podcast +PPT

Do you make podcasts with powerpoint? Here is a good link: http://www.ppt-to-dvd.com/forum/topic3240.html, I am working on this next week with my high school math classes, if you have any tips.

Boston Marathon

Totally off topic - but I heard that you could qualify for the Boston Marathon with a 1/2 marathon time. Did anyone hear this? And if so, where are these times listed?
:)
Boston '09!

New tools!

What new tools are you using? I just read about Technorati, I know it is not new - what do you use it for? How about Apture? Do you use it? This year I have succeeded in keeping up weekly reading educational blogs and getting my students to blog as well as comment. I might tweak it next year, but I think it has been great. I also want to give them more time to explore the non-math educational aspects of blogging. Right now, for them, it seems forced. I ended up having each kid do a summary of the week and the rest of the class has to comment every 2 weeks of one of the ones that was completed. It forces the person summarizing to review everything and forces the others to constructively criticize as well as read the review. This has been a great success! Over the summer I hope to look at some new tools and incorporate them. I want to check out how other math teachers are incorporating these into their classrooms. The last few months have flew by - can't believe it has been 5 months + since I blogged!!

Summer will be refreshing!

Project Based Learning

I would like to take the curriculum for each of my classes and make them project based and more relevant to real life scenarios. I've started doing this little by little, but it takes up a great amount of time. I have a few thoughts - I think that teachers need more time somewhere built in - otherwise our whole life becomes teaching and planning. If you are dedicated and want the best for your students, teaching is your life and you have little time for the things that you enjoy doing outside of teaching. Second, I graduated high school 10 years ago. Things were not THAT much different then as they are now, as far as careers students were pursuing - yet there was not so much pressure on teachers (that I know of) to change how they teach. I think that it is very important for teachers to teach students what they will need to know for the workplace, but teachers also need the support and time to do so. It is overwhelming to try to differentiate to reach every student, teach in a 21st century manner, and deal with many IEPs for students. How do you do it?

What is my goal?

I am really enjoying reading the blogs that my classes are writing and for the most part, I am able to touch base with them and it is like a weekly 'how are you doing?' and where are your trouble areas. I want to extend it so that it has more meaning and more of a collaborative aspect for the students. I'm trying to think of how I can do that. Many of the students, more so freshmen than upperclassmen are giving me feedback that they do not like it and do not see the point. I do explain that it is a way for me to see how they are doing and what concerns they have, but I would like for them to get more out of it.

I'm doing a presentation on wikis in 2 weeks. If you have seen some good wikis to show or have any ideas, I would love to hear them.

New tools

I came into this year with high hopes - wanted to do weekly podcasts, wikis and blogging. I feel good. I started the year off with blogs - the students do them weekly or every 2 weeks. I am determining what exactly I want to accomplish with them, but even so, they have been great so far. I know I can take it further and I want to make sure I am having the students get the most out of it. Podcasting - weekly is not feasible - but having them do end of unit reviews - so far this has been fun for them and a neat way to have an audio review for audio visual learners. Wikis have been great for end of unit reviews also - it is a big study guide where everyone can add their piece. I wonder what other teachers are using wikis for and I think language teachers can do great with podcasts. Sometimes I find it hard with math though. I keep looking!

Math blogs

I am trying to determine which direction to take the math blogs in the classroom to. Has anyone seen any neat math blogs that are current and kept up? I really like reading what the students write, but I want to make sure that it is worthwhile and effective and making connections. I have used wikis to do a study guide or lesson review but also want to make use of these more as well. Any math teachers out there, please contact me!