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Effective Use of Technology In the Classroom?
postermmxvicom writes "I remember in college I had one professor who, in addition to being a great teacher, really took advantage of the technology in the classroom to illustrate the concepts for Calculus and Linear Algebra. Well, now I am the teacher. I teach Algebra, AP Calculus, and Physics in high school. This year I have gotten a tablet and a wireless projector. Now I can write on my tablet instead of the board, as well as use other applications. I want to utilize this tech effectively for teaching. Would you please share how you have seen technology effectively used for Math and Physics — either specific software or how that software was used (specific or general)?"
Well powerpoint is the only thing usefull, my teachers ever used.
I would rather be taught with less technology when math is concerned.
I just feel that the blackboard is a much more fluid and natural medium to perform calculations. Also, I've seen those ELMO contraptions be a severe distraction, either because of having to align lighting or because you can see the teacher's hand up close. I've heard kids deride one of my teacher's hand because she was old.
Take your classes out into the world with those devices, project and draw on the side of your school building. Sketching out the equipment for your physics tests: the seesaws on the playground greased down with lard for example. Or the roller coaster, and a slice of pie on to be *dropped* at the loop. Use real world objects and situations that people can understand, instead of a perfectly spherical spring falling from the sky with a monkey climbing a rope on a pulley hooked to a parachute (unless of course you can sketch that, and then make it happen, because that's fair too.
Unless... you didn't get a day-bright battery powered wireless projector and tablet? Then I don't know, you're screwed, you should mail the devices to me, I'll *hold* them for you till you get back from jail for embezzling or misappropriating resources from the government.
Gravity Sucks
- then make it happen, because that's fair too.
+ then make it happen, because that's fair too).
sorry.
Gravity Sucks
It is a interative screen-whiteboard with real-world physics. It's kinda hard to describe without a movie.
The physics department at my university has started using "clickers." They are small handheld devices resembling calculators that students can use to wirelessly answer multiple-choice questions an instructor poses via e.g. a slide on a presentation. After everyone answers the question and the timer ticks down to zero, the instructor can display a histogram of counts/answer.
:) http://telr.osu.edu/clickers/ (I am not affiliated with OSU at this time)
Individual devices are tied to students in that only one id number is allowed per device, so these are also useful for taking attendence in large classes. Students enter their id upon connecting to the instructor's master node at the beginning of the class. Their utility for teaching depends largely on the questions the instructor asks, of course. If two answers receive similar amounts of support from students, individuals could be called on to explain their reasoning, helping the instructor to highlight where their weaknesses in understanding lie.
The devices are sort of a mixed blessing. I found that the best problems for them were those with two very similar answers that differed only conceptually, rather than mathematically.
Here's a link to one kind of clicker that's being used this semester (XP software via Parallels on OS X
Legalize it.
If my experience in High School still applies (and maybe it doesn't; it was a long time ago) you're going to turn out the lights to use that fancy gizno and half the class is going straight to sleep, the other half is going to be passing notes and shooting spitwads and paper airplanes around.
I suggest you compliment the technology there with a pair of night-vision goggles or something.
I think a major mistake teachers make is to discover new teaching technology and then invent a curriculum that uses them. This gets the process entirely backwards. If you try this, you're going to sacrifice learning in the interest of playing with your new toys.
... "this would work better if I can use my new gizmo." This is where the technology comes in. First find the problem, then find the solution.
You've got these new tools. That's great. Now forget about them. Design your lessons as you would. As you go, you're going to realize
One of the few things that I've seen that's been a good use of technology is using those in-class polling kits. You basically ask a multiple-choice question on a concept, then the class is polled. Once everyone answers, you can see the distribution and know what people were thinking. Can be useful to know if you're not getting an important concept over on the students and you know during class. The drawback is that it's limited to multiple-choice type answers, but you can require them to do a bit of work on their own.
So, what is the problem with a blackboard? Be precise.
Then, look at whether the technology will solve that/those problem(s). We're talking math here. Is the technology going to allow you to better explain some difficult concepts or will the focus end up being on the technology?
Blackboards work because blackboards always work. They don't need to be rebooted.
If you use OS X then the Apple Learning Interchange is a really good resource site. It has hundreds of teacher-contributed lesson plans.
- "When you want something with all your heart, the entire universe conspires to give it to you" -Paulo Coelho
... if you are teaching, say, programming.
Otherwise, turn the damn thing off and teach.
I say this as a professional programmer/neophile whose wife taught in a district that billg used to hold up as a tecnocational (I think I'll copyright that word) success story.
One way the tablet is better than a blackboard is that you can save a written copy of your lecture, and make copies available to the students. That way they can spend their time paying attention to the lecture, instead of rushing to copy everything down. This can make the class more interactive.
The PC can be used, in general, to demo the physics and calculus principles through animation. It can be a useful teaching tool, just don't let it replace the hands on activities usually done in the lab portions of the course. Sometimes doing is better than seeing.
I've had a professor that makes great use of his tablet, mostly because the notes are already written when he gets there, and if someone has a question he can write more on the fly.
This is at a post-grad level. I think high school math would benefit from animated examples.
I wouldn't go too far into the technology aspect, though. Pencil and paper are the tools to learn math.
The best math class I had was where the prof used contraptions he made out of springs and plywood to demonstrate differential equations.
If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
I've always found it cool and educational when one can fiddle with the various factors in equations and see how it changes the shape on a graph. It gives one a sense of proportion and relationships.
Table-ized A.I.
The other mistake that many of my tech-savvy instructors (both high-school teachers and professors)have made is distributing copies of your notes. It sounds like a good way of making sure all of your students gets all of the information, but it completly eliminates the need to take notes in class or even pay attention to what you're saying.
If you don't know how you're going to use it to meet your classroom goals, maybe you should be asking yourself why you intend to use it at all.
"Because it's there" doesn't seem like a good reason for introducing technology into the classroom.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
I have two suggestions. (a) if there are things that you find tedious (e.g. marking) or difficult (e.g. sketches, if you aren't a good artist), look for technological solutions to those so that you can devote your time and energy to more important things and won't get tired and frustrated; (b) don't focus on your new toys. Instead, think about what ideas and skills you have a hard time getting across and ask yourself how you could improve in those areas. Sometimes the answer will be something your toys are good for, maybe a simulation for an experiment you can't readily do, but sometimes it won't be technological. It might just be a better derivation of a theorem or formula or a clever diagram. If you focus too much on your toys, you run the risk of doing things that you, and maybe your students, find cool, but that aren't really of much educational value.
I took a discrete math in high school with a lot of boring BS. one of the most exciting part of it though, was learning how credit card numbers were generated and verified with check numbers.... as well as pulling information from someones drivers license number.
We also did limited forms of public key crypto.
What I'm trying to say is that if you can apply the science to ninja/james bond/intriging/profitable use cases... you can hold attention much longer and garner more interest.
In my university days, I understood a lot of calculus by visualizing an animated sequence (mean value theorem, limits, derivatives...). Animation is a great tool for these things. Same goes for numerical analysis.
Also (from the same days), linear algebra can be (often / sometimes) simplified to a 2d / 3d projection which can be displayed easily by a computer. Forget that you CAN'T draw in 3D or can't animate in 2D on the board - the computer can.
And of course - physics, chemistry, geography, history - omg, history would be so cool to learn with a projector, if done correctly (not just clips - diagrams, arrows on the world map describing population movements, pressures, wars) - all of the "real world" sciences are much more fun when working in the real world. Even political science (if your school offers it) can enjoy the benefits of a projector, even if only as a video machine (watching Marting Luther King Jr. making his speech for example).
However - I don't think that a projector is a "magic wand". It conforms to the equation "invest more time, reap more results". If you invest the proper amount of time preparing good material (and not only video clips), your students would enjoy it immensely.
Just my 2 bits.
When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout [Robert Heinlein]
Would you please share how you have seen the professor you mentioned in passing, use technology effectively for Math and Physics lessons? Go into detail.
Environmentalism is the new Victorianism. Everyone ties on a green corset and pretends we're virtuous.
In college my calc professor wrote everything on his tablet and projected it on a large screen. Not only did it make it much easier to read then chalk but he saved the notes as a PDF and uploaded it to his website a few hours after class. I always took notes but sometimes I would miss something or miswrite something so looking at his notes helped a lot.
Sorry, not a math or physics example. I'm a beginning law school student, and the best use I've seen so far is by the TA in my criminal law class. The professor has put the TA in charge of the PowerPoint presentation (he's the only professor there to actually use PowerPoint that I've seen) and the TA has this tendency of putting up the answers to whatever questions the prof is asking when some hapless student is getting grilled to death (and this prof loves to grill students). The TA always has a little grin on his face, and the Prof never turns around to find out... I imagine he'll force us all to pay a fee at the end of the semester for his services - a fee I would gladly pay =)
I try to use Mythbusters sub-episodes every so often as teaching tools. As most of us know, it's pretty entertaining and, while a little too seat-of-your-pants to serve as rigorous science, it definitely captures the scientific spirit and frequently inspires teachers and students alike. We'll typically watch some part of an episode, discuss the principles involved in the myth, and try and do some calculation related to the episode (e.g. number of ping pong balls to lift a boat off the bottom of the bay, terminal velocity of a penny, etc.). With your setup, you can nicely embed the parts of the video into a presentation then use the tablet to lead a real-time discussion of various topics of interest. As you probably know, there are many nice physics videos out there which can be used in this way. I also can suggest using a nice plotting calculator with your setup to quickly demonstrate ideas like Taylor expansion, Fourier decomposition, basic plotting, etc.
There is some software available out there that will analyze video motion using basic mechanics tools (CM motion, rotational motion, vectors, motion diagrams, position versus time, etc.). You give it a few anchor points on the real video capture and can step it through the motion but with all the vectors and graphs superimposed. Although it is a cool idea, sadly, the version I tried was old quite clumsy (made more clumsy by the laptop/AV setup). However, with your tablet and wireless, you may have more versatility if updated software exists.
There are several intriguing student grading/evaluation systems out there that use bar codes (for example, here). I know at a glance this sounds rather sinister and 1984-ish, but with student-customized bar codes (not tattooed on their foreheads, but rather printed on their papers), I think this can be used quite well to facilitate quick grading of quizzes with real-time feedback and histograms, class participation credit, and other creative classroom data organizing solutions. This could be made especially effective with the mobility provided by your tablet and wireless.
