Wicked problem Project Final

The Problem: 

Last year during October there was a severe flooding situation in Bangkok, and we had to close school for about six days. At that time, we had to use our school’s website to create as much e-learning opportunities for our students as possible. In addition to this, at our school, students often miss classes due to involvements in athletics and/or other extra-curricular activities. Providing students with opportunities for e-lessons is becoming more of a necessity than an option at this point.

The Solution:

Using the internet and various technologies available is definitely the best way for me to address this educational issue. My plan is to create on-line lessons for the Algebra 1 course that I will be teaching during the next school year. Each lesson will include some form of review/notes of the skills that are needed to be successful in learning the lesson, some type of teaching video and/or screencast in which the lesson will be delivered, an interactive activity such as StAIR for students to confirm their understanding of the lesson and practice the skills they are being taught, as well as additional modeling and practice resources that can be posted through the internet. There is definitely a very wide scope for this tool. It can be used by all students taking the course. In fact, it can be used by students in any math course who need some algebra review. Once it is set up, this tool can be visited by students over and over again for learning, reviewing, and/or reinforcements.                                                

I intend on using a lot of the resources and tools that were introduced and taught in CEP 810, CEP 811, and CEP 812. Youtube, Khan’s Academy, Merlot are some of the various resources for teaching and learning math that are available on the internet. I realise, however, that I would need to carefully evaluate the tools/videos and select the one that will support the mathematics, concepts, and learning methods that I am focusing on in the classroom. It is crucial to pick the “right” resource and not just “any” video. I will also be creating screencasts and/or videos of "teaching the specific lessons." The curricular resources that I plan to use will come from my school's course curriculum to ensure that it ties in to my course.While performing these researches, I realized that doing this well needs time and clearly defined goals. There is so much available on the web that we, as teachers, may not need to "reinvent the wheel." However, it is important that we carefully select and only use what we are specifically searching for if we want to make our point clear and our learners focused on the concepts/topics/ideas that we are teaching. It also means that we may need to add our personal resources in the form of videos/podcasts/screencasts to link all the technology tools that we employ. During this course, I am hoping to create e-lessons for the first two lessons of the Algebra 1 course. After creating these two, I plan to continue with as many lessons as I can during the school year itself. I am hoping that they will get somewhat easier after I have gone through the first couple of e-lessons and taken care of the basic technology glitches that accompany most of these kinds of technological implementations. I plan to implement them with my daughter since school is presently closed.I intend to post these lessons on the school site as soon as school starts in August to allow students to have access to them as early as possible.I will know if this works, how well it works, and how I can make improvements on it, once my students have access to these lessons, start using them, and providing me with feedback on them. If more than 50% of the students access the lessons and the resources, and spend quality time going through the various tools, I would think that I am off to a good start. This should be sometime in August and early September. 

What is the TP knowledge for the solution?  (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)

TP Knwledge is “knowledge of the existence, components, and capabilities of various technologies as they are used in teaching and learning settings, and conversely, knowing how teaching might change as the result of using particular technologies.” Below I have listed the technologies that I plan to incorporate in my TPACK solution and how it supports the teaching strategies and methods that I have chosen.                           

Website: I have decided to use the google site Algebra 1 that I created while taking CEP 811. Using this technology gives me the “place” or “platform” for students to go to find out about what happened during the lesson that they missed or simply want to visit for reinforcement. This site has a variety of tools for me to imbed links, videos, pictures, and various teaching resources that I plan to use to make the e-lessons for my course. In addition, our school also does the emailing system through google. Using google site then will be more familiar for the students, parents, and teachers that may want to visit. Having this site available for students to use will provide them with opportunities to learn and go-over what took place in the lesson as often as they need to. In reality, it opens up the doors of classrooms and allows learning to take place “outside” as well. 

