When we learn about new technology tools or application of tools for the classroom I am always thinking about how I can incorporate these tools to be effective in my math classroom. On Thursday we listened to a very interesting presentation on the use of Google apps in the classroom and presentation on Prezi in the classroom. Although I have used both of these tools for my own learning I have never used Prezi or Google apps to enhance my student's learning. Both have very good uses in the classroom but come with some warnings.
Our classmates showed us how effective Prezi can be in the classroom but they also showed us some of the ways that Prezi can be distracting and ineffective in the classroom. Prezi is a very helpful tool for seeing connection between concepts, ideas, or different representations. For my math methods class we just read about how graphic organizers can help show some of the students misconceptions and understanding of the connections in a math classroom. Prezi could be a productive way to give my students the opportunity to be creative in math class. The warning that our classmates gave us about Prezi is if it is done incorrectly it can be disgracing and take away from the material you are presenting or you students are presenting in the classroom. This would be a major aspect when looking at my students creations about the connections in the unit or throughout the year. I can imagine a lot of different ways to scaffold the connections in math with Prezi.
The other tool that we learned about on Thursday were some of the Google apps. I can see how helpful the Google apps could be for me as a teacher to organize my lessons and units with other teachers and for myself. But right now I do not see many effective ways to use the Google apps to help my students in math (I would be open to suggestions!). As I am learning more and more about assessment I think that a student portfolio can be a strong assessment tool. Pete Pasque showed us how Google can be used to help our students organize their online portfolios. If I do use Prezi in the way that I outlined above Google could be a nice tool to help students organize their different Prezis for each unit or concept. But using Google as the platform for their final portfolio is not the most effective use of the Google tool. Because I think instead of assessing their mathematical knowledge I think I would be assessing their use of technology and scanning abilities to upload a lot of the handwritten homework, test, and projects. I would like to do some more exploring of equation editors to possibly move toward an online portfolio in math classrooms.
I am excited to learn about more tools that I can use in my math classroom to bring a more creative twist to math!
I have to admit, I was really surprised to find myself being dubious of Prezi as a classroom tool. I went into this thinking that Prezi made for a more aesthetic presentation than say, Powerpoint, but I'm falling into the "function over form" camp on Prezi. There are so many times when people use the software because of the animation aspect of it, but that can actually be very distracting and could easily confuse learners. I'm happy we got you thinking about how you might be able to use Prezi in the mathroom (do you see what I did right there?). I know it opened my eyes to thinking more critically about presenting with technology in the classroom!
ReplyDeleteI think what Pete is doing at Skyline is really exciting and you can tell he really loves what he is doing and is inspiring others. I couldn't help thinking about the issue of equality and access to technology for our students. Knowing that many of our placements are at schools with less-than order to access their google account. As I took notes I kept thinking, "is there a way to to this in an underserved community?" I wish I had asked. Maybe I still will?
Keep digging, creativity in math will save people like me who thought she hated math in middle/high school!!