Anyway, all the best with your pending projects.
i\hbar\dot{\psi}=\hat{H}\psi
In my experience as a teacher, technology in the classroom is only effective if the students are interacting with it. You have a good start with your tablet PC. the next thing I would add is 4 or 5 Wii controllers. These are fairly cheap and can be easily adopted to the P.C. You can then create all kinds of interactive applications and activities using any programming language or even Flash if you are so inclined. You also want to avoid spending a lot of your own money on technology for the classroom. I've fallen into this trap more than once.
If you teach middle school, don't order one of these. http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Meetin gs/Home/Solutions/Product_Catalog/DMS800Series/Pro duct_Info/
(heh, he said unit)
You'd better be careful now. Carrying on like this will qualify you for Instant Sainthood in the eyes of many /.ers.
I had a calc teacher that is wheelchair bound. he extensively used two or three programs to great effect. One was basically just a word processor that was specialized for math equations. he used a lot of colors for different parts of equations, to show what happened in a certain step and things like that. another was a broad graphing/visual suite that allowed him to graph things out in many ways. it's been a while, I'm sorry I can't help any more, but instead of doing some chickenscratch on a tablet then saving a bitmap, he created text pdfs with equations and everything.
Asking "how can I use technology" is always the wrong question. Your goal is not to use technology, its to teach. The correct question is "How can I increase the amount my students learn?" or perhaps "How can I increase the number of students who learn?". When you look at solutions to this technology *may* be part of it, but it probably won't be.
For physics, the thing I always found best was lots of real world examples. Don't explain mechanical advantage- set up a pulley system and let them lift a car. Don't explain pressure- show it to them by lying on a bed of nails without being cut. The more fantastic the example, the better. About the only thing that I ever really found technology useful for in physics was to show the effect of changing parameters in equations, and you can find plenty of java applets on the web that do that.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
But need to adapt your lessons to work with the technology. I work as a Technology Facilitator at a large high school and its a fact that many classes / subjects benefit from judicious use of technology and multimedia. If you can hook up a PC/Mac to the projector you can now use interactive websites (math - physics) to add depth / spice to your lessons. Our math dept makes heavy use of digital projectors - Elmo's (document cameras) - and programs on PC/Macs that can be projected up to the white screen. Many teachers also use a Mimio ( http://www.mimio.com/ ) to make any white board into an interactive white-board. You can do an entire lecture while capturing the content of the board to a digital file that you can print out for students or post on your website.
..... since they were 15.
The goal here is to teach math (pencil + paper) - but also to draw the student into new experiences or ways of seeing the problem.
And keep in mind that most of these Slash-Dotters are either geezers or pre-geezers and haven't sat in a room full of 15yr olds
Its not the years, its the mileage
Use of blackboards/whiteboards works very well. The prof writes the equations down as he explains them, and the students handwrite them into their notes. The prof writing them down keeps the focus on the relevant part, and the student handwriting a copy helps fix it in their brains.
It ain't broke, and doesn't need fixing.
Like the iclicker can help you gauge student understanding. (counting the blank stares helps too).
There are quite a number of options, but it can depend on what your using (OS wise). I remember using a nuclear power station simulator in physics once that was kinda kewl. But its been years since i was at school too. I would suggest searching on code.google.com, sourceforge.net and freshmeat.net. I know sourceforge.net and freshmeat both have quite a few visually based software packages that revolve around physics and maths.
:)
This might be a good example: http://freshmeat.net/projects/physics3d/
The tricky thing for me would be to try and apply visual aids to maths, depending on the level required and what type of math it is. As has been suggested though, the ability to modify notes and distribute them on the fly would be a big plus. Sitting there writing down what the teach was saying (while it does seem to increase the ability of the human mind to retain things) was always an annoyance!
Probably not the most useful post however!
The title should be "Effective use of software tools in Algebra, AP Calculus, and Physics classroom in high school"
I find it stunning (and disturbing) that there is this notion that adding tech to the classroom is by default beneficial. This idea is complete rubbish and the studies are starting to mount that show this (see below). Especially when it comes to the hard sciences and mathematics. We know that 'dead poets society' ruined a generation of english teachers. IMO, technology is ruining a generation (or more) of science/math teachers.
/never/ seen it used properly) that they actually seriously detract from the class. In fact, people tend to do the exactly same nonsense with powerpoint that they do with the chalkboard i.e. write what they say. Yes, I can read, tell me/write on the board something I can't.
/. archives for the links). The conclusions were that all this tech actually largely prevents learning because the kids are distracted by all the "shiny objects" rather than actually paying attention to the content.
I've seen exactly ZERO tech used in class beyond an overhead that was anywhere near effective whether high-school or beyond. Hell, even when I taught *C++* I used the white-board a significant chunk of the time. Also, in high-school, that cover of darkness can prove to be a bad choice.
Powerpoint (and similar products) are so poorly used (I've actually
There have also been studies on using tech with kids (look through
So, my suggestion is to put away all of you expensive toys (that are proving to be less and less effective as time goes on), pick up a piece of chalk and actually teach them. After all, when it comes to Math and Science, all you need is quick sketches to get the ideas across, now don't you.
Animations and interactivity are always great- Mathematica, Maple, or Python + Matplotlib can be handy for this. If you have access to fluid or electrical system modelling software too, great. Otherwise, there is not a lot you can do. At the end of the day, there is only one way to learn to apply principals: a combination of reading and examining the ideas, and examples.
Some people have mentioned having the notes reproduced in PDF- I found I did much better in the university classes where notes were distributed rather than having to be copied down, because it leaves more time for meditation on the subject matter, and reduces needless duplication of work. I doubt it would work the same in high school, though.
We at slashdot are scientists, specialists and kernel hackers. Your FUD will be found out.
Hi,
I trained as a physics teacher 12 years ago, and worte a couple of small applications for the studnets to use during lab sessions. They were basic sumulations, using line graphics, and Turbo C++. They worked quite well in the class, when combined with traditional labs as well.
You can download the Visual Studio express editions for free, and it should be fairly easy to get something simple up and running. Just create a windows app, then drop on a timer, and use the events to drive an animation. Start with something simple, then build on it.
Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated up.
I teach AP Calc, and I bring my Macbook Pro to class. I find the Grapher Utility included with OS X to be really cool. I use it as a quick way to show graphs (one of my favorites is y=xe^(1/x)...slant asymptote and interesting behavior at x=0). I can drag the graphs around, and zoom in and out. This is really useful for showing asymptotic behavior for example. You can also create quick pdf versions of the graphs that can be easily be pasted into other word processing software...this makes test creation a lot easier. The output is quite high quality...far better, and easier than using Excel to graph...yech!
But if you don't have a mac, I have seen some really cool looking software that works with tablet pc's (I've forgotten what it is called). You can write all your notes by hand on the tablet, and they show up just as they would on a white board. But then you can save all of your class notes. This is extremely useful if you have some student come to you and say that they need the class notes because they were sick. I haven't personally used it, so I can't totally vouch for its usability, but it seemed pretty neat at first glance. Be prepared to shell out big bucks for light bulb replacements if you use the projector every day.
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when first he appears as a protector - Plato (423 to 327 BC)
Have them calculate at what height you would have to drop your tablet to break it. Then have them test the results.
MG
Randomly distributing Karma whenever possible.
http://webphysics.davidson.edu/Applets/Applets.htm l
I have learned more math and physics as a result of self-guided programming than I ever did in school. I remember a few years ago I was working on a simple vector graphics system for a video game I was making, and I finally understood the point of converting between cartesian and polar coordinates. Then I added physics to the program and picked up ideas like velocity along the angle of impact vs. the tangent. Recently I was working on a program to find color differences, and had to scale certain 0-1 values into a curve by using various exponents.
These are all simple things that I should have picked up in school. Things which I'm sure were explained but without any practical (or even impractical) application. So I only had the vaguest recollection that they were even possible. But the moment I encountered a programming problem that I wanted to solve, yet required this kind of knowledge, I vacuumed it up.
That may not be what you mean by "using technology" in the classroom, but it's what came to mind for me.
Cheers.
1) The quadratic formula
2) Factoring of polynomials
3) Polynomial long division
4) Completing the square (which I still cannot remember).
Everything else is better handled with a whiteboard and enough colored markers. At least until you get to slope fields, where Mathematica is a very welcome aid.
If technology is used in the classroom, it needs to be ready and reliable. Even the time spent waiting for a projector to warm up, is a large loss from 50 classroom minutes.
The above is from the perspective of an adult university student.
In high school, I often found that attempts to use new technology in the classroom were more distracting than anything. It often rook a few minutes to get everything set up, what with messing around with wires, waiting for projectors to start up and such. It's just enough time for the students to have started talking amongst themselves and get distracted from whatever you're actually teaching. And once it was finally started, the technology rarely seemed to add anything. In many cases, it seemed more like the teachers were just saying "Oooh, loookie what I can do," rather than actually doing something that really helped people learn things. Don't try to plan lessons with the intention of using a certain technology; only use it if it seems to be the best way to convey information. And when you use it, try to make sure everything is set up beforehand and can start up immediately.
Spam, pop-up, viruses etc. would be a major distraction and a source of amusement to your class, so I would suggest that the machine has very good virus and spy-ware protection and is NEVER used for personal Internet access or any education unrelated programs and stays off the Internet while running during your class (unless you must show them an online page in real time - save an offline copy of the page for the class).
Remember, you will have some sharp eyed students in your class who will work out your email address, IM user names, IM friends list, what programs you have installed etc.etc. if they even so much as see any related program window or start menu for a split second.
Never update any piece of software of windows for that matter just before a class (if it isn't broken don't fix it)
I completed my teaching qualifications (Math and IT, high school) in 2005 and did a little bit of research into this. I'm sorry I don't have time to find links but here's what I found:
* When small groups or individual students were given wireless voting devices and some of the lesson was interactive (i.e. "So, what does everyone think will happen when I drop this metal into water?") the students enjoyed and recalled the lesson better.
* When *anonymous* brainstorming software was used, student participation is significantly improved. (Improved participation in general has been linked to better learning for decades)
Check out the ERIC database, I think some articles are available with full-text and you can get some pretty cool ideas just from the abstracts.
From the lecture end: Realtime computer graphics can be useful for illustrating concepts that can't really be represented well in static drawings on a blackboard, especially those that involve time evolution.
