#thattechyteacher

When I started this course, I was very uncomfortable with recording my voice and my face. I think I just grew up in a generation where we didn't do that, ....and I'm grateful for that. Everything we did had to be written down on paper; there was no permanent trace of it on the internet. However, by the end of the class, I definitely felt more comfortable because it was just something that I had accepted that I needed to do. I still feel uncomfortable recording my face, but I realized that I really like using clips to create math videos. It allows you to add images, videos, background music and it is super user-friendly! When you think of your traditional math learning back when you were a student, you thought of transparencies, whiteboards, and lots of worksheets. When I think of teaching math now, I realize how important it is for it to be interactive. This is why multimedia plays such a major role in in the math classroom. That type of learning worked for some, b...

Our first assignment this course was to read a book and record ourselves. Now, I'm used to doing this with my boys every night. We read at least one book however if it were up to my 3-year-old at least 3-5 books, a night. However, for some reason, this really made me nervous, I'm a math teacher! However, I played along and read a book about triangles and other polygons called "The Greedy Triangle" by Marilyn Burns. After reading it, I figured it might be fun to read to my 5th accelerated math class that I have after lunch. After all, we were currently studying triangles. I remember in a seminar once I had learned that the first 15 minutes of a class is when your students are the most engaged and most focused. My class after lunch, it's really difficult to get them in and transitioned from lunch and recess. I have to admit, that this really set the tone for the class. They even asked if we could read more books to start class. Then we came to week four. Our ...

I feel like the constant debate in education is "that wasn't how I learned." Touche...  However, we are dealing with a different clientele now. Thanks to technology, our students are different learners than we were. These students are dependent on technology, they embrace social interactions and hands-on learning. We have to adapt to these types of learners. While some may feel like this is a bad thing, it's truly wonderful. These students do NOT want to sit back, take notes, and regurgitate information. They want to be fully immersed in the information, hands-on, discussing. According to Forbes magazine, only 12% of students said that they learn best by simply listening.  In my math class, I really like to give the students images and have them discuss what they see. Imagine if I gave you the information below without an infographic. Would you read it? Would you comprehend it? The way that it is laid out, can lend itself to really great discussion.  ...