Webquests: In CEP 811, I explored and evaluated some webquests that were very useful and engaging. I plan to select one, maybe two, that are applicable to the concepts and topics that were are working on as a different way to deliver the ideas that were taught during the lesson. This may end up being an extension of the lesson since we might not always get to it during the class time. With mathematics at this level, it is crucial to present information in a way that students understand and are able to follow along. I pan to include webquests that follow very closely with my teaching strategies. Where some webquests may use a different approach, I plan to make that clear to students in order to ensure that there is no confusion in their understandings of the concepts. 
My Video: Having made a video of myself at the beginning of CEP812, I am thinking of creating one for each lesson. The video will basically provide the agenda of the lesson and help students follow through the entire e-lesson using all the resources provided. It will outline my expectations. This is actually very close to what I do in the classroom at the beginning of every lesson. From my experience in the classroom, I noticed that when I make my plan and expectations for the lesson clear, students are able to learn and follow through more effectively.                                                                                                         Pictures/Notes: In this site, I am able to easily include classroom notes, pictures of examples, and worked-out solutions for problems being assigned. It also allows me to highlight the important part of the lesson. Students can then clearly see the main ideas. Another teaching strategy that I use regularly in the classroom is connecting the concepts we are learning to ideas that were discussed in previous lessons as well as making connections with real-life examples. I intend to convert my classroom notes from the SmartBoard into a pdf format that can be uploaded to the e-lesson.                                                                       More Videos: As an additional resource I plan to including videos from other resources that are available on the internet. This includes videos from Khan’s Academy, Youtube, and Robswartz. This will allow students to see the same mathematics presented in a different way. This can enrich their understanding of the mathematics being taught in the lesson.

What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible?  Be sure to think about representation.)

TC knowledge is “knowledge about the manner in which technology and content are reciprocally related.”        
Webquests: While exploring some of the webquests in CEP 811, I was able to find ones in which the topic of the wequest matches almost perfectly with the content of the lesson. Here the technology itself helps in the teaching of the lesson. In the study of algebraic functions, we need to see how the different representations of functions (as an equation, as a table of values, as a graph) are connected. This is where webquests can play a major role. It can help students see the connections and relationships immediately. Furthermore, it can help in the deeper understanding of how the changes in the equation of the function impact the relationship between the variables and what it really means.               

Geogebra: This is a graphing tool that allows students to graph functions easily to develop a better and clearer understanding. The study of functions is one of the main concepts of Algebra 1. This tool allows students to “play around” with various functions and to visually see what they look like and how they can be related to one another. We are planning on using this program with our Algebra 1 students next year. The link for this tool and clear instructions can also be a useful resource to include in my e-lessons when it is applicable.

What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible?) Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.

PC is “concerned with the representation and formulation of concepts, pedagogical techniques, knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn, knowledge of students’ prior knowledge…” This knowledge is very deeply connected with the type of student body that we have in our classroom. The Algebra 1 e-lessons that I am designing are for the average Grade Nine students. These students do well when concepts and ideas are delivered in different ways. Some students learn best taking notes and watching the teacher model and example; other students learn well when they are constructing and exploring to figure out the mathematical “rules” or “concepts”; another group may need to see a visual representation or a model to develop an understanding before they can start solving problems; and yet some students learn best when concepts are linked to real life applications. Similarly, some students prefer to work independently, some with a partner, and others in a group of three or four. Creating e-lessons allows student to experience and learn the math concepts in different ways using various resources. After learning more about web conferencing, I am considering to incorporate it into some of the e-lessons to give a chance for students to discuss and ask questions. This may be helpful in the review lesson before an assessment. It will also give an opportunity for students who learn best in a cooperative environment to maximize their understanding.

WPP Part 1: http://screencast.com/t/5g0eso3bI

WPP Part 2: http://screencast.com/t/0pMcG1S5

WPP Part 3: http://screencast.com/t/B5hKqjcL

Professional Learning Plan

Professional Learning Plan

View more presentations from seemagoghar.

Group Leadership Project

Here is our group's stand alone professional development tutorial:

What tool did your group use to deliver the PD tutorial?  Why?

Our group decided to use VoiceThread to deliver the PD tutorial. We started our project by sharing a PowerPoint Presentation on Googledocs, and VoiceThread is a tool that can be easily used together with our project/presentation. VoiceThread also allows us to individually add our explanations and comments to the slides we created. Personally, I have never used VoiceThread before working on this project, but have heard of the tool. I was excited to explore and to try using it. It turned out to be relatively easy to use and very effective in the kind of on-line group work that we were doing.

What did you learn during the development process of the final product?

