Integrating Problem-Solving and Educational Software - Chapter 11

There are many benefits to using problem-solving or educational software.  With my daughter being in high school, her school does not have enough books to distribute to all the students, therefore, they must use notes given by the teachers and internet to help in their learning process.  One of my favorite websites is www.purplemath.com.  This website gives step by step instructions to solve problems.  This site reminds me of the way I learned to do math and which made me really want to work with numbers.  I have been able to find assistance with everything from elementary mathematics to calculus.  I have also been able to find some assistance with College Algebra when the professor would only show us how to solve the problems using a calculator and no other way.

Selecting the correct software can be difficult.  I know when I am using software with my students; it depends on their level of understanding.  Purple Math has become one of my favorites because it gives step by step instructions on solving problems.  There are other websites I have used and recommended to students depending on their level of understanding of what they are currently studying.  If the students have an idea of the concept, there are other sites which might be more helpful to the students without having them go back to the elementary level for learning the concepts.  A teacher should have a list of sites in order to be able to give it to the students when they request additional information and are unable to understand the explanation being provided.

When integrating problem-solving or educational software into a lesson, I would use the software as a means of enhancing on the concept.  It would not be where technology took over the lesson and the students were expected to know the information.  The lesson would be taught to the students and technology would help students to better understand what has been taught.  Hopefully, it will answer the questions students are embarrassed, or afraid, to ask.

Integrating Multimedia as a Tool - Chapter 9

The number of students who may use multimedia for their projects varies.  When assigning a project for students, the teacher must determine the number of students working together on the project.  The number of students can be anywhere from 1 up to 4 working on a particular project.  Depending on the size of the project and what the teacher is expecting from the students, makes the difference in how many students are assigned to each project.  Preferably, I would rather have 1 or 2 persons working on a project in order to see what they do or do not know.  It will help me to understand what I would need to put more emphasis on in order to be sure the students are understanding the concepts being taught.  An example of this would be having the students to do a math project when working with geometric figures.  Have the students create at least 10 geometric figures on a poster board using a centimeter scaling system.  With these measurements, the students are to show their work finding the perimeter, area and volume.  The students are also to create 3 3-D figures from the list of 10 selected.  The final step for each of the figures is to know where this figure is seen or used in everyday life.

There are a variety of applications available for creating a presentation.  The question is what application is easily accessible to students.  Many students might not have the most modern of applications to use when doing a presentation.  The students must be given several different choices and with their partner, they must decide which application is best for their group.  Some of the more common and accessible applications would be PowerPoint, Google Presentation, Jing, VoiceThread, etc.  Because many times the students are more familiar with applications, give the students an opportunity to make suggestions.  This will give the teacher time to explore the application before making a final decision on whether it will be appropriate for the presentation.

Although all the students need to be familiar with the technology portion of the lessons, there should still be limits placed on the amount of time and use of technology.  Some of the research should be done without the use of technology. When putting the sources together, technology would be wonderful, but student need to understand what to do if technology is not available.  Have the students read books, periodicals or watch documentaries to receive additional information.  This will be a method of using old lesson planning and modern learning to keep the students alert.  I feel it is important for students to be able to find alternate ways of researching projects.