I originally started this blog to document my journey with technology this year. In August, I was hyped up, ready to teach algebra and geometry to my at-risk high school students using 1-1 Chromebooks.
It has been a year of successes and failures, and it has been both difficult and time-consuming. Needless to say, I have not been updating my experiences as I anticipated. The time has come, so here we go.... I spent almost all of last summer creating Hyperdoc masterpieces for my algebra classes. Here are some of the outcomes: One class went crying to administration because they did not want me to change my teaching strategies. They were successful in algebra, and they feared that the changes would lead to failure. Thankfully admin backed me 100%, however I didn't feel this was a battle I wanted to take on right then. That class ended up not using very much technology for the rest of the quarter. I will return to this class later in the post. The other classes dutifully worked on the Chromebook activities. But it did not take me long to realize they were going through the motions, but they were NOT LEARNING ANYTHING! My first adjustment came in the third week of the school year. Instead of turning the students loose with a carefully crafted Hyperdoc, I ended up going through each slide with them, one by one, interjecting direct instruction and helpful hints as we went. This was more productive, but I still felt the kids weren't connecting what I was teaching them to the concepts they were exploring in the Hyperdocs. I still wasn't happy with the outcome - so I ditched almost all of my work from the summer (which totally sucked, but was necessary). I went back to direct instruction with tech projects for awhile. This allowed the students to learn the concepts and also to get more familiar with using the Chromebooks. This worked for another two quarters; the students felt confident, and I could tell they were learning. But I still was nowhere near satisfied. Ideas started forming in my head, and then during Spring Break I completely rewrote my algebra curriculum. I went to a quasi-PBL/portfolio system. I designed quarter-long real-world application projects that are a combination of technology and handwritten work. Students use a variety of software to graph and solve equations, they explain what they are doing and WHY they are doing it. They connect their work to specific components within the real-world problem, and then they explain the connection. One class is designing and 'building' a house to learn about graphing, writing and solving linear equations. Another class is doing landscape design, creating my dream backyard using quadratic functions. A third class is doing a modified version of the MVP Pet Sitters project, two siblings deciding how many cats and dogs to pet-sit, and what will make them the most profit, as a means to learn about systems of equations and inequalities. As each activity within the project is completed, I check their work. If it is acceptable, they get a stamp (the seal of approval) and it goes into their portfolio. Anything that needs correcting is noted on a Post-It and must be fixed before they get their stamp to add to the portfolio. Work that is incorrect or incomplete cannot be added to their portfolio, which I like because it makes the students completely accountable and increases their persistence. Back to my class that refused to use Chromebooks.... This class is doing the landscape design project, and so far, not one complaint. They have become masters with Desmos, and they understand how their graphs match the different components of the problem. Their work has become neater and more complete. They are discussing their designs within their groups. So far, they have not realized that since they have different designs, the work will all be different, so they cannot copy from each other. Another huge plus!! So far, the experience has been incredible. All the classes are engaged and learning. They are taking ownership in their designs, answering my questions (without prompting) and making those real-world connections. As with anything, there is more to do. Our district hosted a teacher development workshop last week (thank you SVUSD TOSAs!). One of the sessions I attended was about PBLs, which was so very helpful to me . I have more tools now to improve my projects, such as more/better driving questions, more flexibility, and a greater understanding of how PBLs should be structured and put into play. As with anything, I know I need to change, adapt and improve my projects, which I will be doing over the summer. But so far, this has been one of the greatest strategies I have implemented in a long time. Time will tell, but so far, so good!
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OBJECTIVESMy goals include tracking the most effective ways to integrate technology in my math lessons. Archives
April 2017
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