The one thing that was clear was how easy technology made it possible for the four of us to work collaboratively and create a project together. This was really amazing! Edmodo was a new resource for most of us. I had, in fact, never even heard of it. We divided the sections equally between the four of us and each person was responsible for creating the presentation slides of the topics that we were presenting. The PowerPoint Presentation was then delivered using VoiceThread. Another thing I learned is how easily the PD tutorial of a relatively good quality was created when the four of us worked together. If I were to create something like this on my own, it would have taken me many, many more hours than the total amount of time the four of spent on this. This is the power of collaborative work and technology.

What would you do differently if you had to develop a similar product again?

Overall, I think we all did a great job with this project. If I had to do this again, maybe I would have liked to explore Prezi , Jing, and/or some form of video or screencast to see if there was another way to present the project. The aspect that I felt we could improve on was to find a way in which we could demonstrate how to use the tool “live.” For example, when I was doing my slides on “Grades”, I could be clicking with my mouse to demonstrate what I was saying in the slide.

PART D - Findings and Implications

Formative: Did the project get implemented as planned?

Since we are in the middle of our summer holidays, I was not able to implement the lesson with my entire class. I do intend to do so when school begins in August this fall. As I stated in PART C of this project, I “tried out” this project with my daughter.

Summative: Evidence of success in addressing the problem of practice

The clearest evidence of success is that she was able to go through and follow the lesson. She was able to gain understanding of the concepts being taught and to begin work on the assignment.

How would you approach another project of this type differently given what you’ve learned here?

Another way to approach this project is to create a screen cast or video record the lesson and discussions as they are taking place “live” during the class session and then creating a blog post of the course for students to access. This would allow students who were absent from the lesson to have access to what took place in the class, and at the same time, students who were present in class could also go back to see and reinforce what was being taught.

What are the lessons learned that others might benefit from knowing about?

The main lesson was the time involved in creating something of this scope. It may be better to start with creating e-lessons on days where the topics being taught in class are of the nature that your students have great difficulty with in general. For example, if I were to choose to create e-lessons, I would begin with lessons that involve graphing. Our students, in general, struggle with this.

In what ways will you endeavor to do the same project again, and what will you change or not do?

I think creating something like this is invaluable to teachers and students. This is an on-going project. It could even be something that I can collaborate with my peers, who are teaching the same courses as me. Once created, however, it can be modified and revised on a regular basis. Due to the time involved with completing something like this, I may have to create a timeline to make it more manageable. 

Mobile Learning Lab

Mobile learning can be very effective. I tried looking at the Poll Everywhere tool. It is actually pretty amazing. Below are some of the screenshots of the poll I created and results I received.

From the articles I am reading as well as what I am able to observe in my classroom, it is evident that mobile technology does come with many, many advantages. Using it as a survey poll can really be beneficial. I can use it to survey for ideas, student reflections on how effective they thought a specific lesson or activity was, a pop quiz (non-graded),  “as a digital or video camera to accompany school projects, publishing, etc.”, and as a way to educate students on acceptable and appropriate social use. I will probably start gradually and slowly because it is a new territory for me. In fact, our high school is offering an elective course called Mobile Applications. In order to keep up with the technology of the world today and to benefit most from what we have in front of us, it is not a matter or choice but of necessity to integrate mobile technology in our classrooms.

Despite the many advantages and positive learning enhancements associated with mobile learning, there are many challenges lying ahead. The first being the “fairness aspect.” If we were to really incorporate mobile learning in the classroom, we will have to ensure that all students have the same opportunity at success. What I am trying to say here is that with the various brands, models, and applications of mobile phones today, it is difficult for all students to work with a “common denominator”. The other challenge is basic classroom management, whether it is during the class lesson our outside the classroom. This would mean keeping students accountable for completing the “mobile assignment” on time and giving out consequences if they are not able to do so. This could be really tricky and complicated, as well as time consuming. The exciting aspect would be that once the applications are set up, and I have become familiar with it, it should get somewhat easier. I am also hopeful that as using mobile applications becomes a classroom routine, it would be much simpler for me as well as out students. The main goal, then, would be to see how mobile technology can actually improve student learning.

