Category: Technology

Categories
Technology

Professional Development: Who Owns the Responsibility?

Last weekend, I had the oppotunity to speak at the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey Technology Conference on my experiences with Desmos, where I shared a number of the Desmos activities and ideas I have posted here on the blog.  Conference speaking and classroom direct instruction are totally different experiences.  There a few things I need to think about in preparing for a conference which aren’t part of my daily routine:

  • How many people will there be?  Conference sessions are mini-popularity contests…I may have 5 people in the room, I may have 50.  You just never quite know what to prepare for.  Small groups are great for encouraging discussions.  Larger groups have a difference set of engagement challenges.
  • What’s the overall background of the room? People who will come to see me could be a mix of veteran and new teachers, with different stories to share, and levels of comfort with my topic.  Taking the temperature of a room quickly and finding a baseline comfort zone is key.
  • Do I really know what the heck I am talking about? I’ve offered to present because I feel I have something to share; but is my message unique or helpful?  Could there be someone in the room who knows far more about this topic than I do?

It can be a stressful experience presenting in front of peers, but also highly rewarding and a great way to make professional contacts!

Overall, I feel my session went quite well.  After all of the stragglers found their way inside, there was a full house (or lab) of about 35 folks, with a positive vibe in the room.  I think I met all of my goals, and I believe many left the session with tangible ideas for their classroom, and ideas to share with colleagues.  If I accomplished all that, then I feel successful.

For this speaking opportunity, I borrowed some equipment and recorded my talk, something I had never done before (see video below).  Upon review, there is a common theme running through the talk which has cause some post-talk reflection for me.  A few times I ask the group about their experiences with online tools, with some (to me) surprising results from the room of 30-35:

  • Only 1 or 2 had used Desmos before.
  • Only one had used Geogebra before.
  • Only one had heard of Edmodo before.

How could this be?  Here was a group of enthusiastic educators, concerned enough about their craft that they sought out professional development on a Saturday, and very few knew about these tools.  Is this small sample group indicative of all math teachers?  Should I be as surprised as I seemed in the video (really…watch my expression when I ask about Edmodo)? The good news is that hopefully some exponential growth occurs, and these teachers tell their colleagues, who then share with their colleagues…and so on….

But what of those teachers who do not seek out conferneces?  How do they find new resources?  Or are they even looking?  Do teachers have a professional responsibility to seek ro revise their ideas and practices?  I won’t pretend to have any answers in this blog post; rather I’d be eager to hear some thoughts on these questions from my readers.

And while my session has a clear technology slant, does the variation in learning experiences extend to math pedagogy in general?  Can teachers defend their classroom practices, and seek our resources for revision if needed?  How many teachers have considered how Common Core shifts will effect their classroom structures? Have teachers considered the Standards for Mathematical Practices and how they apply to their classrooms? Where do teachers go to find professional development opportunities which meet their unique needs?

And, most importantly, what are the responsibilities of classroom teachers, curriculum specialists and administrators in facilitating these reflections?  It’s a lot to chew on.

Below is video of my Desmos session.  Seeing myself on camera is at the same time cringe-worthy and thrilling…so much to learn from.  Man, do I gesture with my hands…. a lot!  Feel free to comment, share or heckle!

SAY “YES” TO DESMOS – AMTNJ – APRIL 2014

Categories
Technology

Reflections on Classroom “Flipping” Videos

First semester just finished here, and it’s a good time to reflect upon the success of the “flipped” lecture format I used often in Algebra 2, and will continue to use in AP Stats.  My Stats colleague Joel started with flipping videos last year, and it has been a pleasure to work with him as we adapt to an updated textbook.  We use videos for each section in Stats to deliver vocabulary and basic notes, so that class time is freed to work through explorations.  Some reflections about my flipping experiences:

