The Coordinate Plane Exchange

Over this past Summer, I came up with a really cool telecollaborative design project for use in my middle school mathematics classroom. For this project, I decided to have students create a coordinate plane picture and record the coordinates for the points of their picture. The teacher would then upload the original picture and points to my telecollaborative site where I would match them up with another group of students to use their pictures to transform (translate, reflect, rotate, dilate) the points on the coordinate plane and upload the new image and coordinates.

Now that I have some experience with Web 2.0, I can see an advantage of using these types of tools for that project. I think it would be great for students to collaborate with the original artist to get help if they get stuck transforming the picture. This would require some sort of comment tool like in a blog. Although this is not a necessary step, it would cover a covert goal of teaching netiquette in the middle school classroom through use of appropriate comments and responses.

I really like my telecollaborative design project and can't wait to get the time to actually implement it. I can see the effectiveness whether I go with a Web 1.0 format or a Web 2.0 format, but I think the learner interest may best be suited for a Web 2.0 environment if possible. Web 2.0 is the way of the future and it is important to use it for some covert goals to get students ready for the 21st Century workforce. After all, I don't like writing blogs, but I am getting very accustomed to following and reading other blogs. My latest, Elana's Pantry, with some great gluten free recipes for Girl Scout cookes. What's a cookbook again? Ain't nobody got time for that!

Quadrilaterals on Facebook

Very recently, I got to teach a lesson where students created a Facebook profile for a quadrilateral. The point of the lesson was to have students display their knowledge of one quadrilateral and its relation to other quadrilaterals. It ended up being a lesson for me in scaffolding instruction based on learner interests. Although about 80% of my students enjoyed and understood immediately how to fill out the timeline, I had a percentage of students (mostly boys) noted that hey didn't understand the assignment because they had never been on Facebook. This struck me as very odd, but it made me realize immediately that this was one of those times I really should have focused on learner interest to differentiate my instruction. In the past, I had done WANTED posters for this portion of my quadrilateral lesson. In light of doing the lesson this year, I think I will offer both options as a choice for the next assignment in the future.

Aside from the implications of for my learning, this lesson taught me a lot about the role of social media in the classroom. It taught me that if I plan to use something like Edmodo (a definite plan I have for next school year) that I will have to scaffold my introduction to this great classroom tool. I will have students that automatically understand the network's workings and may need to work more on netiquette while others will need a lesson in the how to's of using Edmodo.

Socially media is here for the NetGeneration, and it doesn't seem to be a fading fad. This makes it a great resource for student engagement, but it is also like most things tech and public education, there are the haves and have nots. As a teacher, this is something I can't forget about if I truly want to meet the needs of every learner.

Podcasts from Titanic's Ghosts

We've all seen the movies, documentaries, read the stories of survivors, but what do you think the passengers and crew that  perished along with the ship would say? If ghosts really could talk, it wouldn't surprise me that some of these guys would create Podcasts about their journey and death on the Titanic. I think it could be a rather interesting series actually. Someone interviewing a passenger or crew member each week and asking what appealed to them about the Titanic, how they were treated those final hours once the ship struck an iceberg, what their last thought before their last breath was. It would be even more interesting to have students research those passengers and crew and put their own point of view on a ghost story. Oh, what you can do if you are a history teacher. I'd love to get the students involved in talking about the many interesting people on board the Titanic and through information gathering, deduct a final monologue for a passenger or crew member. Morbid, but highly interesting. Of course, I am a little more in to the Titanic than most people. My husband saw it in theater's 19 times when it was released as a film by James Cameron. His intrigue boarding on obsession has kind of wore off on me over the years. I decorate my classroom using a Titanic theme and I get much joy in calling my students crew and splitting them up for lifeboat activities.

Blogaries

Sorry for the "left ya hangin" feelin' readers. I been busy here as of late. It seems my life is just a one-loop roller coaster that I can't seem to get off of right now. Between counting blog posts, I been counting calories per say. Yeah, you read me right. If you've ever met me in person, you are thinking, why in the world, she is tinier than the moon of a dwarf planet. Well, most people hear the world diet and they think lose weight. Not this gal, my mission is to gain weight. See, since about last November, I've had a lot of trouble eating and keeping food down. Now, I am a gal who loves me some food. I once said I could eat a hamburger everyday of my life, but the truth is, even those were getting to me. I could eat them, but they didn't last long before I was tasting them for a second time, and that's no fun. By this point, you gotta be asking yourself what in world could have possibly given me such a quick case of losing weight. Maybe your even asking if I can help you replicate the problem so you can lose a few pounds. Well, trust me, you don't want what I got even though the doctors don't even really know what I got. To love food and it bring you so much pain as extreme weight loss, dehydration, constant nausea at the sight of food, extreme migraines, and fatigue brings nothing but agony to your life, even if your goal is to lose a little holiday bulge.