PART B - Storyboard and Script

Our group decided to do a presentation on the classroom website, Edmodo. For our storyboard and script, we created a powerpoint presentation on google docs. Each of us was responsible for three aspected of the tool. I was responsible for creating the slides and script for Grades, Support Communities, and Summary of Edmodo. We have invited you to the google docs presentation so you can view the entire completed storyboard.


Please click here to view our published presentation. This presentation, however, does not include the notes for each slide which we will be recording in our final presentation. You an view the full storyboard with complete notes through the invite we sent out.


For the final product, we have decided to each do the voice recording on the slides that we created. Once we are done, we will publish and put them together using a tool such as voicethread.

PART C - Implementation

Please click here to listen to my podcast. Below are a few pictures of the e-lessons I created.

PART B - Application of TPACK

1. What is the TP knowledge for the solution?  (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)

TP Knowledge is “knowledge of the existence, components, and capabilities of various technologies as they are used in teaching and learning settings, and conversely, knowing how teaching might change as the result of using particular technologies.” Below I have listed the technologies that I plan to incorporate in my TPACK solution and how it supports the teaching strategies and methods that I have chosen.

Website: I have decided to use the google site Algebra 1 that I created while taking CEP 811. Using this technology gives me the “place” or “platform” for students to go to find out about what happened during the lesson that they missed or simply want to visit for reinforcement. This site has a variety of tools for me to imbed links, videos, pictures, and various teaching resources that I plan to use to make the e-lessons for my course. In addition, our school also does the emailing system through google. Using google site then will be more familiar for the students, parents, and teachers that may want to visit. Having this site available for students to use will provide them with opportunities to learn and go-over what took place in the lesson as often as they need to. In reality, it opens up the doors of classrooms and allows learning to take place “outside” as well.

Webquests: In CEP 811, I explored and evaluated some webquests that were very useful and engaging. I plan to select one, maybe two, that are applicable to the concepts and topics that were are working on as a different way to deliver the ideas that were taught during the lesson. This may end up being an extension of the lesson since we might not always get to it during the class time. With mathematics at this level, it is crucial to present information in a way that students understand and are able to follow along. I pan to include webquests that follow very closely with my teaching strategies. Where some webquests may use a different approach, I plan to make that clear to students in order to ensure that there is no confusion in their understandings of the concepts.

My Video: Having made a video of myself at the beginning of CEP812, I am thinking of creating one for each lesson. The video will basically provide the agenda of the lesson and help students follow through the entire e-lesson using all the resources provided. It will outline my expectations. This is actually very close to what I do in the classroom at the beginning of every lesson. From my experience in the classroom, I noticed that when I make my plan and expectations for the lesson clear, students are able to learn and follow through more effectively.

Pictures/Notes: In this site, I am able to easily include classroom notes, pictures of examples, and worked-out solutions for problems being assigned. It also allows me to highlight the important part of the lesson. Students can then clearly see the main ideas. Another teaching strategy that I use regularly in the classroom is connecting the concepts we are learning to ideas that were discussed in previous lessons as well as making connections with real-life examples. I intend to convert my classroom notes from the SmartBoard into a pdf format that can be uploaded to the e-lesson.

More Videos: As an additional resource I plan to including videos from other resources that are available on the internet. This includes videos from Khan’s Academy, Youtube, and Robswartz. This will allow students to see the same mathematics presented in a different way. This can enrich their understanding of the mathematics being taught in the lesson.

2. What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible?  Be sure to think about representation.)

TC knowledge is “knowledge about the manner in which technology and content are reciprocally related.”

Webquests: While exploring some of the webquests in CEP 811, I was able to find ones in which the topic of the webquest matches almost perfectly with the content of the lesson. Here the technology itself helps in the teaching of the lesson. In the study of algebraic functions, we need to see how the different representations of functions (as an equation, as a table of values, as a graph) are connected. This is where webquests can play a major role. It can help students see the connections and relationships immediately. Furthermore, it can help in the deeper understanding of how the changes in the equation of the function impact the relationship between the variables and what it really means.

Geogebra: This is a graphing tool that allows students to graph functions easily to develop a better and clearer understanding. The study of functions is one of the main concepts of Algebra 1. This tool allows students to “play around” with various functions and to visually see what they look like and how they can be related to one another. We are planning on using this program with our Algebra 1 students next year. The link for this tool and clear instructions can also be a useful resource to include in my e-lessons when it is applicable.

