Wikis

As part on a group assignment on Wikis my classmates and I created a wiki about Mathematics.  Please have a look at what we created and attempt the questions on the revision page.

 

http://teacher-roberts.wikispaces.com/

 

A wiki can improve classroom instruction by:

• increasing the students’ engagement in activities
• displaying students work
• also students will learn to work together when creating wikis for class assignments
• the teacher can post notes so the students can get them when they are absent from school 

 

Reflection

 

Our group created a wiki on Mathematics – lines and angles in particular.  We faced the challenge of deciding what to put on the wiki after we choose the topic.  To overcome this challenge one person wrote up what was to go on and each person took part of the information and inserted it onto the wiki.  The wiki could be improved by learning how to use the features more effectively and applying them.

Movies

This movie was about lines and angles.  It would be used to for a first form Mathematics class.  This would be additional to what is taught in the classroom and the students will be able to have access to in online to review when they need to.  It includes different types of lines and a video explaining about the types of angles. 

 

Videos could be used to improve classroom instruction my giving the students a means to create attractive presentations from still pictures, the students will be able to present pictures they would have taken throughout their school life and be able to display on the social media for other to see their memories of school.

 

 

Reflections

 

We created a movie on lines and angles; it will be used to reinforce what was taught about angles. There was not challenge in creating this movie as I have been using movie maker for several years now and is able to manoeuvre through the software.  The piece could be improved if we had more time to work with to put in more information. 

Podcast

Podcast is an essential teaching tool as it can be used to help make classroom activities more interested.  It provides an opportunity to have effective learning where today’s technology geared students can incorporate technology into the classroom. It also helps teachers to communicate with the students outside the traditional classroom.  We then saved it to MP3 format and emailed to lecturer

We created a podcast interviewing several teachers on the topic of the recent CSEC results for Mathematics and how they feel that this drop in passes can be change.  After choosing the topic and the persons that will be interview we then came up with the questions to ask.  We proceeded to interview each person separately then put each together and edited it so that it did not exceed the allotted time.

A teacher can use it to assist shy students when the have a class presentation to do.  It can also be used to create the voice over to make a presentation better or even used in the event that the teacher is absent from class.  If it is used for a presentation the teacher can then use the opportunity to observe the students without distraction, and see who might be having a problem with understanding the content being taught.

Visual for lesson plan

The visual prepared would give the student a view of how a flowchart looks.  They will be able to identify the shapes use and should be able to replicate it.  The students would be asked to create a flowchart for the process of buying a pizza using the necessary shapes in word.

The visual we created was a chart showing a sample of a flowchart.  The chart was created in Microsoft Word, and then it was taken to be enlarged. Afterwards a picture was taken and posted.  The challenges faced were how to use word wrap on the chart since the students needed to identify the shapes as part of the lesson.  We then decided to make two pieces, showing one without the notes first then changing it after they would have identified the shapes to the one with the notes.

Preparing Lesson Plans

It is important for teachers to adequately prepare for each lesson so that they are able to have a course of action for the lesson and not walk into the classroom unprepared.  This will be noticed by the students and some will take advantage of the situation.  Also with a plan the teacher will be able to make the appropriate materials available to the students to complete the lesson.

An educator should write lesson plans even though they have taught the lesson many times over because they can come up with new ways to teaching the same topic.  If they were to teach the topic the same way every time they will overlook the fact that the students change and they are more diverse today so they would need new ways to teach the same lesson for the students to understand.

This blog will be used to keep students updated.  Notes, assignments, notices along with other important information will be posted.  A student therefore should not come to the next class with the excuse that they were absent for the last class.  They will be expected to check the blog to see what happened in the class they missed and what will be coming up.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog.  

This blog was created for my Technology class and I will be able to use it when I get back into the classroom.  I will be able to post class assignments and notes.