Well, my two accounts (Facebook and MySpace) have grown to about eighty members, a mixture of students, former students, and classmates.  I don’t use the blog feature very much, but I do use the comments and messaging quite a bit.  I also go out and view pictures and comment on those.

The teacher group that I joined has been very nice for discussing classroom issues.  It has a sizeable membership, and there are a lot of people posting on the site.  I have only joined this one group, and reading the entries on it keep me very busy.

I have decided to keep my accounts after this class.  I enjoy coming home and catching up on the days events.  I have students who don’t talk much in class who communicate with me via these accounts.  One student was nervous about prom and wanted some encouraging words.  Another had a death in the family.  And another lost a family pet.  Kids say things here that they don’t say at school.  SNS keep some kids from feeling like they are alone in this world.  I think it is a nice evolution of technology that has occurred.

I got back from Orlando at 2:30 this morning.  Will catch up on posting this week.  Had the best time ever!!!!  Shamu rocks!

U.S. Secretary Margaret Spellings presents her panel’s findings on how schools can increase math achievement in this article published by the U.S. Department of Education.

“We must teach number and math concepts early, we must help students believe they can improve their math skills and we must ensure they fully comprehend algebra concepts by the time they graduate from high school.”

The biggest problem I see in math classes is a student’s lack of confidence in their own ability to do math.  Another problem is that many of them don’t see the relevance of math.  The solution that I see that needs to happen to implement the findings of this panel is vertical alignment of the curriculum at the district level.  The district needs to create its own panel of teachers from elementary, middle, and high school, and allow them to plan how good math instruction will be implemented.  At the high school level, we expect them to have already mastered fractions and percents, and when they don’t, we pick up the slack, but at the expense of teaching our own content.  So then our students aren’t prepared for college because we were unable to teach as rigorously as we would like.  Colleges then become overloaded with teaching remedial classes to students who cannot earn an 18 on the ACT.

This isn’t a case of placing blame, but changing approaches at the elementary level to insure success at all levels.  Students who cannot meet the minimum math requirements are placed in study skills classes to help them master concepts.  This is what my school plans to do next year with its freshman academy to help struggling readers and math students bridge the gap.

My vice principal came to me on Tuesday of this week and said that she had some money to spend, and she wanted to know if I needed any software for my classroom. I have been wanting Geometer’s Sketchpad because of how in-depth it is and its potential for visual learners. I am going to get 50 licenses for next year, and I am going to integrate it in my geometry curriculum.

As I was reading through the Tech Learning web site, I came across this article which provides some assistance for students working on various constructions. The article does state that the teacher may need to provide some additional guidance.  What I find most useful about this site is the use of vocabulary.  I can use this site as a preview of terms that we will be learning, and walk them through the instructions for constructions and teach them the functions of the software.

After thinking about this question for weeks, I have decided that teachers teach so that others may learn. Education has become a large part of the foundation of our culture, so there is a need for educators. As individuals are achieving their education, and gaining skills to be used in their chosen careers, they are making conscious choices as to how they want to earn a living. People mostly choose their jobs because they feel it is something that they can do successfully.  They are choosing to be contributing members of their society, so that the society can continue to thrive.

I got an invite from a woman named Regina Goncalves.  She is a math teacher from the UK who has written a new book.  Here is the link to it on Amazon.  She has an introductory section that you can read by clicking on her name above.  I ordered the book tonight for $6.98 plus $3.99 shipping from Amazon, and I look forward to receiving it.  Her main character is a teenager, Caius Zip, a time traveller who meets some famous people in his journeys.

I am loving social networks more and more every day!

While I was working on an assignment for another class, I came across this blog entry from a Kentucky student to Helen Barnett, an expert on digital portfolios, and thought I would share.  She gives a very good reason why portfolios are a valid form of assessment.

This week, I found an interesting link on the OLDaily site which discusses the “Net” generation and how significant of an influence the web has been on their lives. The article goes in-depth about the social behaviors of students, and then branches out to education. On the good side, I absolutely love being part of this world because I have instant access to just about anything I want to know. I can pick the brains of other educators by reading blogs or joining discussion groups. I can go to sites like MarcoPolo or Edutopia and find great activities to use with my students. So in that respect, growing up with Google is a good thing. On the flip side is this quote that I found of particular interest:

“Other mental models also present challenges. Many of our students, and their parents, are focused on achievement: ‘getting an A’ so they can get a good job. If there is too much focus on getting the grade – and getting it as easily as possible – students may not be learning all they should. Problem-based learning methods and authentic learning models have been proven to be highly effective. However, students often complain that these alternative approaches require too much time. We need to help our students, parents, and communities see the value in these more complex learning environments. If instructors and students don’t see the value of putting additional work into learning, it will be impossible to change the status quo or improve the competitiveness of the future workforce.”

We live in a society where instant gratification now seems the norm. My biggest complaint about my students is that many of them do not have a good work ethic. They don’t retain materials that they learn from year to year. Their parents pressure students to be part of honors courses and to get the A, and when they don’t, the blame is put on the teacher. Honors courses get slowed down because the teacher has to be sure everyone learns, and some students just can’t keep up with the pace. When the students can’t make the grade, the parents come in on their behalves wanting extra credit.

I feel like the biggest challenge as a teacher is to teach my students how to think. I have been able to motivate some of my students, but I do have others who just squeak by. I am trying to instill values on them that will help them in the future. I feel like my job is more about teaching them to be good human beings than to teach them content that they will never need and will forget in the blink of an eye.

Discuss the various roles that Education serves in the preservation of Culture. I believe that education plays a big role in the preservation of culture. History classes teach our students where they came from and what events have shaped how society functions today. By being in school, students are part of a society, thereby participating in culture. The adults in our society pass on their belief systems to their children.  School provides the setting where we can enrich students lives by reminding them of the past and showing them the road to the future.  English classes accomplish this task by reading and discussing literature and having students compose pieces of writings that reflect today’s views.  Math classes teach concepts, then supplement with activities that tie in with the real world and future careers, like engineering, construction, graphic design, consumer sciences, health sciences, and so on.  Classes like Global Issues give students the opportunity to discuss what is shaping their world today.  So with good teacher planning, supportive administration, technology, schools help preserve and shape the future culture of our children.

Technology and Learning: I found an interesting article while browsing the web that talks about how adults are the driving force behind the technology that children use today. The link is Technology and Youth Education. It points out that the availability of technology does not always have a positive effect. For example, the article states that there is a lack of supervision in our society with technology use. Without supervision, how are students supposed to learn responsible use of technology? If we want our students to use technology for learning, then we as teachers need to model the best and appropriate ways of using that technology. We need to educate our students about harmful uses of technology and how they can avoid those pitfalls. When technology is used responsibly, both teachers and students benefit. For example, having students create PowerPoint presentations teaches them good organizational skills and good communication skills, provided the teacher gives the students guidelines to follow (modeling) what an effective presentation looks like. Students can create podcasts to educate other students about current issues, such as the environment, how to solve a particular type of math problem, or the best way to approach a scientific experiment. With the new technologies available, it is now possible to have students communicate with other students at different locations, just like Clarence Fisher is doing.