  • Short and snappy is best.  I strive to keep my videos at 10 minutes or less.  I present one idea, with a few targeted examples.
  • The videos have worked well in my classes, and students have come in with appropriate questions.  This is not to say that all students watched the videos, but the message certainly got out that if a video was missed, you will be behind on the classroom conversation.
  • Most of my videos feature just my voice, but lately I have been recording myself in front of the camera.  There’s something odd about the dis-embodied voice in a video, and I think I will try to be live on camera as much as possible in the future.
  • Making videos has caused me to have a sharp focus on objective. I try to keep the rambling to a minumum, although my “embedded secret word” has been popular, and caused me to give out many Jolly Ranchers.  I also want students to feel comfortable re-watching videos, if they need.  Keeping videos focused helps with this goal.
  • Joel and I have used a few methods to assess that students have watched videos and taken notes.   In our last video, Edmodo’s helpful quiz feature was used, but this caused issues for students who watched the video on a mobile device or ipad.  I don’t want the assessment to be an albatross or another layer of unnecessary organization.  Google forms and Camtasia quizzes were also employed, with mixed success.
  • Getting ready to make a video often takes 3 times as long as making the video.  Assembling notes, problems and preparing take time.  And as wonderful technology is, one of my favorite videos was done with a webcam and index cards (see below).

I have used a number of tools to record my videos, but always publish to YouTube, and share the videos with the students on Edmodo.

DOCERI – this fun ipad app allows you to draw on the screen and record your finger strokes with voice.  I have used this often for algebra problems.  I am able to write the problem on the screen beforehand, and walk students through the work.  Here’s one featuring Completing the Square.

SMART NOTEBOOK – I like using this tool, along with its recorder feature, for sections where there will be many definitions and details.  I can have the pieces all ready to go, hidden, and bring them on screen when I need.  Also, if a problem will require a good bit of writing, this format is ideal.  Here’s one on Random Variables, from AP Stats.

SCREENCAST-O-MATIC – This screen recording tool was useful for guiding students through problems I had ready to go using the Desmos calculator.  I didn’t use it often, but the interface is easy to use.  The biggest problem with the videos I made with this tool was with the loud clicking from my mouse pad.  Note to self – use a wireless mouse next time.  This one features the graphs of logarithmic functions.

INDEX CARDS AND DRY-ERASE BOARDS – Yep, index cards.  Recently, our school had a snow day.  I was working on a script for a video on the geometric distribution, and was planning to use Smart Notebook.  But it occurred to me that I had everything I needed at home: index cards, poker chips and a laptop with a webcam.  YouTube’s editor allows captions to be included, which I used in this video on Sampling Distributions.  Just have to work on lighting next time.

Categories
Statistics Technology

Rock, Paper, Scissors and 2-Way Tables

Last weekend, the evil Michael Fenton posted a link to an online applet which will now occupy you for the next 2 hours.  It’s not too late to run away now…

Still with me? An adventurous soul, you are.  Anyway, the NY Times online Science section has shared an online game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, where you can play against a choice of computer opponents.  The “Novice” opponent has no understanding of your previous moves or stratgey.  But, the “Veteran” option has gathered data on over 200,000 moves, and will try to use its database to crush your spirit.

RPS5

My Advanced Placement Statistics class today was preparing for their first chapter test, where topics include 2-way tables and marginal distributions.  Time to abandon my planned review and play!  Here’s what we did:

Each group (I have 6 groups of 4) was given a netbook computer and the NY Times site.  Half of the groups were told to play against the “Novice” player, while the other half challenged the “Veterarn”.  Each group played 20 times, and pride was on the line as groups considered their moves carefully.  Class data was gathered and compiled into a 2-way table.

RPS1

But just how good are we at outsmarting the computer opponent?  In round 2 of this activity, groups again played 20 games, switching their opponent.  This time, however, I directed groups to choose their moves RANDOMLY.  Groups used their graphing calculator to generate a random number from 1 to 3, which determined their move.  The NY Times site provides some info regarding randomization:

A truly random game of rock-paper-scissors would result in a statistical tie with each player winning, tying and losing one-third of the time. However, people are not truly random and thus can be studied and analyzed. While this computer won’t win all rounds, over time it can exploit a person’s tendencies and patterns to gain an advantage over its opponent.

Groups played 20 more times, and a new table was created for this “random” round.  Last round strategy was labeled the by “guts” round.

RPS2

With the data now on the board, groups were given a few minutes to summarize their findings.  Did we improve by being random?  Did we improve in any particular area?  This turned out to be an engaging review of marginal distributions, and a good opportunity to discuss ribbon graphs, which come up in AP Stats as a useful graphical display.  Below, Excel can be used to compare the “Veteran” opponent results.

Ribbon Graph

Thanks Mike, for sharing such a cool link!