Solutions to Schroedinger's equation in one dimension, for instance, mapping XYZ to x, Re(psi), Im(psi). Then do time evolution to illustrate things like wave packets.
Electromagnetic radiation is another -- computer graphics are useful for showing the fields produced by a charge moving in a particular way. For introductory students, programs that automatically generate the fields and equipotentials resulting from a given electrostatic charge distribution can be instructive if the students get to fiddle with it. (It's useless in lectures because it can be drawn on the board.)
Classical mechanics, since it deals with the motion of visible macroscopic objects, can usually be covered pretty easily with video clips and real things to fiddle with -- everyone studying rigid-body motion (Euler's equations, etc.) should see the tumbling wrench video shot aboard the space shuttle.
Technology is a spectacular tool for getting attention. Shiny bits, movement, videos of explosions... All things technology does well. Other than that, it is often used as a replacement for leaning math than a tool. Use it to grab the kids' attention, then teach them the old fashioned way, then go back to moving and shiny things every once in a while, to keep them paying attention. (This written by someone who slept through 80% of his pre-calculus class because the teacher was too boring, and couldn't keep my ADD infested attention span. That class got repeated in college.)
I work for an Architectural firm and we are also trying use our technology more efficiently. We are using similar technology for reviewing architectural drawings and 3d models. We use a Smart Technologies brand SMART Board that was developed for use in educational institutions. Many schools across the nation are utilizing the boards for teaching math, science many other subjects. Many of the educational tools that are bundled with the SMART Board are inside of what is called the "Notebook Software" in the galleries. Inside the gallery you will find transparent protractors, rulers, etc. I conducted a demo with a smart board last year, and another one of the features that the teachers really liked was the ability to record what is happening on screen and save it to a movie file. For instance we worked through the process of a complex mathematical problem documenting each step. The teachers said it would be a great idea to make the video available online so that their students could review it if they had a question outside of class. I should also state that I did the demo as a favor and I am not employed or in any way affiliated with Smart Technologies Inc., however I do use their product on a daily basis and it is an amazing tool for anyone who would like to do more with technology.
THANK YOU
Thank you Twitter for actually posting an insightful comment without resorting to any mention of "M$" or "Windoze" or anything else childish. This is the kind of post that is actually a benefit to all of us on Slashdot. Keep making posts like this, please!
Thanks again!
If you need to produce high quality handouts or overheads etc with high mathematical formula content try the LaTEX typesetting tool, it does a much better job than a word processor. It's a bit tricky to learn but a little time spent in using it will pay dividends, plus, of course, it's free!
I remember that when I was at school, teachers sometimes would use technology in a pointless way.
For example, pointless way to use a projector: Take your printed/handwritten notes without graphs or drawings and project them. Might just as well distribute copies. Projecting is pointless when there's nothing interesting to see, and the time to set it up takes away from the class.
Pointless way to use a lab: Get everybody into the lab, then tell them to open their books and study theory. Back then I was really puzzled what the point was. Today I'm fairly sure this must have been some way to get the school to claim the lab was used when it really wasn't. As a student, that was seriously annoying. Here I was thinking that we'd actually be testing something today, but no.
Wrong way to use computers: Get everybody into the computer room, then spend half the class messing with software that doesn't work, and going from computer to computer checking who's having what problems. Test before you try to use it in your class, make sure everybody knows how to do what's needed to follow.
All this probably sounds really obvious. But I've seen all of those mistakes done, sadly.
I went to Nanyang Technological University Singapore. Believe me, over there we had the most technically assisted smart classrooms. Media projectors, tablets connected to projectors, SMS questions to be shown on a seperate screen live and video recordings. My experience has been that other than the tablet thing, nothing else adds much value to the typical whiteboard setup except video recordings. These video recordings of lectures synced with the powerpoint slides which were available till the semester exams were done with were immensely useful in clearing out the last minute doubts. I wonder why this hasnt found much penetration in the universities/colleges internationally. Especially the wealthy ones.
I am currently a Ph.D. student in mathematics and have been teaching tutorials and courses since my second year of Uni. My feeling about using computers and various pieces of technology to teach either one of these topics is that they are counterproductive. I had two incredible teaches as an undergraduate in math and physics, and NEITHER used technology to make them effective teachers. What made them good was that they knew how to explain seemingly complex ideas in simple intuitive terms; and they actually helped students to visualize mathematics/physics in their head. They essentially taught students how to teach themselves new ideas.
The fact of the matter is, powerpoint style lectures have been shown to harm the attention span of students. It's like when you were in grade school and the teacher put on a movie for class; you zone out almost immediately. As for using computers to aid in 2D and 3D visualization, frankly I don't think this is a particularly good idea either. Students aren't always going to have a nice 3D movie given to them when they are faced with a new concept in math or physics. In higher level mathematics, naive 2D and 3D representations of concepts can be either misleading or incorrect; and making a student dependent on such simple visualizations cripples their ability to visualize more abstract concepts in effective ways. I believe in teaching students how to visualize things in their head; that is, how to sketch out pieces of a problem from something they see in the form of mathematics.
The point is, anyone can sit down and read a textbook... and if you are a teacher that essentially just regurgitates what is inside the textbook, you will never be a great teacher no matter how much technology you use. A great teacher or lecturer is the one who can show the student a path to original intuition. This will enable the student to draw their own visualizations, etc. when confronted with a new problem. This is precisely what made Richard Feynmann such an incredible teacher; he used intuition to make the most complex concepts intuitively clear to anyone... then he reconciled that intuition with mathematics. The mark by which I judge myself in understanding a subject is that I should be able to pull someone off the street and get at least the idea of what I'm talking about across to them in a few minutes. As I deal mostly in differential equations, I obviously can't do this just by writing equations; but it can be done intuitively by using simple explanations, heuristic examples and sketches.
I'm also a firm believer in the idea that students are meant to take notes in class. Writing information down in a note taking fashion forces the student to acknowledge the content being taught on some level. If nothing else, it reinforces what the lecture is saying. I know taking notes from a lectures that just dumps out information is difficult; but I believe them to be remarkably effective when paired with a teacher who conveys more in the way of intuition than statements of fact. The textbook is there to give the data... as a teacher you are meant to give the intuition to the student so they can sit down and understand that data. Forcing them to write down notes on their own will enable them to build a more solid connection with the intuition you are (hopefully) conveying.
In the end, learning by rote is the lowest form of understanding. Next comes the ability to do problems that you are already acquainted with. After this level comes the ability to solve slightly new problems by combining methods you used to solve previous problems. After this level, one gets into various levels of intuition which enable one to solve completely new problems. I try to teach my students in the hopes that they are seeking at least this level of understanding. I wish more teachers would spend more time working on their lectures along these lines as opposed to spending so much time and money to make their lectures nothing more than a powerpoint presentation.
I know this may come off
This will cause flames, but it is the best advice.
Since your TabletPC has 1GB of RAM and a very capable Intel 950 Video. The first thing you need to do is pick up a copy of Vista Ultimate or Premium. The pen and TabletPC support in Vista is years ahead of XP running TabletPC Windows. (You might want to upgrade to 2GB of RAM, even with XP the performance difference for TabletPCs is noticeable when it is doing voice or handwriting recognition.)
Next get a copy of Office 2007 OneNote. It will be your new best friend for writing, preparing notes, animations, videos, web content and even doing math in the application as you write.
It is like Windows Journal on crack, as you can even voice record your lectures and include a copy of the Audio and notes in standard web formats for you students to download or even OneNote formats if you want the audio and writing to be in sync for your users.
Office 2007 Word also works well with properly formatting equations and converting hand notes to type forms without losing your equation or notation formats.
Since you are a teacher, you can get the Education versions of all this software cheap, and just Vista and OneNote 2007 will transform what you are doing with your TabletPC into a whole new direction.
Also check out the Microsoft Education software constucts and Forums. There are lots of bright people doing what you are wanting to do and will have been suggestions for other software specfic to what you are teaching than the answers you will find on SlashDot, as most people posting here couldn't even give you 5 changes between Vista with built in TabletPC features and XP TabletPC, as most here run from MS technology.
Yes I know I will get flamed on this, but for Tablet technology MS is the 'best' provider of an OS and basic software that makes the technology shine and work effortlessly.
Obviously, adding technology to a classroom is not inherently beneficial. The mere presence of a bunch of transistors in the room will not improve the students' comprehension. But it's also a bit premature to dismiss it completely. Socrates strongly disliked the whole "marks on papyrus scrolls" technology which was cutting edge in his day -- which is why he never wrote anything down himself. We depend on his student Plato for our knowledge of Socrates' ideas. You and I, right now, are as close to the beginning of digital technology as Socrates was to the beginning of books.[1]
Education takes place inside the student's skull. It's a process of acquiring new concepts, trying to understand them, and then use them. Usually education involves failing to grasp the concept a few times, and then "getting it." The job of the teacher is to introduce the concepts, and to create an environment where the student can try them out, get it wrong, and then get it right. Digital tech can probably help with both steps (introducing concepts, and creating the learning environment). So far a lot of the ways we've tried it have not worked very well -- PowerPoint is an excellent case in point. So PowerPoint isn't useful. Fine. That doesn't mean nothing will ever be useful. Let's try a whole bunch of approaches, scrap the ones that don't work well, and then try even more approaches.
[1] The Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures had been using written communication for a good long while before it reached the Greeks, of course; but Socrates was close to the beginning of books within his own culture.
The problem with powerpoint slides is that someone recently figured out we're not made to read text off a slide and hear someone talk at the same time. We only have enough brain power for one, not for both. If you even try to -- and people instinctively will -- you'll go fuzzy brained and remember neither. So in effect showing powerpoint slides badly, can be in fact worse than not writing anything anywhere.
Now they figured that out for management presentations, and why you come empty-headed from of a presentation you were actually interested in. But I can't come up with any argument as to why it would work better in schools. In fact, it might be outright scary. Using powerpoint instead of a blackboard may well be _the_ most destructive thing one can do.
There are ways to use powerpoint well, like you'd use an overhead projector. E.g., to show charts, relevant illustrations, etc. E.g., in a biology class you could show a picture of a cell's structure as a slide instead of as an overhead projector foil. And leave people time to digest it, instead of forcing them to also take notes at the same time.
