Mr. Higgins’ Blog

As I have in the past, I am going to involve a content management system which allows me to utilize many great tools. However, this year I am switching to Moodle despite my love for Drupal. The advancements of DrupalED are just not enough compared to the many features of a moodle. I am lucky enough to be in a district where the technology coordinator installed in on the district server. The major difference between my approach to technology is that I am now a math teacher who teachers one period of computers. Last year I was a computer teacher who taught one period of math. I am very excited and willing to take on the challenge of utilizing web 2.0 and presentation tools in the math classroom.

Special thanks to Darren Kuropatwa for providing such great examples of Web 2.0 in the math through the “A Difference” blog.

Technology Available: Tablet PC, Wireless Projector, Moodle, Two WordPress Blogs, Computer Lab (Used everyday in AP Computer), and TI-83/84 calculators.

Software Used: JCreator LE 4.0, Windows Journal, SmartBoard Notebook, TI SmartView 2.0, WordPress, Moodle, and other miscellaneous programs.

AP Computer

The class is basically a lab class. I have each student always at a computer. When notes are given, it is expected that each student participate and they know they are expected to know the material. The fun part comes into play when the students write programs. I am using the moodle this year to have students submit their assignments online. This way I can avoid much of the paper trail I have heard about from other teachers that grade many programs by hand. With the use of the Tablet PC, I can annotate/create a program directly onto the projector. In all honesty, most of my time is spent at the whiteboard as we create and debug code. I learned in the first year that sitting at a computer and typing it on the screen is great for monitoring the classroom, but too many are copying down code because the TEACHER is often quicker. When I am at the board, I am behind their typing for sure, which leads them to discover the steps needed rather than me pulling them along for the ride.

Algebra II

This class is in the style of most traditional math classes, except I have the added ability to post assignments to the moodle and use the tablet during class. The day-to-day notes will be a combination of whiteboard and tablet pc. It is awesome to be able to use the tablet pc to find mathematical information on the internet. For example, last year I used Google Earth to find the distance from Cedar Point (“America’s Roller Coast”)* to Canada. It turns out that you have to be quite high in the air to TRULY see Canada. I have not fully defined what type of assignments will be posted to the moodle, but I have a feeling there will be some problems of the week and/or extra credit posted.

*If you haven’t been to Cedar Point and are a roller coaster enthusiast, you don’t know what you are missing.

Honors Algebra II & Pre-Calculus

These two classes are where my experimentation with Web 2.0 is really going to take place on a daily basis. I have setup a blog for each of these classes (H-Alg II and Pre-Calc). I am using the style of Darren Kuropatwa by having a scribe post the notes for that class on the blog each and every night I feel enough new material was presented. The student is expected to complete all steps toward a successful scribe post. I have a strong belief, as Darren has described through his blogging, that it will be apparent what the students understand and more importantly have failed to grasp. There are many teachers around that would not attempt this; however, I am going to take the gamble and hope to benefit the students and myself by getting math off the whiteboard and onto the web. I am not a hero for attempting this, nor are any other bloggers. The heroes are the students who develop a web presence and affect their peers on the way to becoming a lifelong learner.

On a side note, I have not received my TI SmartView 2.0 installation package as of this point, but it seems like the perfect tablet pc tool for displaying the TI-83/84 interface in front of the class.

I hope all teachers out there have a great school year!!! Remember why we take on the responsibility of our position.

My next blog is going to detail the movie I watch to get pumped up for the school year.