3. What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible?) Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.

PC is “concerned with the representation and formulation of concepts, pedagogical techniques, knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn, knowledge of students’ prior knowledge…” This knowledge is very deeply connected with the type of student body that we have in our classroom. The Algebra 1 e-lessons that I am designing are for the average Grade Nine students. These students do well when concepts and ideas are delivered in different ways. Some students learn best taking notes and watching the teacher model and example; other students learn well when they are constructing and exploring to figure out the mathematical “rules” or “concepts”; another group may need to see a visual representation or a model to develop an understanding before they can start solving problems; and yet some students learn best when concepts are linked to real life applications. Similarly, some students prefer to work independently, some with a partner, and others in a group of three or four. Creating e-lessons allows student to experience and learn the math concepts in different ways using various resources. After learning more about web conferencing, I am considering to incorporate it into some of the e-lessons to give a chance for students to discuss and ask questions. This may be helpful in the review lesson before an assessment. It will also give an opportunity for students who learn best in a cooperative environment to maximize their understanding.

Web-Conferencing

What web conferencing tool did your group use? 
 The web conferencing tool we used was vyew.
What were the advantages to using the web conferencing tool to discuss this project?  
The main advantage of using a web conferencing tool, such as vyew, is that you can have a group of people from different parts of the world conferencing with one another at the same time. This is really amazing! In our group, I am from Bangkok, Thailand, which is about 11 hours ahead of the US where the rest of my group resides. Yet, we were able to communicate with each other quite effectively. There were several resources for communication available. We used the microphone and the chat. We also shared a screen with the assignment document on it. Overall, I thought it went very well.
What were the disadvantages to using the web conferencing tool to discuss this project? The main disadvantage is that you do not have the time to explore/think carefully before you make a decision and move on to the next step of the project. In our case, for instance, we decided to use Edmodo. However, since most of us needed time to explore it a little before we can discuss further, we had to schedule another meeting. I am not sure if I would call this aspect a disadvantage, but it is something we need to keep in mind while web conferencing. The "voice part" and using the microphone was a little tricky, but we were able to hear each other for the most part. 
How might this be useful in the classroom?
This could work very well as a review web-conferencing session before an assessment. The session could be divided into two groups of different times so there are a limited number of students discussing during each session. Students can ask questions and help each other answer them. It is definitely something worth trying.


Here is the link of our recorded web-conference session:   
http://www.screencast.com/t/4wyx0isbPjNC

PART A: Description of Need or Opportunity

1. What is the important educational need that you are seeking to address? This element is fundamental in this project. Since we have limited time, energy, and resources, cool technology without a clear sense of why it matters or what we gain by it is of little value in the educational setting.

 Last year during October there was a severe flooding situation in Bangkok, and we had to close school for about six days. At that time, we had to use our school’s website to create as much e-learning opportunities for our students as possible. In addition to this, at our school, students often miss classes due to involvements in athletics and/or other extra-curricular activities. Providing students with opportunities for e-lessons is becoming more of a necessity than an option at this point.

2. How you plan to address this educational issue with technology?  You need to make a clear and convincing case that your proposed solution will make a real impact on the issue you identify, and that your proposed approach is a reasonable approach given its costs and possible alternatives.

Using the internet and various technologies available is definitely the best way for me to address this educational issue. My plan is to create on-line lessons for the Algebra 1 course that I will be teaching during the next school year. Each lesson will include some form of review/notes of the skills that are needed to be successful in learning the lesson, some type of teaching video and/or screencast in which the lesson will be delivered, an interactive activity such as StAIR for students to confirm their understanding of the lesson and practice the skills they are being taught, as well as additional modeling and practice resources that can be posted through the internet. I am still contemplating whether to create my own site for the course or to post the lessons on our school’s site which is called Panthernet. I am leaning towards using Panthernet simply because it is managed by the school’s Education Technology team, and they usually take care of the technology problems that come up. Whereas if I use my own website and it does not work during an emergency situation, I would not know where to go for assistance.

