Emerging Technology that Supports Communication

At the high school where I teach, teachers are required to maintain communication with parents, especially if their child is failing. We are expected to contact parents anytime their child drops below the pass/fail line. However, I teach 7 periods a day and have only 45 minutes of planning time to prepare for those 7 classes. Not to mention, if I go to place phone calls during my planning period, it is impossible to get a free phone line because they are constantly busy. Moreover, a lot of the phone numbers listed in our computer system are no longer active. Being a teacher, it is not possible for me to take a phone call during the day if a parent calls. The best way to contact me is via email. I have started using a web program called callingpost.com. With this website, I can upload each of my students and their phone numbers and send out mass phone messages to their parents. I am able to record a phone message that states what the call is about and how a parent can contact me (preferably email, but I also give the school phone number). Callingpost.com keeps track of what happens with each phone call, as well. It records whether someone answered the phone, whether an answering machine picked up, or if there was no answer at all. If the phone call is not received, then callingpost.com attempts the number 12 more times. When I am ready to turn in a contact log of my parent contacts, all I need to do is go to callingpost.com and print out a copy of all the calls it has made and the response that it received from each phone call. The program does cost about 9 cents per call, but it is well worth the money instead of having to fight the headache of trying to get an open line at school and hoping the phone number that I have is active.

ComicLife

To the left is an example of a ComicLife that I put together. ComicLife is a program that allows people to build comics using images that they have taken. I used images of particular mathematics problem and designed a graphic organizer. ComicLife is a great tool that can be used to add some creativity to any graphic organizer that one may want to use in the classroom.

VoiceThread Link

The following is a link to the VoiceThread Project that I did with my high school Math II students:

http://voicethread.com/#q+solving+quadratic+equations.b607559.i3237197

VoiceThread for High School Mathematics

Upon reflection of my experience with VoiceThread, I feel that it is a great tool available for teachers. It allows students to make comments or give responses to problems they may be having within the course. Since I am a high teacher, I feel that I can use this tool as a tutorial for students who may be absent from my class. I can post a lesson explaining what I covered in class during school that day, and if a student was absent, he/she can get online and work through the tutorial so that they will not be so far behind when they return to my class. It can also be used as a reteaching or support tool for students when they are at home. If a student is working on an assignment and cannot remember how to work through a given situation, then they can access the tutorial of the lesson which can help them understand where they are getting lost and explore other areas of the math with which they are working. I think that this is a great tool, and will be very inclined to use it in the future as a means to reaching my students when they are not at school, but can still use some assistance or guidance.

Quadratic Formula Calculator

The past two weeks in my class has involved solving quadratic equations. We finally derived the Quadratic Formula which can be used to solve any quadratic equation. I was also able to find a Quadratic Formula Calculator on the internet. This is a great tool for students to use at home to ensure that they are using the formula correctly. Below is the link to the calculator:

http://www.mathwarehouse.com/quadratic/quadratic-formula-calculator.php

Goal of Mass Media in Mathematics

The sole intention of this blog is build ideas of understanding and uses of integrating technology into a mathematics classroom. Throughout this blog, one should begin to understand and build their own beliefs as to how to introduce technological advances and media sources into their classrooms that help to advance student performance in the classroom.

Calculators and Paula's Peaches

During class today my students began working on a task entitled Paula's Peaches Revisited. This task consisted of a task that they were first introduced to back as freshman in Math 1. The idea behind the task is to introduce the students to the Quadratic Formula and just how to use it. The type of technology that my students use most in my class, and much of today, is a calculator. Some students have personal graphing calculators, which allows them to do many fascinating things. However, most are restricted to using basic scientific calculators.

Mass Media in Mathematics

Mass Media in Mathematics is a blog that allows people to discuss ideas about integrating media sources into a mathematics classroom.