Archive for Technology

I Made My First Interactive GeoGebra Applet!

December 29, 2010 Algebra, education, GeoGebra, Math Projects, online tools, Software, Teaching Online, TechFriends(Geeks), Technology 4 comments

Logo taken from the GeoGebra website – holiday version!

I have met several people in the past year (some only virtually) who have convinced me that learning GeoGebra would be a great addition to my tech tools for teaching mathematics. Since GeoGebra is FREE, it makes it an even better resource as a teacher and tech ed consultant, and also for student projects as well! Geometry is one of my favorite subjects to teach;  in the past I used Geometer’s Sketchpad, but in the future I plan on using GeoGebra!

I believe WordPress is not allowing me to directly embed the <applet> Javascript code for my first GeoGebra applet, so I created a new set of webpages on my Tech4MathEd site where I will be posting all of the GeoGebra applets I create.   I am just learning, so there is only 1 there now 🙂

To see my first interactive GeoGebra applet, which helps students understand graphing a line using the slope-intercept form of the line by interacting with the graph, go to  Slope Intercept GeoGebra Applet.

I am really looking forward to using GeoGebra, not only to create interactive applets for my Algebra students, but also to help my Math For Elementary Teacher classes learn more about Geometry!

To download  and start playing with GeoGebra, go to:  download GeoGebra

Image of my interactive applet:

 

Moving All to Tech4MathEd

December 20, 2010 Bio, consulting, education, Teaching, Teaching Online, Technology Comments Off on Moving All to Tech4MathEd

I had a very productive and busy day!  I spent it moving my blog to a sub-folder of my domain (tech4mathed) and then moved my entire work website  from the college’s server over to my tech4mathed folder (that was no small task – I have created a huge website full of materials over the past 10 years!).

Finally I created a page for my consulting background and a new home page.  Whew!  There are still updates needed to be made, but at least it is all moved over.

I finally have every professional “hat” I wear connected on the same website with links to everything I have accomplished and still hope to accomplish.   I have wanted to do this for a while, but it seemed like just too big of a job!  It did take all day, but it will be so much easier to manage everything now.

For those of you who follow me on twitter, I will be phasing out my @suegmc twitter account and will only be using my @tech4mathed and my @northstarbridge accounts to keep everything updated.

Please take a look at the website at www.tech4mathed.com and let me know if there are any dead links, I would really appreciate it!  Any ideas for improvement would be welcomed too!

Sue Glascoe
tech4mathed

 

New Opportunities for Growth

December 9, 2010 AMATYC, Bio, Helping students, Livescribe, Livescribe, Mobi, Pulse smartpen, Teaching, Teaching Online, Technology, Training 3 comments

I have not blogged much about my own teaching with technology in the past couple months.  Instead, I have tried to write about others who I admire and what they are doing to help move mathematics education into the 21st century……This is because I have been on medical leave for a broken foot.  I was successful for a short while teaching with the Mobi from a stationary spot in each classroom, but I was still having to walk to three different buildings and my foot was not healing.   My doctor advised me to go on medical leave and let it heal.   I have missed my students terribly, and am disappointed not to be able to try the new online projects I had planned for the semester.  It was hard not being able to do any training this past semester as well.    I have been given a doctor’s release to go back to teaching again in the spring, and I am excited to dig my heels back into teaching and learning with technology!

I do have other exciting news to share as well (besides getting to start teaching again in the spring):  AMATYC Project ACCCESS invited me to serve as a Consulting Colleague (mentor) for the 2011-12 Project ACCCESS Fellows!   They even sent me the contact information for the Fellow I will be directly advising on her project so I can get started today!  It will be amazing to be in a cohort of established teachers who will be mentoring, along with Fellows who are new teachers wanting to learn more about the scholarship of teaching at a 2 year college.   The Fellow I am mentoring is working on a project to include technology, like the Livescribe smartpen, into her Hybrid college courses to help her students.   I feel so honored to be chosen to assist in guiding her progress, and help her to evaluate her project.