3. Logistics of solution: For example… 

a. What is the scope? (e.g., when and where will tool be used and for how long? Who all will use it?  

There is definitely a very wide scope for this tool. It can be used by all students taking the course. In fact, it can be used by students in any math course who need some algebra review. Once it is set up, this tool can be visited by students over and over again for learning, reviewing, and/or reinforcements. 

4.   Relevant research and resources (from the Internet and elsewhere) including reports on the closest effort you can find to what you are planning to do as well as ideas and materials you may be able to build upon in your own effort.  Your description should include: 

a. The results of your search (What resources may help guide your project? What resources may help in the implementation of your project?) 

b. What you learned from performing this search. For example, which search engines did you use? What strategies did you use? What helped or hindered your search? How would you search again next time?                                                                                               

I intend on using a lot of the resources and tools that were introduced and taught in CEP 810 and CEP 811, and that will be used in CEP 812. Youtube and Khan’s Academy are two of the various resources for teaching and learning math that are available on the internet. I realise, however, that I would need to carefully watch the videos and select the one that will support the mathematics, concepts, and learning methods that I am focusing on in the classroom. It is crucial to pick the “right” video and not just “any” video. I will also be creating screencasts and/or videos of "teaching the specific lessons." The curricular resources that I plan to use will come from my school's course curriculum to ensure that it ties in to my course.

While performing these researches, I realized that doing this well needs time and clearly defined goals. There is so much available on the web that we, as teachers, may not need to "reinvent the wheel." However, it is important that we carefully select and only use what we are specifically searching for if we want to make our point clear and our learners focused on the concepts/topics/ideas that we are teaching. It also means that we may need to add our personal resources in the form of videos/podcasts/screencasts to link all the technology tools that we employ.

5. A plan for the portion you will implement during this course and the portion you will implement after this course completes.

 During this course, I am hoping to create e-lessons for the first two lessons of the Algebra 1 course. After creating these two, I plan to continue with as many lessons as I can during the school year itself. I am hoping that they will get somewhat easier after I have gone through the first couple of e-lessons and taken care of the basic technology glitches that accompany most of these kinds of technological implementations.

I intend to post these lessons on the school site as soon as school starts in August to allow students to have access to them as early as possible.

6. How would you know you were successful?

I will know if this works, how well it works, and how I can make improvements on it, once my students have access to these lessons, start using them, and providing me with feedback on them. If more than 50% of the students access the lessons and the resources, and spend quality time going through the various tools, I would think that I am off to a good start. This should be sometime in August and early September.

 

Session 1: Performance Task/Podcasting Lab/Post to Blog

To listen to my podcast, please click here.

CEP 812: Session 1 - Video Bio

Please click below to view my Personal Introductions for the CEP 812 course. 


Personal Introduction by Seema Goghar

CEP 811 Final Reflections

During these past eight weeks while taking the CEP 811 course, I was introduced to several new technologies and teaching tools, was able to enhance my understanding of the new researches in learning and teaching, and was able to create some useful web-based technology resources  that are relevant to my teaching.

The most important thing that was made evident in this course is that in teaching today's learners who are growing up in a web-connected and technology based world, it is absolutely essential for educators to adapt/adjust teaching methods and ways of lesson delivery to match up to their ways of learning. To effectively integrate technology in teaching a lesson, teachers must first have clearly defined lesson plans. The Instructional Design Principles that were defined and explained in Session 1 described the basic principles of creating an effective lesson plan. After defining the basic principles, technology is then incorporated into the individual parts of the lesson plan as appropriate. The four areas that should be addressed for a technology rich lesson are motivation, socialization, audience, and technology needs. The technology aspect is the teaching tool that is used to accomplish the goal of the lesson. If used appropriately, it can turn out to motivate and engage today's learners in a very effective manner. Other than having a well-defined lesson plan, it is also essential for teachers to learn and understand the various types of technologies that are available and that can be used effectively in the classroom. The Universal Design for Learning is an extremely powerful framework that focuses on teaching strategies that are expected to reach all learners. According to this structure, teachers should attempt to use multiple ways of representation, actions and expressions, and engagement in their teaching. Technology plays a very significant role in being able to successfully use this framework. Overall, to effectively teach when integrating technology, educators must select the technology tool that is appropriate to the lesson, have a thorough understanding of what the tool can provide, and incorporate it an organized and well-planned lesson.