But a substitute for a blackboard it ain't. On a blackboard:
A) you're led to follow the current focus of attention, whatever word is currently being written. You don't just get a big word soup to get lost in and out of sync, you get to follow the cursor (hand with chalk) so to speak, at the same time you're hearing it. It works to reinforce what you hear, not to try to split your attention between two different texts.
B) the teacher is only human too, and he too would have trouble if he tried speaking one thing while writing something completely different. So there's a self-reinforcing mechanism to hold prevent it from becoming an attention-splitting device. As a subcase, if he takes some time to explain why he did something to a formula, he won't already start writing the next one.
C) it enforces _some_ structure, because a blackboard is all the space you can get at a time. Which also cuts back on distractions like flipping back and forth between charts. Which is a distraction. Everytime you go "hmm, this one we don't need.. next... nope, this one we'll learn next week... let's see the next one... nah, we don't need that... next... aha, here we are..." that's not just wasted time. That's a bunch of people who've either tried to read it fast and the next minutes will be busy figuring that out instead of what you say next, or (probably most) whose attention and focus went right out the window while you did that little powerpoint dance.
D) well, I hate to be mean to teachers (God knows they have a shitty job already), but it forces them to prepare that material instead of just borrowing someone's slides. And if they didn't know it too well, they'll at least recap it while they write it on the blackboard.
If you will, what I'm saying at points C an D is that I see it as the same as in IT: the better tools and languages we had, the more unqualified monkeys got hired to use them. I'm all for better tools and compilers, don't get me wrong. But in a lot of places the trend wasn't to do more with them, but to lower the baseline for the people hired to use them. And they'll feel the less of a need to learn what they're doing there. After all, the tool will do the thinking for them, right?
The same might just happen in schools. I can see some people (e.g., substitute teachers) going into a class with someone else's powerpoint presentation, but barely knowing what it's about.
Except in IT you have at least some reality check whether it worked or not. If it doesn't compile or doesn't run the test cases, you know you've screwed up. In teaching we might not even know it before we pump out a few generations of complete airheads, for no fault of their own. And for a change I don't mean just the dumb jocks and prom queens, because the powerpoint fuzzy-brain effect applies to nerds interested in that topic too.
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
LemonLINK.
Great name, ain't it? It describes the nyetwork pretty accurately.
Par for the course for a district who named this guy Teacher of the Year.
My wife is pretty happy to be out of there...
Hello,
You have the misfortune of being a high school teacher. You are probably very limited in what you can actually teach because the course work must be all rigidly defined, especially now in the era on 'No Child Left Behind' and the federally enforced overemphasis on testing.
You have the additional misfortune of being a teacher of a subject that all students must master to get their HS diploma but less than 1% will ever use in their future lives. I work on the margin of the tech industry and I've used high school algebra only once in thirty years. Had to sit through hundreds of hours of classes in it and hundreds of hours of homework which for me was like carving concrete with a teaspoon.
For algebra (assuming for the sake of argument that it is worth learning), the best tool would be any program that allows the students to move the terms around the equation by clicking, highlighting, and dragging. Then the software should let them know if the resulting equation is equal to the original one. And if not, why not. Also, software that puts simple values into the x and y variables and quickly lets them know whether the equation balances or not. Plus an animated tutor program that shows the steps for solving complex equations. A program with hundreds of solved examples, not just two or three solved examples.
For calculus, I recommend bringing a dog, a thermometer, and a gun to class. Shoot the dog and put the thermometer into it. Take readings over the next few hours to show how the heat loss of a recent corpse follows a specific natural log curve and how forensic pathologists use these formulas to determine time of death.
For logarhythms, measure the distances between the frets of an electric guitar to show how each distance is 2 raised to the 1/12 power from the previous fret and how this formula makes possible tuned scales.
If any of these things work, then consider getting a television show to teach math through iPod instead of in a public school.
I use a programme called BBFlashback Blueberry Software. It records everything that happens on the screen and your voice. My students find this very useful because they can listen to the lesson over and over again in case they missed it the first time. It's also useful for adult students who have jobs and cannot make every class. You have a variety of playback options. We use Flash which plays in the students' browsers once they've installed the plugin.
Does blinding disrupting students with a laser pointer count?
I'm both enthusiastic as well as sceptical (and wrote and talked about it [PDF]). Here are some major points for me:
The key to using technology effectively is to not think about the technology. Think about how to convey information to students. How long does it really take for a concept to sink in? Actually doing math or physics is a skill; it takes practice (i.e. homework), and it is a process not an answer. If you can use technology to show the process in action at a speed at which students can absorb it, you are using technology well.
Never use technology to avoid taking time to write something. Guess what? If you don't write it, they don't have time to either. And if you provide notes, then they won't even take the time to listen--why bother, your students will think, when I can just read the notes?
What you want to do is take them through the process, slowly, with examples, showing how to do the manipulations and explaining why at each stage a decision is made. (If you have to deal with moderate numbers of students who no longer remember how to do algebra--and you almost certainly will--you may need to elect to leave them behind; if you have huge numbers of such students, you'd better go through how to do algebra again!)
Here's one way that I've used a tablet to be helpful. You can start with a well-designed picture or graph, then draw all over it while you're explaining a concept. You can show a short movie of an interesting phenomenon, then dissect the process, e.g. by taking out frames and scribbling equations on them.
One big mistake that people make is thinking either that computers are useless and shouldn't be used for homework, or in thinking that the fundamentals are useless and you should just teach people to do derivatives with Mathematica. It's a waste of time for almost everyone to do math by hand these days if they have access to a symbolic package. But they had better understand _exactly_ how the operations work and under what conditions they fail, or they're liable to have the symbolic package perform nonsense.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem with teaching is that students don't come in with the right background. And a tablet can't fix that.
--Rex
http://lowery.tamu.edu/Teaming/Morgan1/sld023.htm
See if technology will allow you to move down the pyramid.
Deleted
From what I've seen, best presenters, when presenting to a limited number of people in the room, use flip charts when possible. Which means they draw their stuff on paper as they speak rather than show Power Point slides. This is not without a reason.
Same, I think, should be applied to teaching.
Your drawing is more characteristic than a sleek Power Point presentation. And it's more "real", too - you flip back to a previous picture and enhance it with new details, so your students see and feel the progress. And the process of somebody drawing engages people more than flipping through a set of slides.
Presenting - and teaching for sure - is about engaging people's minds and imagination, rather than feeding them information. Incomplete and simplified sketches engage imagination and summon understanding much better than finely animated examples generated by computer - because the gaps in your sketches make students' minds work where smooth and correct animation just creates a false feeling of understanding.
If you're to speak to a large audience you'll have to use a projector. That's why best classes are kept small.
Regards,
Alexander
Very funny presentation!
Doubting the existence of evolution is like doubting the existence of China: It just shows that you're uninformed.
http://interactiveresources.co.uk/ are pretty damm good, and designed with tablets/whiteboards etc in mind. their products are probably a bit junior for what you have in mind though.
There is quite a lot of cool projects in that book
With the tablet you could use something like
http://jequation.sourceforge.net/
to write handouts for your students.
The http://www.fi.uu.nl/wisweb/en/">Freudenthal institute have a large collection of java applets for secondary/high school education. There's lots of others out there too.
Spreadsheets also have enormous potential for teaching algebra concepts - particularly for getting over the idea of variables and functional relationships (after solving pages of simple "if x + 5 = 7 what is x?" equations, kids often get hung up on the notion that "x" is always a specific number...) Set up simple formulae in a spreadsheet, hide the formulae and have the kids reverse-engineer the formula... [1] Although a web browser might let you download a few :-)
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
Congratulations: you've got some of the potentially most interesting classes to use technology in - but that potential will be wasted if you just use the tablet and projector to show Powerpoint slides.
When you're designing your class, think: what can the tablet do that would be useful that could not have been done without it. Powerpoint fails this test miserably - an overhead projector would do just as well.
Here are some possible uses that do pass the test:
One last suggestion: don't hog the tablet - let your students use it too. You can set up a problem, and invite students to come up and work through it individually or in groups, showing their thought process to the rest of the class. The students will learn much more, and everybody - including you - will have a lot more fun.
Good luck!
My best professor, and by "best" I mean I actually learned the most from him then from a textbook, and keep the knowledge today, did not even use a whiteboard. He used white (or yellow) chalk on a blackboard. It was how he did it that mattered.
* Come into class, place yesterdays work in front of him, sit down, copy the blackboard into your notebook. You have five minutes so write fast.
*Professor flips the board. Five minutes starting now.
*Spend the rest of the class discussing and explaining the facts in great depth. Professor points at someone every other minute and asks a question on the material. Asks hard questions. If you can't keep up in notes, you had better ask someone to copy, because he will not slow down. If you can't keep up in the critical thinking portion, get the hell out and accept a fail.
* Professor handed out copies of that nights questions, due at the beginning of the next class.
I was blessed to have that man's class twice in my life. Once in high school, the other in my junior year of college. I tell you, it was that man's pep that kept us awake and going, and his zest for the subject. It was highly infectious.
And as for a textbook in that class? He thought that the point of the class was half facts, half how to think with the facts... He was the textbook. At the start of the first class, when he explained how each class was going to be until the end, he gave all of us a list of books on the subject we could read. Each one was a fantastic read, not a dull one among them.
3 degrees of separation from Vladimir Putin
- Review this information about use of commas as punctuation
- Consult a dictionary for the correct spelling of 'useful'
- See you tomorrow!
Allow me to shamelessly mutilate a famous Adam Savage quote:I redject yer sbelling and zubstitude my ovn....
Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
Use a tool such as ProfCast (profcast.com) to record your lectures for students to review afterwards. It's an easy way to provide students with a review of your instruction which allows them to focus on your lesson during class (as opposed to focussing on trying to transcribe what you just said). ProfCast records audio and then stitches the slides to the audio and uses the slide titles for chapter markers. It's actually pretty slick.
Please, use this tech with caution. I've sat through calculus classes where the teacher has just got an interactive whiteboard. She rushed through presentations, annotating the slides and moving on so quickly there was no chance to take any notes. The other less obvious issue in a matrices class was that frequently if we had trouble visualising a transformation, she would quickly bring it up on the whiteboard using graphing software. This meant in the exam, when we had no access to this software, we found we hadn't had enough practice of just sitting there and working it out.
