Mr. Higgins’ Blog

Link to Project: Video Student Focus #1

Please feel free to leave comments/ratings via this blog or YouTube that are directed at me or my students.  Also, I have given you the opportunity to rate the videos through the use of Google Forms below the videos. 

- Thanks from Mr. Higgins and the Honors Algebra II and Pre-Calculus classes

Video Number 1

Video Number 2

Video Number 3

Video Number 4

Use the following form to evaluate the videos above:

Link to Project: Video Student Focus #1

Please feel free to leave comments/ratings via this blog or YouTube that are directed at me or my students.  Also, I have given you the opportunity to rate the videos through the use of Google Forms below the videos. 

- Thanks from Mr. Higgins and the Honors Algebra II and Pre-Calculus classes

Video Number 1

Video Number 2

Video Number 3

Use the following form to evaluate the videos above:

Link to Project: Video Student Focus #1

Please feel free to leave comments/ratings via this blog or YouTube that are directed at me or my students.  Also, I have given you the opportunity to rate the videos through the use of Google Forms below the videos. 

- Thanks from Mr. Higgins and the Honors Algebra II and Pre-Calculus classes

Video Number 1

Video Number 2

Video Number 3

Use the following form to evaluate the videos above:

Link to Project: Video Student Focus #1

Please feel free to leave comments/ratings via this blog or YouTube that are directed at me or my students.  Also, I have given you the opportunity to rate the videos through the use of Google Forms below the videos. 

- Thanks from Mr. Higgins and the Honors Algebra II and Pre-Calculus classes

Video Number 1

Video Number 2

Video Number 3

Use the following form to evaluate the videos above:

Link to Project: Video Student Focus #1

Please feel free to leave comments/ratings via this blog or YouTube that are directed at me or my students.  Also, I have given you the opportunity to rate the videos through the use of Google Forms below the videos. 

- Thanks from Mr. Higgins and the Honors Algebra II and Pre-Calculus classes

Video Number 1

Video Number 2

Video Number 3

Use the following form to evaluate the videos above:

So much technology in one place with so much positive vibe.  It is almost like being at a college campus; however, we have replaced all of the people that will NEVER change regardless of the demand.  What am I talking about?  With all of these motivated individuals listening to people such as Wesley Fryer discuss the future of education and our profession, where are the other teachers?  Those are the people that need to find the right session or person to motivate them.  I am just glad that I am one of the informed citizens.

Wesley Fryer was as good as advertised.  His vision of School 2.0 is how I feel; however, he has the ability to put into words. 

As a special note: The superintendent of my district was named the State Technology Administrator of the year.  That really helped make the day exciting.

As another special note: Congratulations to the State Teacher of the Year, you really deserve it and continue to develop a technology presence in Northwest Ohio. Go Moodle!

Session I didn’t expect to like at first:

• Teaching Math Through Sports – Mickey Gilliland
  Link: School Website

  He did a great job of describing how he uses sports to teach math at the middle school level.  This is definitely something I have a great deal of interest in at the high school level.  I was slightly disappointed that he achieves some of his success through the process of picking his students through a survey the previous academic year.  Basically they take a survey and based on their interest in sports, they are either placed in his class or one of the two other teachers classes.
   

How I contribute to the future of our digital natives (I thought about this for at least half of the day while at different sessions):

• My class blogs where the students create content
• My classroom website where students can use my links and find other student materials
• Ability to mix images and videos into the daily instruction of mathematics

Is that enough?  Well, answer this question….when is learning enough?

NEVER GIVE UP ON LEARNING!

 
http://flickr.com/photos/alishav/3156574283/

Note: Don’t forget I am a Tablet PC teacher and use SMART Notebook just like anyone else; however, I get to walk around the room.

As a teacher, I have the responsibility to show my students the the Applications and Models of Trigonometry to my Pre-Calculus students; however, I could simply use the whiteboard and some colored markers (I love the passionate purple markers).  When using presentation software such as SMART Notebook I like to use engaging images that are used to represent mathematical problems or concepts.  I have provided you with my four day long lesson which shows my progression of the material and I explain my thoughts.

Day 1

I want to be able to give the students an overall of what applications and models are by starting with the solving of triangles.  I wanted to have something take the attention off a simple triangle exercise therefore I added the twisted 3D triangle.  I start talking about the World’s Strong Man Competition whenever I see the Africa slide because it mimics and event in the competition where the mean carry a very heavy Africa shaped stone tablet.

Day 2

I start with some problems from our the Ohio Council of Teacher of Mathematics students tournament as a way of warming up for the day and reviewing geometry.  The idea of an angle of elevation and depression is not hard to imagine; however, I wanted to throw the fun image of Wile E Coyote into the mix.  I love to talk about the leaning Tower of Pisa because I get to talk about topics including Galileo, gravity, and planet movement.  In a previous section, we figured out approximately how fast we were moving along with the spinning of the earth.

http://www.slideshare.net/mrhiggins/applications-and-models-of-trigonmetry-day-2-presentation

Day 3

This topic can be a bear for the students; therefore, I use images of our downtown area and our reservoir to put distance and the cardinal directions into perspective.  I LOVE GEOGRAPHY so I always enjoys these days.  Almost as great as the day I get to show the students that you can’t quite see Canada from Cedar Point.

http://www.slideshare.net/mrhiggins/applications-and-models-of-trigonmetry-day-3-presentation

Day 4

Anytime a teacher can use a cross curricular approach while basing most of the instruction on their own instruction, take advantage of it.  I get to talk about the history of math, science of the earth movement, and then the distance around the earth.  I have a video that goes along with the slides (I know they look a little dull; however, this is because not all of my slides could be transferred to slideshare)

http://www.slideshare.net/mrhiggins/applications-and-models-of-trigonometry-day-4-presentation

Why my classroom setup allows me to easily use this type of approach

1. I have FULL ACCESS to my entire whiteboard and can still work out problems at the whiteboard or students can work them out.
2. Having the GIANT SCREEN next to the whiteboard creates about 25 feet of learning from left to right.
3. Whenever I show video, it shows up the size of the GIANT SCREEN which is an AWESOME experience.

While the national trend seems to be leaning toward “shoveling” four year of  mathematics into high school everywhere, Ohio is just beginning the process through the new Ohio CORE curriculum which starts with the class of 2014.

Why use the word “shoveling”?  Because I have a feeling that it will be used to create new senior math courses around the state that are dumbed down versions of current courses.  Here are my thoughts and questions to those mathematics teachers in any state

Here is our current school curriculum:

Here are our current thoughts for the four year requirement:

Questions that still need to be answered BY SOMEONE OUT THERE; especially if they work for the Ohio Department of Education.

1. Will courses such as Digital Electronics and AP Computer Science count as a mathematics credit?
2. Are we making a mistake by offering semester courses?  We know it splits the department; however, we want students to take courses they have some interest in taking for their future ventures.
3. Will basically any mathematics course that is created with a prerequisite of Algebra II satisfy the Ohio CORE?

This is what I call a blog entry that may turn out to be rhetorical…unless those with the answers and experience come forth.