Final Math Post

As I reflect on the quarter, both in my brain and in my blog, a few points jump out at me.

1.  Importance of student-led learning - we read articles about never saying anything a kid can say, about allowing students to participate in group-worthy tasks, etc.  A big idea for me as I go forward is to think about how I can incorporate more math talk and student conferencing in my teaching.
2. Manipulatives/software - I learned about tons of new manipulative and software tools: GeoSketch, Fathom, TinkerPlots, Wolframalpha, tangrams, miras, Gapminder, just to name a few.  Definitely more aware of some great resources for teaching math.
3. Trusting myself to take what I've learned and grow from it - some of my favorite lessons have been the ones that included a bit of a philosophy lecture.  It's nice to know that we won't be expected to be able to magically incorporate all of these tools at once.  I was reminded of the importance to take the time to breathe and think about how to incorporate one thing at a time.  
4. Thinking about myself and my own mathematical identity - I realized this quarter that I know much more math than I gave myself credit for.  I constrained my math thinking to a narrow focus, but our work has helped me broaden my thinking.  As I move forward, I will work to keep an open mind about my students' mathematical thinking and work to help them see themselves as mathematicians.

Thanks for a great quarter, Robin!

iTouch Update

While I've enjoyed having access to an iTouch this quarter, I will admit that I haven't really used it as much as I hoped to.  Part of this may be because I own an iPhone, so many of the capabilities the iTouch provides weren't needed.

I did explore various apps and discovered that there is a multitude of applications available, designed to enhance student learning.  Still, I had difficulty seeing how I could integrate one Touch into my main placement classroom.  In other tech news, I have started teaching some with the IWB, and I'm really enjoying it.

Back to the iTouch: The feature I used most this quarter has been Voice Memo.  I've used this app for each meeting that I've had with my Juanita buddy.  After the session, I can listen to the discussion and reflect on my teaching, as well as his learning.  While it's been relatively easy for me to remember the discussion I had with one student, I can only imagine how useful this tool would be when I'm working with 20+ students.  My ability to remember all the conversations will not be nearly as skilled as it is with just one.  I believe the iTouch would a wonderful asset to a teacher so that he/she could record conversations with students.  It would be a great assessment tool - both for student understanding, as well as teaching instruction.  I think it would also be a powerful tool to show student growth throughout the year.  Additionally, it would be powerful to have concrete evidence to share with parents.  Instead of simply describing how a student is doing, you would be able to show them "how it sounds."

Question:  Is it a good idea to use your iPhone for this purpose?  I'm wondering if there are some legal issues that may come up with student information on a personal cell phone.  Also, what might be some ways to push for funding for tech in schools that may not make tech a priority?