Integrating web based technologies adds a new dimension to the idea of technology usage. To begin with, there needs to be an understanding that everything that is done web-based can be accessed by others. This alone requires you to be more careful about what you post and how you post it. This course introduced us to some basic formats and designs/colors that work better than others. Secondly, it can be extremely powerful as a communication tool. Learning can now take place anywhere that an internet connection is available. Learning is not exclusively done in the classroom anymore. What this means, at the same time, is that educators now have to learn how to teach in a web-based platform. This involves creating web-based resources, such as a webquest or a stand-alone instruction resource. Both these resources, if designed well, can be extremely powerful teaching tools and can provide multiple ways of presenting a lesson. Students who need to take more time for understanding, or who need several reinforcements before being able to clearly grasp concepts, can now do so at their own time outside of the classroom. It also allows lesson delivery to take place in a different format, and students are no more simply dependent on understanding the lecture in the classroom. Being a member of MERLOT allowed us have access to teaching materials created by other educators. We were able to evaluate resources on it and submit some of our work to be used and reviewed by others as well. Now   before we actually create a technology based teaching resource, we can have look at MERLOT to see if others have done something that we may be able to use.

I think I was able to accomplish more than what I had thought I would. I actually created my own class webpage. That is pretty amazing! I have also become more familiar with some of the tools I was introduced to in CEP 810.  The most valuable part of this course for me was creating my own StAIR. The process was frustrating and took a lot of time, but in the end I felt it was something that I could immediately use in my teaching as a web-based resource for my students. I will be taking the next course CEP 812 Applying Educational Technology to Practice. I am hoping to extend my learning in this next course and to continue implementing some of these educational  practices into my lessons. 

Online Teaching Experiences

The technology that I feel I could use right away in my math classes is the WebQuest-"an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by students is online." An important aspect of using the WebQuest in the learning and understanding of mathematics, in my opinion, is that it can be used as a warm-up activity at the beginning of a math class, as an introductory to a new lesson, as a reinforcement tool, and/or as a review before an assessment.

Similar to several other disciplines, the study of mathematics builds on previous knowledge and understandings. A warm-up or introductory WebQuest could incorporate concepts that were covered in the previous lessons and encourage students to "stretch their thinking" and/or "make further connections." This will allow students to develop a deeper understanding of the mathematics they are learning, and at the same time, prepare them to be ready for constructing knowledge on the  new concepts that they will be introduced to in the lesson. Reinforcements and assessments are two significant aspects in the student of mathematics at the high school level. WebQuests that are designed well can provide students with an efficient and effective means to review and develop mastery of the content and concepts that they are learning.

Algebra is defined by many as the study of patterns. Theses patterns come in varying degrees of complexities, starting with basic Linear functions, going on to Quadratic functions, then extending further to Exponential, Rational, Trigonometric, Circular and other types of functions. Understanding the basic concept of this takes time and regular spiraling of the ideas and mathematics involved while teaching and learning. Using a WebQuest can allow teachers to emphasize the connections between the lesson/concepts being covered on a specific day and the "bigger picture." For instance, in a WebQuest to introduce quadratic functions, there can be an activity/task embedded on the relationship (even basic differences and similarities) between linear and quadratic functions. It can be  further connected to the understanding of what functions are. WebQuests also provides the means to deliver content in a different platform which may be exciting to students. The key, though, is that the WebQuest has to be well-planned with clear goals in mind.

Most of the teaching and learning technologies used today can be incorporated in the studying of mathematics. Wikis, Educational Blogs, Learning Management Systems, Podcasts/Videocasts are all valuable technologies. It must, however, be well-designed to be effective and time-efficient. The technologies that might be harder to use with my high school students would be an Electronic Portfolio and Interactive Discussions between Students. With mathematics, using technology can be tricky and somewhat challenging because of the limited mathematical notations and representations available in the commonly-used technologies today. Students would need to download specific mathematics software if they want their equations, graphs, tables, and other mathematical symbols to be appropriately represented. Moreover, many of these softwares are somewhat complicated to use. To allow for deeper levels of technology usage in the study of high school mathematics, it is crucial for teachers and students to receive training not only on the web technologies, but also on the mathematics softwares that need to be used.

