compare and analyze data.

Week seven journal

On Tuesday we had our class meeting to go through the Geogebra Team’s first module of activities. I thought the program was something very special, not to mention it is free software. The interactive geometry and algebra work very well together. This software is very similar to GSP in many ways. It can do many of the same things. The major difference is column on the left of everything you are doing like points and lines that have been constructed. Also the input box at the bottom allows you to find things like derivative and tangents very easily. I think that GSP is much easier to use but Geogebra is better at the algebra side of it by far. The group did a really good job I thought putting the activities together. It was a very good introduction to the program. I’m really glad I downloaded this software to my computer because we only scratched the surface of what this program can do and I’m excited to explore it further.

Week six journal two

I felt like this weeks assignments were not as bad as I originally thought that they would be. The Illuminations seemed intimidating but was no big deal once i got to it. The website is set up nicely. It was easy to navigate and filter the search for activities. I really liked the reading. I thought it was very useful and interesting. The types of activities it explained were very good. It was a good article. I didn't get to do as much work with GSP as i had wanted to but I still got some quality work done I thought. Overall I thought it was a good week.

Week six journal one

I thought that the online class with Mr. Stanek was very interesting. He did a very good job of showing us the school's website. It looked really cool. It was like Ball State's Blackboard but a little better. I think the idea of an online high school is really cool. I could see how people like the people Mr. Stanek was telling us about would need something like that. I don't think that teaching at one would be something for me. One of my favorite things about becoming a teacher is the interaction with people i will have everyday. It is what keeps life fun and interesting. I just think that the online school is way to impersonal. This might be good for some but not me. Still i think it is a very cool and necessary thing. It has it's many advantages as he was telling us. Pretty much being able to live any where you wanted or work from almost anywhere. It would be pretty cool.

Week 5

My attitude of technology in mathematics teaching has changed dramatically since I started taking this class. My previous idea of it was just the use of calculators and maybe once a year a computer demonstration of some sort, because that was all that I ever saw when i was in school. All my teachers ever did was use the white board or the projectors. I feel like I was deprived. Some of these technologies would have done wonders in helping me understand and love math even more. I think that technology is the key to fostering better understanding and interest in math even for students who don't like math or think they are good at it. I have just scratched the surface of some of the vast array of math technologies out there. There is no doubt in my mind that when I become a teacher that technology will be used as much as possible in my classroom.

Week four journal

I feel like logo is a very fun but not extremely useful program. I really like it a lot. I just feel like people who don't like math so much would have not many reasons to use it. I like the many things you can do with it though. I look forward to playing around with it more. It isn't the easiest program to work, but it can do a lot of really cool things.

I really liked the online session with Mr. Reed. It was very helpful in thinking about using technology in my classroom in the future. My favorite thing he said was that the key is balance. The balance between the use of technology and just pencil and paper. There are drawbacks from both ways so they must be used together in balance to make the biggest impact. The only disconnect I felt was the fact that Mr. Reed teaches at one of the richest schools in the whole state. He and his students have access to more technology and resources than almost anyone. Some of the activities he talked about like all the lab time and online activities are just unrealistic at most schools, especially ones I will be teaching at. Now I hope at some point this might change but it wont anytime soon probably so I am going to have to discover new methods and practices to get technology into my classroom. I know I am up to the challenge though.

Week three journal

I'm feeling better and better about Geometer's Sketchpad by the day. It is a very user friendly and useful technology. I even thought it was really easy to make a lesson on it for Mod 1. The menus and tools are very simple and easy to figure out. Another good thing about GSP is that it is a very well known and widely used so there are lots of resources to help me if I have questions. There are still many more things i have to learn about it, and I'm looking forward to it. I just like how many things this technology can do. I know I'm definitely going to use this in my classroom in the future.