Reflection

Reflection on Lessons Learnt

The use of technology in the class room to facilitate learning has moved beyond the simple use of calculators and probeware to demonstrate mathematical concepts. Available to the mathematics teacher now is the use of online collaborative tools (Skype, Wikispaces, Weebly, Voicethread, etc) as well as tools for students to create digital stories regarding different aspects of the mathematics content area. How do we as math teachers avail ourselves of all this technology?

The course “Integrating Technology Across Content Areas” answered some of the more academic questions, but it also posed many more application questions. For instance will the sites be available to our students as the schools tend to filter so much that is coming on on the servers; will the lesson be effective in conveying the content area to be taught?

I enjoyed the course immensely as it identified new collaborative sites and allowed me the opportunity to think outside the box when it comes to planning lessons for my math classes. At first I thought to focus on Biology my other content area, because I was so comfortable with the subject and could readily see the areas that technology would play a great part in. However I decided to focus on Math as this was a challenge to me, and I am glad that I did, as the strategies (like planning my GAME plan), helped me to see that integrating technology into math lessons were not so arduous or impossible.

With the wealth of information on the web, like WebQuests and other examples of digital stories that are available for teachers to peruse and modify to meet their needs, I have found that it is possible to implement a lot of the new technologies into the math curriculum. I have also found out that it also requires more time and effort to effectively plan for the content areas in math to make the technology enhance learning and not retard or frustrate it. I also need to make sure that I have the assessment rubric for the lesson in mind as it helps to guide me in shaping and constructing the lesson.

I have already begun to make adjustments to my instructional practice regarding technology integration in my content area. The unit plan formulated for my portfolio will be used in the spring with my geometry class and some of the other lesson plans developed in this class and others have already been implemented. I was glad that I was able to implement them as I learned a lot from the lesson as well. Next school year when the same lesson is to be taught I will have made revisions to that lesson to make it a more effective learning tool for my students.

Indeed I learned a lot from this course and will continue to research the different ways that I can improve and increase the use of the different technologies taught here in all my math classes.