What Math Should I Teach?

I have recently finished two more Squidoo pages on Quadratic Equations and Square Roots. Both of these, as have the others lenses linked to the right, force me to face the question "What Math Should I Teach?" In my mind, the Squidoo pages and the acccompanying videos I have created are designed for a regular 8th grade/freshman Algebra 1 class. But as I have learned from teaching those classes the curriculum can vary widely from class to class, school to school and state to state.

Indiana, my home state, has created a list of standards for us to follow. The Algebra 1 standards are the governing list of concepts for me to cover in an Algebra 1 class. And I use them as such. However, even with those as a guide there are many choices to make on the depth and breadth that each topic is covered. For instance, I am currently teaching basic trigonometry concepts to a high school Geometry class. The class is what FCHS refers to as a "lab" class, which means the students background puts them in a category of needing extra help to pass Geometry. Thus I am left to ask the question of how in depth do I teach the concepts to them. The Indiana Geometry standards state:

G5.4 Define and use the trigonometric functions (sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, cosecant, secant) in terms of angles of right triangles.

G5.5 Know and use the relationship sin2(x)+cos2(x) = 1.

With this in mind I look at the two days it has taken the students to begin to grasp just the basic 3 trigonometric functions and I wonder if I can possibly cover both of those. Especially in light of the fact that I still need to cover quadrilaterals and circles before the end of the year(under 8 weeks left). I have more to say on this, and will at a later time, but I would love to hear any opinions that other teachers have on how they decide what they are going to cover.

Exponent Properties

I recently finished my squidoo lens on exponent properties. I have enjoyed the process of creating these single page sites. It has allowed me to accomplish two important things:


1) The actual building of the site is very simple and easy to do. I had to work a little bit to figure out the html need to create exponents, but overall the process of creating a website on squidoo is pretty painless.


2) Squidoo is well recognized by Google. Within the first week of publishing the exponents lens I am average 15+ visits a day from people searching on google. Considering how specific the topic is that is pretty cool. It is nice to know that people are finding and benefitting from the work I am doing. Yesterday nearly 100 people visited the four lenses I have on squidoo.


The lens I am creating currently is on simplifying square roots. It should be done some time next week.

MIMIO Demo's Part 2

This is the second video I have created showing the different functions of the MIMIO I use in my math classroom. The technology is truly amazing and I think has a very positive impact on the classroom. In this video you will learn to make videos yourself, write on top of other programs (word, powerpoint, internet explorer, sketchpad, etc...) and use the different backgrounds and pictures MIMIO provides. My favorite part so far has been the ease with which I can bring my own picture into the MIMIO. Not only is it easy to do, it is very easy to save the picture and access whenever you want. I use the x-y grids and number lines I created often. If you have any questions or want me to create a video on a specific function in MIMIO let me know.

MIMIO Demo's Part 1

As I said below, I was recently fortunate enough to have a MIMIO Interactive placed in my classroom. After less than two months I can't imagine teaching without it. You might ask why I like it so much. Here are just a few reasons.

• Not having to worry about dry erase markers and the mess they make


• Having multiple pages of work to go back to if necessary


• Being able to easily access coordinate grids and number lines


• Recording my work as I do a problem(or a video on how to use a MIMIO!)


• The straight line feature(I was never very good at drawing straight lines)


• Printing out notes for a student who has trouble concentrating during class


• There are many others reasons including some I probably haven't figured out yet

The following video shows some of the features of the MIMIO notebook. It is designed for someone who has never used a MIMIO before. The MIMIO is capable of much more and I will be adding videos in the coming weeks showing these things.

To MIMIO or not to MIMIO

One of the goals of this blog is to talk about some of the teaching practices I am using in my classroom. Currently the new exciting thing I am doing is using a MIMIO for all my direct instruction. The MIMIO is a new technology similar to a SMART board used in many classrooms around the country. The term that is used to describe both is "interactive white board."

Differences Between the Two

I have not used a SMART board so I know very little about them, but I believe they are functionally the same as a MIMIO. Meaning they can accomplish the same thing. The big difference is that the SMART technology is a white board in and of itself. The MIMIO is designed to be installed on an existing white board. Because of this the MIMIO requires much less hardward and thus imys much less expensive. As well the MIMIO is much more portable around a school than a SMART board. Conversely, I would imagine that the MIMIO is more likely to have technical problems. As well the MIMIO requires you to calibrate it before use. I would assume the SMART board would not require this. Whatever the case is, I don't have a preference or reccomendation between the two, but I can say that I have been 100% satisfied with the MIMIO so far.

An Example of a MIMIO

I have yet to create a video about a MIMIO. This was the best I could find on youtube:




I plan on creating some videos showing how I do different things on MIMIO. I plan on posting a series of MIMIO tutorials in the next couple of months.

I will end this post with another video I have created for the tutorials I am creating. They can be accessed in the top right corner of this blog.

New Squidoo's

In the top right corner you can see "Algebra 1 Instruction". Those links lead to "lenses" on the topics described. They are made on a website called Squidoo. Squidoo allows users to make single pages of information called "lenses". I chose Squidoo because it essentially allowed me an unlimited amount of space for free. Blogger doesn't allow me the type of flexibility I wanted when creating these pages. I am actually now using three different free services to accomplish what I wanted; Squidoo, Youtube and Blogger. Eventually I might pony up the money and create my own website, but for now I am pretty happy that I am able to create, host, and organize the videos for free.

Squidoo is a pretty cool site. If you like it and want to create your own page, let me know because I can get a referral fee for sending you there:)

The Plunge

I suppose every blog has to have a first post, and this is mine. Let's organize my thoughts using the classic language arts question: When, What, Why, Where and How.

When

The when is now, or December 24th, 2007 if your now is different than mine. I was hired at FCHS in June of 2007, which corresponded with the opening of brand new school. Of all the reasons to be excited with the job, the new school and accompanying technology had my interested piqued the most. The past four months has enabled me to start my first website , learn how to use a mimio, and explore the possibilities of youtube, teachertube and all things video.

What

This blog has two purposes:

1) I plan to write about my own personal experiences and ideas on teaching math. There are also a few mathematical topics I would like to explore further and I will chronicle what I learn about them.

2) I am currently creating various instructional videos for the algebra classes at FCHS. Those are being posted on teachertube and imbedded in my school website. However I have higher hopes for those videos (and others) and this was the place I decided to start organizing what I am doing. I am concurrently creating squidoo lenses about the topics the videos are covering. I will blog more about squidoo at a later date. Links to those pages are on the right.

Why

Three reasons:

1) I believe that education is going to become more and more digital in the next 25 years and I want to be at the forefront of that trend. This is my jumping off point for that.

2) I believe that a high school level education should be free for all those that want it.

3) I have perused the educational content on the web and discovered that, though there are pockets of good material, there is very little well organized free material. Especially with regards to videos.

Where

I chose blogger because I wanted the blogging/organization to be cost/enerergy effecient. From what I read blogging here was simpler than some of the other free options. I chose squidoo for similar reasons. There may become a time where I move all my content to my own space on the internet, including hosting my own videos, but I wanted to know more about how to create websites and how to generate readers before I did.

How

The videos are created using mimio technology. There is a recorder option that makes creating the videos super easy. I also use window movie maker to edit and voice over the videos. Here is an example of a video I created.



Well that is my first post. I plan on regularly updating this blog and my squidoo pages. My goal is to have an entire course on Algebra 1 displayed at Squidoo and then linked here by the end of the school year. Currently I am only creating videos of example problems but will be creating lessons on the topics as well.

Have a Merry Christmas,

Trent