I'm sure there are some very good uses, although I've found myself very skeptical. My advice as a student would be to use this tech as a more convenient way of doing exactly what you were doing before - writing up notes on the board, displaying pictures/graphs, showing videos. Don't use tech for the sake of tech.
Chalk and board. Plus some props to demonstrate stuff. Seriously, computers don't _really_ help students really understand stuff.
Physics? Nothing beats a good 'ol number of balls, rods, ramps, tubes etc etc in demonstrating how stuff works. Watching virtual cars colliding on the screen doesn't really make students appreciate the nature of momentum and conservation of energy.
Chemistry? How does using some 3D software showing off molecules really compare to a good 'ol titration in the lab?
Biology? Disecting a rat just beats reading about rat morphology any day.
Mathematics? Take the students down to the beach and measure waves. Their height, period, variation in shape, speed etc.
Computers and other technology is useful for analysing and summarising the data, but get the students out of the classroom to gather the data.
Sometimes students benefit from visually seeing the connections between different mathematical representations of the concepts they're learning. A good interactive geometry program can help there. Lots of teachers use Geometer's Sketchpad (by KeyPress) or Cabri (by CabriLog). If the kids are also using graphing calculators, like the TI-84+, see if you can get your school to spring for a TI-Navigator system to let you get information back and forth on the fly.
For most physics and math there is no 'technology' that is going to be anything but distracting unless you can make its use transparent. Obviously I'm not talking about the apparatus required to de experiments or demonstrations, I'm talking support tech. Sure slides are great, though I'd use slides and the blackboard (since you never know what people will ask). Sure, you can use the web for making assignmetns available. What you don't want is a song and dance show, you want to teach not entertain.
What worries me most about tech in the classroom is that it can actually take away from learning. I was in the last class in my high school that wasn't allowed programmable calculators during exams. wtf? Simple calculator may be fine, but doing math or physics isn't about plugging numbers into an equation. If you don't understand what the equations mean you got nothing. So what is learned by letting you calculator do the work?
Ok, my math teacher used to let me write programs to do my homework, mostly because he knew that I'd be learning the formulas adn principles. Nowadays you'd be asking kids to google 'calculus package' rather than having them actually learn what to do. Unless you plan on checking their code. So yes, computers could be usefull, but only if it makes people do the work.
I would go so far to say that banning tech from the classroom might even be best. Basic math and physics (and indeed advanced math and physics as well up to a point) require no tech. Give those kids a clay tablet and get them thinking.
Mind you this applies to math and physics (and arguably chemistry or even biology). In any case it applies to exact subjects. If you're teaching sports I'd suggest some of those sentry robots they built in Korea.
Assuming you're teaching a maths/science class.
Use mathematica to display graphs, mutable by parameters input in various fields etc.
It's a very good visual tool.
- Knowledge representation. The program should be able to be used to represent knowledge in some way;
- Generalizable. The program should be usable in different content or subject areas;
- Critical thinking. These applications should engage students in critical thinking;
- Transferable learning. The skills learned using Mindtools should transfer to thinking in various different fields;
- Simple, powerful formalism. Mindtools should support simple but deep and powerful ways of thinking; and
- Easily learnable. The mental benefit deriving from the use of the program should not be greater than the effort required to learn it.
On a very practical note for physics, various companies (Vernier Software and Technology (www.vernier.com) for example-I've used these in my chemistry and biology classes) offer a range of probes that can be used to effectively measure data of various kinds. These can provide a great resource for students to design their own experiments, and a single probe/computer set-up can do an entire class if used properly.Reference: Jonassen, D., Computers in the Classroom. Mind tools for critical thinking. 1996, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
OH, PLEEEEEASE...M$ idiot fanboy...
:-)
:-)
As a high school teacher who used linux exclusively during the past 5 years in computer, English as a second language and science classes, linux is LIGHT-YEARS ahead of any M$ junk. For starters, they can take the software home, ALL of it, and use it at home! That's a biggie but only the beginning...the learning potential is basically unlimited. Explore whatever you wish, including the software, experiment...change it!
M$ is the MacDonald's of the computer world...mass produced junk of low quality, constantly breaking down so you need to buy yet another 'update', virus package, maintenance agreement, expensive service contract, etc. and all the same (just constant, never-ending excuses/scams to get into your wallet). Linux is the customized, gourmet, hand-built Rolls Royce of the software (and EDUCATION) fields of the world.
Get with the program
This sounds like something for testing, not teaching.
At the bottom of the
about the lovliness of the powerpoiNTdead debacle. so, to many of US, it presents as yet another opportunity for spiritual growth (patience, (get some or be one)). to others, much of IT is just a bunch of softwar gangster payper liesense, hostage taking, mindphuking hypenosys. either one serves a purpose. carry on (not luggage of course).
4 [google.com] 646406827 [google.com]
infactdead corepirate nazis still WAY off track
(Score:-1, Offtopic)
by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 01, @09:35AM (#20433195)
it's only a matter of time/space/circumstance.
previous post:
mynuts won 'off t(r)opic'???
(Score:-1, Offtopic)
by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 30, @10:22AM (#20411119)
eye gas you could call this 'weather'?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=800488111
be careful, the whack(off)job in the next compartment may be a high RANKing corepirate nazi official.
previous post:
whoreabull corepirate nazi felons planning trips
(Score: mynuts won, robbIE's 'secret' censorship score)
by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01, @12:13PM (#20072457)
in orbit perhaps? we wouldn't want to be within 500 miles of the naykid furor at this power point.
better days ahead?
as in payper liesense hypenosys stock markup FraUD felons are on their way out? what a revolutionary concept.
from previous post: many demand corepirate nazi execrable stop abusing US
we the peepoles?
how is it allowed? just like corn passing through a bird's butt eye gas.
all they (the felonious nazi execrable) want is... everything. at what cost to US?
for many of US, the only way out is up.
don't forget, for each of the creators' innocents harmed (in any way) there is a debt that must/will be repaid by you/US as the perpetrators/minions of unprecedented evile will not be available after the big flash occurs.
'vote' with (what's left in) yOUR wallet. help bring an end to unprecedented evile's manifestation through yOUR owned felonious corepirate nazi life0cidal glowbull warmongering execrable.
some of US should consider ourselves very fortunate to be among those scheduled to survive after the big flash/implementation of the creators' wwwildly popular planet/population rescue initiative/mandate.
it's right in the manual, 'world without end', etc....
as we all ?know?, change is inevitable, & denying/ignoring gravity, logic, morality, etc..., is only possible, on a temporary basis.
concern about the course of events that will occur should the corepirate nazi life0cidal execrable fail to be intervened upon is in order.
'do not be dismayed' (also from the manual). however, it's ok/recommended, to not attempt to live under/accept, fauxking nazi felon greed/fear/ego based pr ?firm? scriptdead mindphuking hypenosys.
consult with/trust in yOUR creators. providing more than enough of everything for everyone (without any distracting/spiritdead personal gain motives), whilst badtolling unprecedented evile, using an unlimited supply of newclear power, since/until forever. see you there?
You can't ever beat a blackboard, all you can do with a projector is doodling and painting since yourt pixels are 0.5cm across.
Hi,
I could imagine some simulation tools could be usefull. Take a look at http://cniehaus.livejournal.com/41381.html, for example. It demonstrates the possiblilies offered by Step (http://edu.kde.org/step/), the new KDE physics simulator.
Let's keep the issue of your tablet and projector aside for a minute and discuss basics. As a parent technology volunteer in my child's elementary school, we did several things that showed how technology could be used effectively in the classroom and I believe our experience could apply equally well to the high school math/physics scenario in which you're interested. First, we used Open Source software and a thin client architecture using K12LTSP to drastically increase the number of computers in each class at very low cost, and increased the speed of the Internet connection via a cable modem (the district feed was dialup speed at best). This meant that teachers could put enough safe-for-Internet use computers in front of the kids that they could do inquiry-based research/learning in science, and could also learn and practice math on various educational web sites, with the teachers only needing to help students with specific issues they ran into. It led to substantial increases in productivity and speed of acquiring new knowledge, especially in project/research report applications. So I believe the most important use of technology in the classroom is to bring the interactive knowledge of the world into the classroom for the students to use, and enable students to learn how to discover knowledge on their own, making them lifelong learners. Based on this, my recommendation for the best use of your projector is to get your PTA to fund a Linux server and enough thin clients for at least a 3:1 student to PC ratio. This will only cost about $500 for a server powerful enough for 5-7 thin clients, and the clients are only about $150 each (w/o monitors). You can also do it with a donated server and clients, the server should be a P4/1Gig RAM and the clients can be quite old, PII/300 MHz/128 MB RAM. I'm guessing if someone had the money to fund a tablet PC and a projector, they should be able to get another $1400 or so to leverage those devices and put the technology in the hands of the students where it will do the most good. With K12LTSP, you can connect the server to the projector and using TeacherTool, anyone from the teacher to any student on any PC can take over the display and explain their ideas to the rest of the class using Open Office (Writer, Impress, Calc, etc.). I agree 100% with the comments about hands on physics and math being critical, but once they do the hands on work, this gives them a vehicle for documenting their work as well as presenting and defending it to the rest of the class. For the tablet itself, its real benefit is mobility and a pen based input, so I'd focus on using it in data gathering when on science outings, doing experiments in the hallway/gym, etc, and as another poster has noted, for display of lecture slides/notes that you annotate in class as you see which concepts need more info. But if you upgrade it to Vista or the newest MS Office, you'll have to save files in the older Office format to be able to read them on the thin clients using OpenOffice, as well as for students to use them at home on their PCs. And you'll need whatever annotation program you use to be able to save files in a format that can be read by OpenOffice and older versions of MS Office to be maximally beneficial.
Well I disagree with your premise that technology is one way. It's used that way most of the time, but that's not the fault of the technology. Anyway a electronic interactive board not only could accept the equations in question, it could manipulate them, and expand upon them (3D charts and graphs, animations, etc)*. Add tablets for each student and wireless communications and you can have the student illustrate for everyone we're they're having difficulty. In other words the problem with technology is the implimentation. You can't just throw it into a situation, you have to be imaginative with it. Play to it's strength, and the strengths of the students (remember different people, different ways of learning)
*Access to a electronic library for both students and teachers means one could pull up the history of all the great mathmaticians. The ONLY thing one has to worry about when dealing with technology is keeping things on track (the point of the lesson), and not get overwhelmed in information (says the guy speaking from experience)
I had a physics teacher in high school who used technology with great success. The key is, as others have said, to know where the place of the technology is and not to overdo it.