To learn more about the AMATYC ACCCESS program, go to the link: AMATYC  Project ACCCESS .
to learn more about the American Mathematical Association of Two Year Colleges, go to:  AMATYC

I can’t wait to get started and to share the experiences I have  in working as a Consulting Colleague in this amazing program!

 

A Leading Teaching/Technology Blog and Google

November 25, 2010 Google, Math Projects, Mathcast, online tools, Teaching, Technology One comment

One of my favorite blogs to follow is Free Technology For Teachers.  I have followed Richard Byrne’s blog for over a year now and have found many fantastic, not to mention FREE tools for teachers.

I was there again yesterday looking for some information about Google Apps (I really do go to his blog first when looking for information about teaching with technology!)  and I found exactly what I was looking for!   He has given me permission to share his tutorials with you on my blog.   He has created several fantastic resources about using Google for Teachers, and Richard is a Google Certified Teacher.

Here are a few of the Google Tutorials he has built.  You can download them for free on his website at the following link:   Google Tutorials

Google for Teachers – Google for Teachers II – Beyond Google –

Richard Byrne keeps up on the lastest free technology out there, and has quite a few Free Downloads on his website!

If you are looking for information on how to create blogs, website or videos, his blog is perfect for that as well!   His blog was awarded Edublog’s ” Best Resource Sharing” and “Best Individual” award in 2009.

Check out his blog at   www.freetech4teachers.com/


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My Customer-Story Video for Livescribe

November 17, 2010 Bio, Helping students, Livescribe, Livescribe, Mathcast, published articles, Teaching Online, Technology 2 comments

I was asked by Livescribe if I would give my testimonial as a college instructor using the Livescribe pen for my math classes.   I had so much fun making the video with the team!

Amazing how they can shrink 2 hours of  “discussion” (with many retakes I might add!) into a minute and a half of produced video!

They interviewed 7 people in different professions to show how each of us enhances our work with the help of our Livescribe smartpen.

To see all 7 videos, go to the Livescribe Home Page and click on my photo on the bottom of the page.  (OK, I share the photo with three other people, but I made the home page!)

I still own my original 1 GB Pulse and now the new Echo smartpen, and I am so thankful for having such great technology to teach with!  I am also finding great ways to use my smarpens in  everyday life, too!

Here is my Livescribe Story posted on YouTube:


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Getting Published!

November 4, 2010 Bio, CPS Clickers, Livescribe, Livescribe, Mobi, published articles, Pulse smartpen, Teaching Online, Technology Comments Off on Getting Published!

I wrote an article for Community College Week magazine about how I use technology to enhance teaching and learning both inside and outside of my classes.   I was excited to find out last week that they accepted my article and it was published recently!

To find the article online, you need to click on the Community College Week website, and then click on the green “Technology Update” image to download the PDF.   The article I wrote starts on page 13.

Community College Week’s website


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An Inspirational Teacher

October 21, 2010 online tools, Teaching Online, Technology, WolframAlpha Comments Off on An Inspirational Teacher

I wanted to take a moment and share a little bit about an individual who has been a HUGE inspiration for me on my journey to teaching a more interactive math class that includes technology and making learning fun for students (and teachers!).

(These ‘images’ of Maria are taken from her blog)

Her name is Maria H. Anderson and she writes a wonderful blog called Teaching College Math.

I met her in person last year when she came to my college to give an all day Saturday workshop.  It was incredible!  She inspired me to start writing a blog to share my own resources and ideas.

Maria is a college math instructor at Muskegon Community College (in Michigan). and wears many other hats as well, including CEO of Andersen Algebra Consulting LLC, an educational consulting business, through which she does consulting work for textbook companies, educational software companies, and speaking engagements at conferences and workshops.

She recently wrote Algebra Activities, a 1000-page Instructor resource binder of activities and teaching guides for algebra :

As if she wasn’t REALLY busy already, did I mention she is working on her Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership ?!  Truly an amazing and inspirational woman and math professor!