Wikis Lab

In this lab, we had two main tasks. For the first task, we were required to find our school on Wikipedia and add at least one notable fact that is not already listed and/or correct any inaccurate information. For that second task, we had to create our own wiki, share it with peers, colleagues, or our students, and invite some collaborators.

For the first task, I added the following sentence on the Wikipedia page of our school, International School Bangkok. "ISB has students enrolled from more than fifty countries, which promotes rich intercultural experiences." Below is a screen shot of the page with the sentence included:

For the second task, I created a Wiki for my Algebra 2/Trigonometry course using Wikispaces. Here is the link to my page: http://algebra2-trig.wikispaces.com/. I intend to keep building on this page.

S4 UDL Lab

In this blog I have used the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines-Educator Checklist to identify the features and barriers in my previously created lesson plan.  The Universal Design for Learning addresses three main parts: Representation, Action and Expression, and Engagement. It is a framework that attempts to reach all students who come from a variety of backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses. My assignment was to closely evaluate my lesson plan against the UDL checklist and clearly state whether each checkpoint is a "Feature" or a "Barrier" in the lesson.

The checkpoints that are labeled "Feature" are areas where I think my lesson plan has excelled in or, at least, has addressed the idea, and the checkpoints that are labeled "Barriers" are areas that I would need to consider revising. Overall, I think my areas of "Features" and "Barriers" are quite evenly spread out. In checkpoint 5 (Provide options for expressive skills and fluency), I seemed to have excelled with only "Features." This assignment has been very well worth my time. It is rare that we have an opportunity to reflect on our lesson planning with such clear and well-defined guidelines. I am really looking forward to revising my original plan with the notes and ideas from the UDL Guidelines-Educator Checklist. Below are my notes:

Evaluation of "Graphing the line y=mx+b" from MERLOT

This is an evaluation of a learning material titled "Graphing the line y=mx+b"  from the MERLOT Mathematics Portal. Here is the link to the front page of the resource: http://www.ltcconline.net/greenl/java/BasicAlgebra/LineGraph/LineGraph.htm


The main page of the resource is shown below.

This evaluation focuses on the quality of content, the potential effectiveness as a Teaching-Learning tool, and the ease of use of the resource. This learning resource definitely presents valid concepts, model, and skills. The concept of graphing a linear function using the slope-intercept form, y=mx+b, is correctly used. The concepts of the slope (m) and the y-intecept (b) are correct, and the linear representation on the graph is also valid. The concept, model, and skill presented in this learning material is one of the most important ideas in the study of Algebra 1. To be successful in high school mathematics, students need to have an in-depth understanding of these concepts as well as mastery of the skills  presented in this learning tool.


This material can be used in the "Practice" stage of the learning process. One of the learning objectives of this resource is to reinforce the understanding of the y-intercept when given the linear function in the form of y=mx+b and being able to graph it on a coordinate plane. Another goal is to reinforce the concept of slope, and how it can be used to assist in graphing a line. This should be targeted to students who are learning Algebra 1. It provides teachers with a different medium of presenting information and reinforcing concepts, and at the same time, provides students with a different way to practice and learn what has already been introduced to them prior to this learning activity. This software can easily be integrated in the Algebra 1 curriculum. It can be used at various occasions during the teaching and learning of linear functions. It is relatively a "basic" reinforcement resource and does not extend to other levels of understandings of linear functions. This resource, however, does have a link for students to review topics/concepts that involve graphing lines. Access to this information allows teachers to use this learning tool as a revision/warm-up activity of graphing lines using the y-intercepts and slopes during the study of other Algebra 1 concepts as well.


Overall, this resource is relatively easy to use. The general layout, buttons, and text are visually distinct and consistent. It is easy to follow along, and the directions are clear and concise. It also allows students to click on the "hint" button if they are unsure of how to proceed. The software provides immediate feedback and guides students who are having difficulty on how they should solve the problem. The concept of graphing, the coordinate plane, and the slope-intercept form is commonly used in the Algebra 1 course/curriculum, so students should be able to recognize them easily. The resource is also well laid out and sufficiently attractive.