There is a program called Interactive Physics which is a great way to teach some more complex concepts in force and motion. You can set up experiments in the simulator that would be impossible to replicate in the classroom. If it's possible to get more computers for students to use, ask the students to set up a particular scenario. The best way to learn how a free weight system with forces acting in different directions is going to behave is to set it up yourself.
Even better was the use of Vernier's Logger Pro software with their hardware probes. There are probes for motion, force, temperature, and who knows what else. Using this software you can set up a real physical experiment in the classroom and couple it with completely precise computer measurement tools. That way you can perform the experiment in the classroom, and have the data collected and graphed in real time to analyze immediately after.
Don't let all these naysayers discourage you from finding good uses of technology in your classroom. I know from personal experience that it's more than possible to effectively use technology in the classroom. Good luck in exploring what is possible.
The science teachers I know (~60 or so) would really love to bring more computer-based technology (computers) into the classroom to aid in presenting material. The problem is that the budgets of school districts, in particular rural school districts, have no means for providing overhead projectors, although those districts typically have provided for one basic computer per classroom. For the teachers to have a laptop to use for simply syllabus development, they typically have to buy their own laptop.
What would be really a god-send IMO as far as equipment goes would be more donations to schools. Perhaps some of our US-based computer manufacturers could see a way to help ?
To-do List: Receive telemarketing call during a tornado warning. Check.
I suspect some of you are suffering from lack of imagination (not your fault). Teaching isn't just a passive experinece, nor is it even a limited two-way. It can be a full sense experince, but we don't have the two things needed. One the proper implimentation of technology. Two teachers who are master manipulators (in a good sense). So you don't have the technology overwhelming the point of the lesson in the first place. I see tools for just the teachers that allow them to organize and clarify the information they have to teach, so when they do get in front of students, they're better propared.
Part of me is screaming out don't do it, it is very rare that I see technology successfully implemented in the classroom, many teachers appear to use it merely for the sake of it, often utilizing power point and then just reading off of the slide, it may seem like a good idea at first however, their's no point in using technology just for its own sake, and more often than not it does nothing to improve a lesson, and in reality often has a negative effect, as such think long and hard before trying it, and only use it as an accessory not as the lesson itself.
Science and chemistry are best taught with simple devices, hands-on.
springs, air cars, tennis balls, timers, rulers, bicycle wheels.
beakers, scales, water, eyedroppers.
Otherwise, the students will never get the feel for looking at the world with a critical eye. Your job is to make it real and accessible.
Thank you for this example!!!
Instead of JUST going old school like some people have said, you should use hands-on WITH relevance! The biggest piece here is relevance. Technology is never just the answer. You need hands-on and relevance. I teach at a Career Center for high schoolers. We integrate academics into our curriculum, and our kids get it. I specifically teach in a technology class (basic computers, web design, programming, etc.) -- I am in the beginning of creating a game programming section that will incorporate math and physics. I think our kids will understand both subjects better with this use of technology, but mainly because it is relevant to their interest/skills.
Make it relevant to their interests, skills, lives, job aspirations, etc.
If the kids love cars, teach physics with emphasis on cars. If they are all on the basketball team, use basketball as the practical applications.
Most of us on this website can learn by reading and doing it ourselves... MANY students can NOT learn this way -- they need hands-on and relevant!
NEVER JUST LECTURE!!! -- college professors showed us many ways as to NOT teach. -- remember, they are masters in their field of study, not teaching.
I just got an interactive whiteboard for my room, and I've been looking around for useful animations for the kids. Classzone has a number of these, you just have to select the right textbook. I'm teaching in Maryland with the "Algebra 2 2007" book. If you choose a different book, you may wind up with the older version of their site. That's just a bunch of PDF's of the supplemental workbooks. Animations of concepts are the way to go I think. This is especially true when kids can manipulate the process themselves. Classzone has these in Shockwave format. There's one for slope where you can move either of two points on a 2d line, and the slope computation appears, the rise and run are shown, the line is redrawn, etc. You could certainly do the same lesson with a chalkboard or overhead projector but for visual learners, seeing the change will make a big difference. That's my hope anyway.
The best approach seems to be like one of the other posters said: don't think of it as "what can I present with a projector," instead think of it as "what can I do to present Chain Rule interactively?" Also, please do avoid powerpoints. One of the other teachers in my building has written a series of powerpoints and just stands at the board flipping pages. Make sure you have kids using the new system and thinking about ways it can help them. For example, being able to enlarge, recolor, print, etc your handwritten notes can be a boon for students with certain special needs.
Some of the other posters in this thread are talking about the larger issue of technology in classrooms. That's fine and all, but I didn't ask for this interactive whiteboard. Now that I have it, I'm trying to make it worthwhile for the kids. Often that's as much control over the larger issues as teachers have.
When the axe came to the forest, the trees said, "Look out - the handle was once one of us."
"As a physics professor, I often find myself asking the same kind of question. Sadly, I'm way behind you with your tablet and wireless projector, but you are definitely inspiring me with that kind of gear."
It's inspiring although I don't see one particular issue being addressed. How is the way different people learning in different ways being addressed? Not I'm NOT talking about technology, for my question applies as much to the old-fashion methods some of you grew up with. It's not a no-child-left-behind issues, so much as it is try-to-leave-as-few-behind-as-possible. And I can assure you ignoring our differences is the best route to being left behind.
BTW I'll stick this here since I forgot to mention it before. Teachers need to have some of the same qualities as a good storyteller. I also see teaching much like security as a process not a result. Where's the rest of the team? Were are the grand ideas for them? No one expects the teacher to do it all by themselves? From kindergarden to University. Where's the process?
There's a book, "Silicon Snakeoil", by Clifford Stoll, that is an excellent commentary on the use of technology in education. Bottom line: What students learn best from and remember most about school isn't the technology--it's a competent, inspiring teacher.
I think the point he's making is that he's a kinesthetic learner. It's not about memorizing the equations. I've already asked and I'll make the point again. You have to take different learning styles into account. Also on that page there's the point about multiple intelligences. IMHO I think the whole education process is in the dark ages, technology isn't going to change that, but a better understanding of people and how to use that to further the goal of "how to educate" would go a long way.
I've had a chance to play with a interactive whiteboard i think it was from these people...
They have just done done a study into many different brands for use in schools in NSW, Australia. I'll post more when i get to work, I haven't had a chance to read the report yet.
more here
You should combine the old style of writing things on a blackboard, with this new tablet technology. Instead of using the blackboard, use that color screen to better draw out problems. As your board is effectively now infinitely big, not only can you better draw out processes and problems, you can save the file and make it available to your students.
- my userid is lower than yours
I saw a a piece of experimental theater at Boulder Colorado last week called "Calculus, the musical". It has about a dozen songs and music videos sung by a man and women and progress through the chapters of a first Calc course. They play various characters such as Newton, Liebnitz and Hooke. It was amusing and good. They are doing cities too.
Nothing beats a good dark Black, Blue, or BRIGHT Red dry erase marker and a teacher that knows what they are doing.
Never use Green, yellow, purple, lt blue... and Most Importantly always make sure to know enough about what is being taught where you are not just copying from notes, use your notes for help if you get stuck, and get a good eraser so the board dosen't get all grimy. Thick paper towels work great for erasers because you can dispose of them when they are all full of fibers so the board stays white. Second Most importantly, pick the tallest kid in class and draw a line across the board at his sitting height so everyone can see the whole of what you are writing. Pick a UNIQUE way to write each letter and stick with it so what you write is easier to read.
Technology should only be used when you absolutely Must use it, which is never for the classes you are teaching, but if you are extremely bad at drawing accurate graphs (I have yet to meet a math teacher remotely good at drawing even straight lines) then you should use technology to help with visualizing the graph when a hand drawn one is not good enough. If you are teaching in college, whee you do not have 3/4 of the time in class to waste, stick with the white board because it will save time.
In my experiences, Technology is great in Homework because theres no assignments to loose, and there will be virtually zero cheating because all the questions can be different but use the same concepts and be graded by a computer. My school uses WebAssign that has other anti-cheating features and the automatic grading stuff. With written homework, the students that don't understand will cheat so they don't lower their grade, and you are free to do whatever you want, punish, or help the people that are struggling. You can wither get them kicked out, or force them to meet with you or the ta to find out why they aren't doing the homework and act appropriately, but remember some students will do anything, lie cheat, steal, bully... to not do homework. There are some students like me who know the stuff already and it is painful to go through all the steps again, and some that just don't get it and need help, not all the people who don't do homework are bad students or bad people.
This comes from a student that just finished most of the Math I will have to take. I have taken 2 similar versions Calculus III, one in high school and one in college, College Discrete Math, 2 Beginning Stats courses: High school(2 college semesters worth of knowledge in high school, and the college one which was a nice repeat of the first semester of high school, and all thats left I think is more differential equations. So I have had it taught both ways (technology, and white board) for the same class (they wouldn't pass me out cause of different topics chosen)
and my pet peeve is when I figures out how to do a like 10 step problem in one easy step and am not allowed to, let them if they can half-ass explain themselves. ie. Use matrices to solve chemical equations or any electrical circuit with resistors, batteries, voltage controlled current sources, current controlled voltage sources.. , and I found an easy way to do dome vector problems by adding a first step: check if point is in plant before finding distance and in my book we did at least 2 or 3 where it was 0, along with other stuff.
"I agree wholeheartedly. Programmers and tech types often see a cool technology, and try to figure out "how can I use this?""
I should think so. How else is it going to be useful?
"While there are cases where this works (R&D labs, etc.)"
I'm sorry, I don't see why it applies only to one and not the other. What is different about the two?
"in the case where you have a specific problem/job (teaching), then figure out how to teach best, using tools where appropriate."
I don't think anyone's advocating a singular solution to the education process.* I think a more well rounded soution will take all types into account. That by implication means different tools some being used together.
*BTW Teaching is multiple problems, not one. That's why it's hard, and we're having this discussion.