So here is the deal, since I been so down and out with my first true love, food. I been constantly seeking a way to re-unite us in our long-term relationship. After getting no help from doctors, I sought out some other professionals in the field: nutritionist. I have found one through a blog of all places. I contacted her and she is working with me one on one to diagnose my food sensitivities. So far, this little gal is gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free for 5 whole days. I know that doesn't sound like a lot to the rest of you foodies, but I have given up coffee, chocolate, and most all restaurant food (I can still eat Chipotle). I don't know about you folks, but those are some of my staples for stress relief. But alas, here I am on day 5 and I am feeling more and more energized and just better in general as I learn more and more about eating and preparing gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free foods. So, just where am I getting all this information? Well, my nutritionist has been great, but I am also getting a lot of recipes and ideas from blogs and wikis. I already have some favorites actually. The best blog is Fit Foodies. You gots to check it out. This woman can make anything healthy taste good. As far as wiki's, I use the most famous for all my questions on how to cook stuff and what type of something to buy: wikipedia. Yep, it's all there.

I've actually always used wikipedia. It's my go to for information of any sort from how to teach a math concept to what books are in a series I am reading. It's quick, it's easy, and it's reliable. I'm actually building a wiki site with my grad class now, and learning a little more about wikis as I go. They are a great way for multiple authors to collaborate and search, sort, create, and communicate information in a relevant manner. I like um. I just don't really got how to use them in the math classroom down yet. I'm thinking maybe as a way to have students collaboratively solve a multi-step word problem. See, we are putting our wiki together in class piece by piece. Well, that's how you solve a problem, step by step. Each students gets to do a part. Now just to find some ultimate word problems for them to solve in my spare time. At least I have a little more of it tonight as I am not suffering from a migraine and puking my guts out from the Five Guys I had for dinner. Noppers, day 5 and feeling froggy with a stomach full of sweet potato, quinoa, black eyes peas, arugula, cherry tomatoes, and grilled chicken.

The latest from Blogger Buzz

The title of this post is based on Blogger's "The lastest from Blogger Buzz". As an amatuer blogger, it's nice to know that the website has my back in teaching me some tricks of the trade. Just now, I learned that if you place a "+" sign in front of a name it will link that name. I guess if I actually used some of those Google+ invites I get bombarded with, I could show you this nifty feature.

Anywho. What else do I have to type about blogging? Well, if you apply my introduction post about solving inequalities the ol' fashioned way, maybe I could think about blogging before bed and turn my countagious nightmares into lavish futuristic math dreams. I could have students blog about the steps to solve inequality problems. Man, talk about writing across the curriculum. I would definitley get some props from my Reading Specialist if I could pull it off without a hitch.

Unfortunately, the truth is, I am not yet acclaimated enough with blogging to make my dreams become a reality. I guess that is part of the reason I am blogging at this moment. I am trying to figure this cool Web 2.0 tool out, so that I can begin to rationalize and formulize ways to use it in my seventh grade mathematics classroom.

In the meantime, I'll continue to dream teaching old school style and Monica, my ghost friend, will continue to terrorize everyone but me.

I Dream In Math

Aside from the occasional dream about my ghost friend Monica, most of my dreams these days are filled with one-step equations, two-step equations, and linear inequalities. I just can't get them out of my head. It's a countagious dilemma that causes slight insanity. Let me rewind for a minute.

Monica is a re-occurring dream friend who is a nasty demonic presence to everyone but me, who puts her in her place.  As for the math, I am a seventh grade mathematics teacher and above are just a few of the concepts I teach. I been doing this gig for going on five years now. One would think the jitters and sleepless nights would be over, but not for me.

My dreams aren't lavish lessons that I can bring to fruition in my real classroom. No, they are just simple mathematical problems, presented on a whiteboard, and my teacher voice mundanely gong through each step of the problem. What does this say about me? It's not my normal way of teaching as I have more of a hands on manipulatives sort of approach.

I guess Monica is a mystery too. I mean, come on, me controlling a ghost who does awful things to scare and harm others. I'm not Demi Moore, and even if I was, I don't think I could bare to become Godfather to a ghost, casting it to do my bidding and telling it when to lay off my pals when it scares the pee out of them.