Mr. Higgins’ Blog

Going into my third year of teaching, I would like to thank all of the avid blog readers for taking the time to discuss issues relating to Math, AP Computer, Education, and Web 2.0.  It is quite a motivating feeling when I know that others are reading the material and expanding on the ideas of this teacher.  The school year is only a month away!

1 to 1 Tablet PC Project

I am one of the teachers who is part of the first ever 1 to 1 Tablet PC in my district.  Around 30 of our students will be carrying around a Gateway E-155 Tablet PC for an advanced educational experience.  There are specific classes in the school which were assigned to the 1 to 1 Project, and it turns out that my AP Computer Science A course is one of them.  I am so exciting for the 1 to 1 educational experience to start.  I feel like a kid again!  Here are some thoughts I have on the 1 to 1 Tablet PC Project:

• The ability of the students to create dynamic notes and find information quickly will be very exciting
• The organizational skills (or lack there of) will come into play.  Having taught introductory computer courses, sometime it takes 10 minutes to make sure students save their files correctly.  Never the less, these are bright students overall.
• Using the wireless projector and specialized monitoring software, I will be able to have the teacher project information, have the students project information, lock the machines down at anytime for any reason, monitor each students progress via a thumbnail view, and take over the students computers.

AP Computer Science A

Going along the lines of the Tablet PC Project, I have decided to adopt Blue Pelican Java by Charles Cook for my classroom text.  Why am I using this textbook?  It is because I’m transitioning to an eBook.  My students will each have a copy of this free eBook on their tablets and will be able to browse the material at their leisure.  My students will need to make the transition of a paperfull book to a paperless book.  This is going to be tough on the teacher too; however, I am motivated enough at this point to give anything a try as I try to improve my teaching.  I chose this textbook because I really like the way it is organized section by section and it gets right to the point of the material.  My style in AP Computer Science A is to use the book as a reference.  There are many times I teach a topic completely and then we reference the textbook to pick up on some vocabulary or syntax I may have ignored.

Do I know how well the 1 to 1 computing will go in this course?

No.  However, I feel with my technological background and pension for Web 2.0 will be molded together to create a fun and enjoyable class at a faster pace than previous years.

Do I know how well the transition to  exclusive eBook instruction will go?

No. Therefore, I chose an eBook that I was confident contained the material in an organized fashion and had the best chance for success.

Do I have confidence in the Gridworld Case Study yet?

No.  I would really like to get some feedback from fellow bloggers and AP teachers because this is the first year I have not attended an AP Computer Science Summer Institute.

Web 2.0 Plans for AP Computer Science A

I plan on having all presentations and long term projects integrated into our classroom blog.  Our History of Computing Project at the very beginning of the year will consist of a blog post.  I am concerned about brining java code and syntax into the Web 2.0 world because it is the student’s own though processing that creates the code; therefore, I will create opportunities throughout the year for the students to comment on issues in Computer Science on our classroom blog.  There are several experts out there that make informational posts about Computer Science, including Alfred Thompson (My favorite and it is an easy read).  I am going to be looking for professions in the computing arena to comment on my students’ posts.  Since this will be my first year of Web 2.0 integration in this class, I hope the force is strong in this class. (Don’t think too hard about that last line)

Algebra I

This will be my first time as a full time teacher with a course below the level of Algebra II; however, I am up for the challenge and thoroughly enjoy the topic of algebra.  Due to many reasons, include the brain development of students this age, their math has been slowly building over several years.  Once they hit high school, that is really when it starts to pick up speed and then all of the sudden they are at graduation. it goes quickly.  Here are some thoughts I have on teaching Algebra I.

• It is important that these develop the fundamental skill set needed to successfully navigate geometry and other all topics of algebra eventually.
• You could agree that I have an advantage because I know exactly what the students need to know; however, I am hoping that I do not cut any corners.
• I hope to integrate many more small video segments, logic puzzles, and intense problem solving than some of the other classes.  My job is to teach them the algebra skill set and get to a point where the concepts can be developed more in depth later.

Web 2.0 Plans for Algebra I

I hope to integrate assignments at least twice a month on the classroom blog, I call each of these assignments a Student Focus.  I have NO IDEA if I will get a chance at a large Web 2.0 project; however, I will give it a try.  I will not use the full Scribe Process in this class.

Honors Algebra II

I have went on record several times and described this class as the “greatest class on the planet to teach for a math teacher like myself.”  Keep in mind, I have never taught AP Calculus AB/BC.  I had the time of my life teaching this class last year and really got to know all of the students on a personal level.  The reason it is the “greatest class on the planet” is because this is the point where mathematics really starts to take a giant step forward and I get to lead them into the edge of the giant forest.  I quickly earned their trust and challenged them unlike they have in their previous mathematics course history.

Once we began the scribe process, the learning of the course was simply AWESOME.  Visit the 2007 - 2008 Honors Algebra II Blog when you get a chance.

Web 2.0 Plans for Honors Algebra II

I am hoping for some collaboration with Darren Kuropatwa with my Honors Algebra II course.  I am definitely going to continue the Scribe Process in this course.  Last year, we only use it in the second half of the year; however, this year we are going to utilize it throughout the entire school year.  I will be able to assign many more web assignments than I have ever even thought about in the past.  I have a challenging class size this year of 30+ so it will be interesting what I will come up with throughout the year.  I plan to use a great deal of videos as springboards for many different topics in algebra and trigonometry.  I have so many plans for this class, it is just that I don’t have any idea what they are yet!  For my fellow educators reading this blog, you know exactly what I mean.

Pre-Calculus

This is going to be my biggest challenge of the year because I really have a lot of Web 2.0 anticipation for this course.  I have two sections of this course, which will really lead toward problems with my scribe process; however, I am mentally working those out as you read.  I will just get to the point..

Web 2.0 Plans for Pre-Calculus

Last year, being my first year teaching Pre-Calculus, I played it relatively safe throughout the year.  I wanted to make sure I knew the material and did not cheat the students out of an education because of my own Web 2.0 endeavor.  I plan to several projects throughout the year posted on the classroom blog and I will use the scribe process in this class; however, I have approximately 64 students taking this course into two different sections.  I am not sure what I am going to do about this at the time of writing this blog entry; however, having some of my Honors Algebra II students sprinkled in the audience, I have no doubt that it will be accepted by the students.  Wish luck to me and I will be out getting opinions about how to handle multiple classes through the scribe process.  Feel free to provide me some feedback of any kind.

On a side note, I recently heard this song on the radio and instantly youtube’d it to see the video.  No matter your set of beliefs, this is a great song and video.  I just thought I would share this with the edublogosphere.