Yes, hands-on is one of the few ways that a tech solution is better. You can get tons of activities out of a room full of computers, while you would otherwise spend thousands of dollars per activity. This fact may not matter to Universities, but to High Schools it's a HUGE deal. Many of the best things around now are web-based, so you can grab a bunch of machines your school is getting rid of, put Xubuntu on them (so you won't have to worry about Windows 2000 bugs) and get going for free. I've used U of Colorado's Phyiscs Education Technology site with groups of honors university students and 6th graders. It works well with both. The guys who made the site even claim that in some situations, students learn more content using controlled, well designed web-based activities that students can show off at home than they would using a bunch of rusty old crap that was donated in the 60s.
"I know this blows the doors off for some people, but -- believe it or not -- there are more than one style of learning,and the one you use does not, by itself, make you superior or inferior at thinking."
Sounds like you read the same link I did. I also chose that link because it illustrates another factor that needs to be taken into account when teaching. Things like ADD for example. As one of them I've felt profoundly the consequences all through my adult years even if I no longer have it as bad as before.
http://www.wallawalla.edu/frohro/ClassNotes
and a dated version of some of the software used to process the photos is available here:
http://www.wallawalla.edu/frohro/SaveMyWhiteboard/
My students like having the notes available, because if they are having a difficult time understanding, they can drop their pencils, concentrate on the lecture, and possibly ask questions until they understand without giving up the notes they aren't taking. :-)
The notes allow me to review last day's lecture quickly (using the laptop and projector) to bring everyone up to speed. I find answering students questions is a lot easier now, as I can use the notes instead of having to recreate them for every student. It takes me about 3 minutes a day to process the photos, but it saves me hours every week.
Rob
Multiply this by the lack of precision in the tablet and it'll be mostly illegible.
No sig today...
I'm a college professor in mathematics. I've had to teach in rooms with absolutely no technology and in others with tablet PCs linked to a projector. I have to say that I enjoy the tablet PCs much more.
I generally do the same thing no matter what. I prepare all of my lectures electronically using latex (and prosper). Powerpoint equations just don't look right to me, but use that if you'd like. I prepare definitions and examples, but no solutions to the examples. If I'm in an electronic classroom, then I leave room in the lecture to do the examples underneath. I upload all of my lectures, but NOT with the solutions to the examples done underneath (You have no idea how annoying it is to have someone come and ask you how you did the steps to a problem when they didn't come to class. This way... tough luck for them if they didn't attend class).
I have found that definitions and "wording" is presented much better on the tablet. My prepared examples can have plots and tables, just like they will in the exam. I also always prepare different examples than are found in the book. Nothing annoys me more when I go to the book and it has the same thing that is done in class. To me, you're supposed to complement the book learning, not replace it. There is even a Ti emulator if you need it. So I can have an example with a prepared table of data, tell them that I want a linear regression equation, and I can pull up a virtual TI and do the steps on the calculator right in front of them. Same goes for plots. I sometimes have plots pre-made, but mostly I'll simply have an axis pre-drawn (I am horrible at drawing, so this saves me a lot of time).
Last, and definitely not least, I can FACE THE CLASS. This is a huge advantage, I would think even more so in high school. The students are much less likely to talk to the person next to them (or in college... sleep during class!) when you are watching them the entire time. To me, it also creates a better classroom atmosphere, since I can always scan the class and look my students in the eye when I am asking a question, rather than facing the board waiting for someone to yell and answer while my back is turned.
All in all, the tablet/project is much better, as long as you don't abuse it. Don't write out how to do the problems on the slides, make sure you work problems in front of them. Don't become the typical Business professor and present Powerpoint slide after Powerpoint slide of the "highlighted" information in the book. That's simply a waste of everyone's time.
Good luck, and a huge THANK YOU for being a high school math and science teacher. Especially someone like you who reads Slashdot and is no doubt good with technology. I'm sure you can be doing something which allows you to earn more money, but thank you again for deciding to teach!!
A great reference for better tech teaching is the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE)'s NETS standards found at iste.org
I really disliked the chalk board after a while. The dust was terrible. It screwed up so many pieces of equipment and I was allergic to some chalk. The most effective AV technology in my class room was the overhead projector. It allowed me to always face the class while writing. It also allowed for scaling the size up or down by moving the the projector on a cart. Color was available by choosing a different marker. Copied images from the xerox machine on special sheets was also available. Sometimes the textbooks will give you an important graphic that the students don't really understand. Having it on the screen, discussing it, and writing on it helped. I had a TV mounted on the wall. It was too small for any one in the back. The sound was tinny. The lights had to be out for most material. Eventually, it was used less and less. As for powerpoint, when was the last time you saw an interesting powerpoint presentation? They are very time consuming to put together. I'm not saying impossible, but the time demands of teaching physics can be huge. As a bit of advice, try to NOT over use any technique or device. Students get bored so quickly. Vary what equipment you use. I know that my students regularly forgot my wonderful lectures, but never forgot the labs where something fun happened. Just my experience.
Normally I ascribe all life to intelligent design, but in your case I'll make an exception.
My wife has been teaching post-secondary mathematics for the last 10 years. Although she teaches at a university, she often has classes where students are just trying to satisfy a minimal math requirement, elementary education majors that are trying to get a grasp of basic concepts, or engineers struggling to survive calculus. My point being that she is not just teaching math majors with an internal drive to be great at math...not unlike many high school classes. One nice thing about these classes at a big 10 school is that there are many sections which give common mid-terms and finals. In this way you can get a fairly good quantitative measure of how effective your teaching methods are compared to others. In the last 10 years, after giving dozens of these common exams, it is very rare that her classes have not scored at least an entire letter grade above the average of the other sections.
Many of these classes are contiually trying out new technology, but my wife's strategy always has a set of lecture guides at its core. Her philosophy is that if you stand at a blackboard and write every definition, proof, and example, then the student has no time to think about the concepts. On the other hand, if you prepare a full lecture (in PowerPoint or otherwise) and distribute them ahead of time, then students have trouble paying attention and engaging. Instead, she prepares a lecture guide where many of the words are already included. She will purposely leave out key definitions and create blank boxes for examples she intends to work in class. If a process has several distinct steps, she might create a template that shows 5 enumberated bullets, but waits until class to fill them in with extra discussion. In this way her students are writing down key pieces of information to recognize their importance, but are not frantically trying to keep up. The examples are worked out together and discussed in class so that she can see where the students are stumbling. She used to "fill in the blanks" at a blackboard, but has switched over the last few years to writing directly on transparencies. This simple technique combined with an earnest concern for her students seems to be the best combination I have seen, and I am sure it would be effective at the high school level as well.
I'm not a math teacher, but I've been a math student, and here is my input to math teachers:
1) Don't make math a purely theoretical subject. Use as many examples of how the subject matter can be used for real-world applications as possible. Math for math's sake is just mental masturbation (IMHO!).
2) Don't try to impress students with how much you know. This attitude is especially common with college-level math professors, and it doesn't do anything for imparting your knowledge to your students.
3) If the examples of graphing, etc., that you use technology to demonstrate in class can't be duplicated by the student on their own computer, forget about using them.
4) Avoid PowerPoint shows like the plague--especially whiz-bang, show-biz effects that distract from the subject matter. Absolutely nothing will make your students do a mental shut-down faster.
5) Know your subject matter so well that you love teaching it. Your students will know in a minute if you don't, and it will be be a fantastic experience for them if you do.
Well, you asked for it, The best application I have seen in a class was in college. The teacher had a remote system (and the students the remotes) that would register responses from the students, a b c d ect.. So what the teach did was give a brief overview of what we should have read, then he had several Quiz questions at the end of the lecture (usually like 15 mins of lecturing). We would answer the questions with the clickers, at no dock to our grade, and then the software would be able to display a graph of the input. The result was that when we came across something we where unfamiliar with as a class, the teacher could easily see it in the quizes, stop, and go over what is confusing to us. That way even if we just thought we understood what he was talking about the quiz would make sure we really did.
As a result Lectures where highly adaptive to the class being taught, and resulted in a great experience over all.
I'd like to see technology used to give students and teacher immediate feedback on the teacher effectiveness. Use of a few questions at the beginning and/or end (or as needed) can assist in knowing if you are getting the message though. Students need an easy way to input answers like those programmable cheap tv remote controls. Software to collect student inputs and display results real time. An overhead IR reader to collect the inputs. With instant feedback the teacher knows if the homework was effective, the concept understood and who needs to come in after class for help and with which concept.
I try to use technology in the classroom. I am in Engineering Science and Mechanics Professor at Penn State with a background in theoretical condensed matter Physics. Your proposal with the tablet PC seems reasonable. I have heard that using technology to create more bandwidth is a big mistake and will simply create a bunch of frustrated students. Obviously, it is possible to press the space-bar (in PowerPoint) more quickly than one can write on a chalkboard. That said, PowerPoint can be very useful. In one class that we teach, Mechanical Response of Engineering Materials, most instructors use PowerPoint to introduce theory and provide fill-in-the-blank notes that students print before class. Examples of homework- and exam-type problems are worked in the chalkboard.
Incremental improvements on a traditional course include creating simulations to illustrate points. I use ANSYS, a finite element analysis package for stress - strain examples, and Mathematica for more general demos. For example, in a demo of stochastic differentail equations, I showed the simple stochastic Euler algorithm, demonstrated solutions to various SDE problems, and then I posted the Mathematica Notebook for anyone that wanted to modify it. I have done similar things with a simple 2D molecular dynamics simulation. Also, Google sketch up can help to create static 3D rotatable images to help explain concepts that require 3D visualization aids.
Good luck with the table PC.
-Lawrence Friedman
I teach physics. One classic use of computers in physics education is to help students check answers to their homework problems. Before computers, this was done by giving the answers to odd-numbered problems in the back of the book. Computerized answer checking can be superior to that in a couple of ways. With problems that have a numerical answer, many students tend to start from the answer in the back of the book, and then try to work backwards to figure out how they could get that answer; the result is that they don't learn how to solve problems from first principles. Some of them will just write a bunch of wrong stuff on their paper, and then append the answer to it as if that was the answer they found :-) With problems that have a symbolic answer (e.g., x=mv^2/2F is the answer to the problem), the same problem gets even worse. Assigning problems with symbolic answers is very important IMO, because we're trying to instill good problem-solving habits, which means solving problems algebraically, and only plugging in numbers at the very end. Also, it can teach them how to interpret an algebraic result, which is something most of them have never done. Another advantage of doing answer checking on the computer is that I can require my students to use the answer checker if they want to get credit, and tell them that if the computer gives them the feedback saying that their answer is wrong, and they can't figure out how to fix it, they should come to my office hours to get help. This is very different from the usual ethos, which is to turn in a paper with lots of wrong answers and whine for partial credit. The system I use is an open-source one I wrote, called Spotter; its web page has links to a bunch of other free-as-in-something software that does similar things.
