Errors

I was glad to have done this activity in class this semester. It was so interesting to see students' work and their thought processes. I realized through this activity that I learned just like these students -- a set of rules and regulations without knowing why the rules worked. It is important to be able to see where students are messing up in their math work as a result of a wrong understanding about their mathematical processes.

I felt that this was a very helpful activity to prepare me to be an excellent educator because I have more of an understanding of how and why students think the way they do. It's amazing how learning math in the way that "it has always been done" gives a faulty foundation in math.

I really appreciated when we would work through a problem and then use manipulatives to show how the problem worked because it helped me to visualize and comprehend why rules that I have been taught worked.

I learned not to teach students shortcuts, use manipulatives as much as possible, and to show the processes, explain why they work, and the product and not just the product.

TECHNOLOGY BLOG:
I think I've used technology more in this class than in all of my other classes. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to implement technology into my learning experience as a future educator. It is overwhelming when I think about how technologically advanced this next generation is whom I will be teaching. I am still nervous about using the smart board in the classroom, but before this class, I had never come in contact with one, so I feel like I am at a point where I am comfortable enough to play around with it and figure it out whereas before I wasn't at all. I feel like I've grown a lot in my understanding in how it works and also in understanding the importance of it in the classroom as it gets the students to actively engage in learning.

I've noticed that I have learned a lot about formatting Word documents because of the different requirements in our assignments in ETE 339 as well. I've never used a Google document before and the thought of it scared me a little, but I create them all of the time. I also use them outside of school in my organization for things such as sign up sheets and brainstorming ideas sheets. This tool is so handy to have in collaborating with others to accomplish a common task/goal.

I remember the calculators that I had in high school and I thought that they were technologically advanced and I graduated in 2000. As we looked at the calculators in class and went through the various activities yesterday, I was amazed that one could do so many things on a calculator and that they had become so versatile. I never would have dreamed that a calculator could set up a data table, find the lcd, gcd, etc.

These things goes to show that technology has come such a long way and should be implemented in the classroom. If you would have asked me in January if I was excited to use technology in the classroom, unfortunately, I would have responded the same as most teachers today that they didn't know enough about it to use it effectively. I think that at least now, though I'm not an expert in technology, have gotten enough exposure to it and the possibilities within the classroom that technology can be used that I am excited to try it out in my own class. I know that I will be learning as I go, but teachers are life long learners anyway. I am glad that I had the opportunity to experiment and practice with technology in this class. I feel that I've grown a lot in this area.