I want to share one of her recent blog posts on WolframAlpha because I really thought it was exceptional:

Shifting Assessment in a World with WolframAlpha

I love using Wolfram Alpha not only for math, but any type of search engine (there is even some humor involved – type in “what is the meaning of life?”).

The next generation is growing up in a world where information is available at the touch of button on their computer, their iPad, and even their smartphone!   There are websites out there that can do anything they need, and answer any math problem they can think of (or that we give them!).  Her article has some great ideas about ways to change the focus of what we want our students to learn in this new technology, and information-rich environment.

Try out WolframAlpha (after reading her article) and see how amazing it is for yourself!

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Students Helping Students!

October 17, 2010 Helping students, Livescribe, Livescribe, Pulse smartpen One comment

I recently wrote an article for Livescribe’s Education blog about a how a colleague of mine in the English department uses her Livescribe Pulse and Echo smartpens for her Fundamentals of Writing  and Women in Films classes.

Read the article Here

I can’t wait to try out having my students take notes when I get back to teaching!

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Staying Tuned!

October 9, 2010 feedback, grading, Helping students, Livescribe, Livescribe, Mathcast Comments Off on Staying Tuned!

Last week I read an article (and podcast) on Livescribe’s educational blog (Applications in Education) that is very exciting and I believe will really transform helping students.   There were two parts to the article, the first focused on using technology in education, and the second part was more focused on the Livescribe smartpen and notetaking.

The entire article and podcast was amazing, but the part that REALLY caught my eye was at the very bottom of the article.  I have highlighted it in green below…

Are you confused as to why it would be exciting to be able to print off the special dots on the livescribe paper combined with ANY other document?   As a teacher, I see this as an amazing opportunity to give my students feedback on a whole new level!   Papers can be graded on the dot paper with the livescribe pen, and the students will be able to hear and see the feedback, rather than just read a few comments that the teacher put down to show corrections.  I am sure there will be many more applications of this incredible feature, but I need to play with it first to get more ideas.

Let’s just say I am certainly “Staying Tuned!”

*If you have read an article or have used an amazing product that helps you as a teacher, please send me information about it.   I would love to find more incredible teaching tools to use and blog about!

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Mobile Whiteboards, Smartpens and Bloom’s Taxonomy

October 3, 2010 Conferences, eInstruction Interwrite Workspace, Group Work, Livescribe, Livescribe, Mathcast, Mobi, Presentations, Pulse smartpen, Student participation, Technology, Training Comments Off on Mobile Whiteboards, Smartpens and Bloom’s Taxonomy

What do mobile whiteboards, smartpens and Bloom’s Taxonomy have in common?   A great all-day workshop teaching high school teachers, and their students who are in a teacher education program, how to use mobile whiteboards and smartpens through the use of a hands-on project that focused on Bloom’s Taxonomy!

We started the day learning about Hybrid versus Blended teaching models, and then I introduced the Mobi, a mobile interactive whiteboard made my eInstruction.

Next up was a discussion about Bloom’s taxonomy.

Then, to get them ready to do their first project, we played “Blooms Taxonomy According to  Pirates of the Caribbean”:

I introduced them to the Livescribe Pulse smartpen and another colleague showed them how to draw stick figures so they could create a cartoon based on the pop culture area of their choice for the Bloom’s Taxonomy level their group was in charge of.

They had a great time creating their first cartoon strip and adding sound with the Livescribe Pulse smartpen!   After lunch I gave them a lesson on using the Mobi, eInsruction’s mobile interactive whiteboard.      Each group got a Mobi to use to recreate their cartoon on the Workspace software installed on their computer.   This time they could add color and crop images for their characters and turn it into a movie.

At the end of the workshop, we shared everyone’s finished products on the different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

We had a great time watching each other’s final projects! I had a lot of fun teaching with several of my colleagues for the ATLAST program, which stands for: Achieving Technological Literacy in Arizona Students and Teachers.

ATLAST is a project supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The performing unit is the National Center for Teacher Education (NCTE) in the Maricopa County Community College District. To learn more about the ATLAST project click here.


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