Eric Mazur's book Peer Instruction is worth checking out if you're teaching physics. He's a physic prof at Harvard who pioneered the technique of giving students multiple-choice questions to ponder, polling them, and then if there isn't a clear consensus for the right answer, having them discuss it in groups. I think he originally implemented it with cardboard cards, but most people these days to it using the electronic clickers. Personally, I tried the technique and wasn't that happy with it, but it still helped me to get outside the box of straight lecturing. It seems to be mainly a technique that's useful in huge lecture classes, which isn't what I teach at a community college, and isn't what the OP teaches in high school. I've also heard a lot of students complain bitterly about the clickers -- partly about the cost (which I think is a valid complaint) and partly about nontraditional instruction (which I think just indicates that they're conservative and reluctant to take responsibility).
There are lots of free college and high school textbooks out there, and you should consider using them. See my sig for a catalog of free books that you can search for math and physics books.
Find free books.
If you haven't tried it, you should check out www.voicethread.com It doesn't create slides but it allows you to record voice annotations while you 'doodle' on the slides. There are some math examples there already. Make sure to check out the tutorial for the 'doodler'. The other cool thing is that you can invite other people, i.e. students to ask questions back. It's also an incredibly simple interface.
Think about it, what are computers are good for.
.38 bullet need to make the 160 lb. badguy sail across the room (factoring in wind resistance, gunpowder strength, etc.)
Blackboards are good for writing and static diagrams and you are good for talking/discussing the subject (which the computer isn't usually).
But the computer is good for: animation, 3D rendering and simulation.
From my perspective I never got math to well in school mainly because they explained how to solve problems, but not how to apply math in a real situation. If I were teaching a math class (shudder at the thought) I would provide my students with some idea of what good the math is, relate it to a real world problem.
- Create problems to be solved with algebra/calculus/physics, and use the computer to plot the results Such as: achieving an orbit, how much powder should Clint Eastwood's
- Show simulations of math and physics in action
- Animate complex problems (some people are visual and need more a visual idea how problems fold together to make the whole.)
But as many have said don't just rely on it. Pull it out when you need to use it but don't replace what skills and enthusiasm you have, a big part of education is to inspire students not just to instruct - them show them what you like about math and science and they will learn a lot more then just how to solve equations.
"Enjoy what you're doing! If it becomes drudgery, you're doing it wrong!" - Jim Butterfield
There's nothing worse than watching a teacher "play computer" while you're trying to learn. It is a major distraction, and generally uses a lot more time than simply demonstrating a technique or example on a standard dry-erase or chalk board.
I once had a teacher who did everything with powerpoint and a wacom tablet. He never touched the chalk. And it was cool at first, because he had the ability to look things up on the internet, review his notes from the previous lecture, and even change his slides when he noticed mistakes.
But for me, I didn't learn much this way. Besides the fact that the lights were darkened (which made me sleepy), he would spend at least ten to fifteen minutes each day doing things like opening files and clicking on various dialog boxes. Had he simply used the three sliding chalkboards, very little time would have been wasted.
There isn't ANYTHING in physics, chemistry, or math that can't be represented fully on a chalkboard by a competent educator.
And I've had the old school teachers that abide by this notion. They really know their stuff. You think you need computer graphing software to demonstrate trig, calculus, or algebra? Previous generations got to the moon and back without much more than a slide rule and a 15-lb calculator. If you're an educator, and you find it more efficient to use mathlab or whatever instead of just drawing the darn thing, than please do kids a favor and step aside.
Even though you might be good at using the computer, if you can teach kids how to understand these concepts with nothing more than a piece of paper and a pencil, then you'll be lowering their reliance on graphing calculators and computers. Yes, these things are useful, sure, but when it comes to learning, better to learn the concept without the bells and whistles.
Call me old school, and I'm cool with that.
You can't provide canned lecture when you use a blackboard (unless you have a lot of blackboard and no other class uses the room, perhaps, or unless you can write on the blackboard really fast). Canned lectures are a bad thing.
I taught English as a foreign language some ten years back with Clarisworks on a Mac with a projector. I rarely prepared materials, because I always taught an interactive lesson.
As the lesson progressed, I saved the stuff that went on screen. At the end of each period I gave the files to the students. (Yeah, that's backwards from the usual use of the tech.)
The students who took notes took notes anyway.
Some of the students shared their notes after class, of course, and then started sharing notes over the LAN during class. Because they knew they were getting what I was putting on screen, their notes tended to have some original work, which of course helped the students help each fill in the gaps. (Only paranoid teachers assume that all notes passed during class are discussions of cuteness, invitations to dates, and other off-topic junk.)
Education works much better when you create the content in class, interactively with the students. But you have to know your tools, and you have to use flexible tools that are transparent to the observers as well as to the user. That's why the blackboard is so great.
(The three disadvantages of the blackboard are the lack of advanced editing, the lack of ability to copy, and the lack of automatic interpretation of formulae, and I don't mean just math formulae. A good teacher uses those lacks to his or her advantage, however.)
There are some cool things that can be done with tagged text and prepared filters (programs), especially if you have a classroom where every student has a laptop, all hooked together by LAN. Some of it amounts to spontaneous interactive games.
Part of the reason I get bugged by Microsoft's XML is that they have cluttered up the tagged text market with tools that work exactly against that kind of class. Microsoft's junk tends to push the user towards canned content, and, as people have noted, canned content tends to kill education.
For math, the Mac's grapher, and similar programs can be useful, but you have to be willing to slow down, and to refrain from showing the complete graph until you've had the students work out some critical points by hand.
I think this is what the warnings above are all about:
Use the tech like a blackboard with extended capabilities.
it blows my mind the blackboard is still widely used. i know several instructors who got the allergy to chalk developed, so they keep sneezing and caughing during the lecture. having the writable tablet with projector would have been a great relief for them.
A neat toy that I found is the Microsoft Physics Illustrator for Tablet PC. This application lets you draw physics diagrams, and then animates them. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?Fa milyID=56347faf-a639-4f3b-9b87-1487fd4b5a53&displa ylang=en
It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
I am the product of "Teaching with Technology". Yes, I can use a computer pretty damn well, but to the detriment of never learning how to do long-division, write in cursive, learning to spell correctly, etc.
I kinda blame the math deficiencies on the fact that my math text books were co-written by Texas Instruments, and are nothing more than glorified user's manuals for their calculators. Yah, it was easy and as fun as could be expected to learn the stuff, but I never learned the background to the processes I was seeing happen on the screen. I would give my left arm to be able to go back, and learn math without a calculator. Please PLEASE don't let technology get in the way of teaching your students their core competencies.
Lecture: A period of time when the notes of the lecturer are transferred to the notebooks of the students without going through the brain of either.
It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
Mathmatica is an awesome tool for visualization of math problems, it is have a ton of support. I know that for basic physics, you'll find a large community of people, whom have created simulations, templates, graphing/plotting solutions, already. Check it out, it does cost quite a bit, but I used it in my High School math classes, and it was an awesome asset. I think the primary problem for math teachers these days, is that your students expect some sort of visual correlation. Not just the equation but the output of the equation.
"There were silent screams ... from the people that saw what they were still copying out"
You are the typical failure of a teacher. The 'silent screams' are a sign you foolishly ignored. No student should waste thier time copying anything. A hardcopy of EVERYTHING written should be provided to students.
You have sadly no respect for student's time. 90% of teachers are pathetic.
Score & Karma: SASA: Slashdot Approval Seekers Anonymous
As some see it, the main reason blackboards are used in math/physics is to get the teacher to slow the hell down. The only outcome of technology is teachers who fly through equations too fast for students to copy them.
If you wanted to try to engage students in math and physics, you could try to show them how math and physics are so critical to making those video games they love. Math and physics are the things that drive all those awesome graphics and animation.
Animation and 3d are great ways to show the concepts. Beats the heck out of static reading/powerpoints, especially for modern high schoolers. Jim Blinn & cohorts at Cal tech did a pair of great works on Physics (The Mechanical Universe, circa 1987) and Project Mathmeatics (much more recent). Then try your own lessons (or have the kids do some) using Alice 3D
Project Mathematics Home Page
Project MATHEMATICS! videos explore basic topics in high school mathematics in ways that cannot be done at the chalkboard or in a textbook. They bring mathematics to life with imaginative computer animation, live action, music, special effects, and a sense of humor.
Mechanical Universe Home
The Mechanical Universe...and Beyond is a critically-acclaimed series of 52 thirty-minute videotape programs covering the basic topics of an introductory university physics course. The series was originally produced as a broadcast telecourse by the California Institute of Technology and Intelecom, Inc. with program funding from the Annenberg/CPB Project.
see see Jim Blinn's title list
"*Spend the rest of the class discussing and explaining the facts in great depth. Professor points at someone every other minute and asks a question on the material. Asks hard questions. If you can't keep up in notes, you had better ask someone to copy, because he will not slow down. If you can't keep up in the critical thinking portion, get the hell out and accept a fail."
Hmmm, yes. I tried a similar tack with my dog's obedience training. When he pooped were he wasn't suppose to, I pushed his nose into it. When he did anything he wasn't suppose to, a rolled-up newspaper worked well. You can imagine how well he turned out.
If you have students who have internet widely available to them (perhaps a minority have to use the school or library), online assignments can be a useful tool. My AP physics class in high school had half of the homework online. We had message boards to discuss problems, which the teacher would take part in, and people would use instant messaging and email additionally to communicate. It was encouraged to work together, and I learned physics really well by teaching some of my classmates, and most of the class learned really well because of this peer-teaching (I was not the only one teaching my classmates). As much as it is important for a teacher to lead the students in learning, the students can sometimes get across to each other better, so be sure to use that.
My teacher put multiple choice conceptual questions up on the projector for the class to talk through, and had us do a lot of group work and discussion. He mostly only lectured when introducing a topic and when going over derivation of equations. I suppose what I am saying is that technology should only be used a lot if it is what students use a lot themselves.
My webcomic
This will require some skill on your part, but MATLAB can be an amazing teaching tool. A university Professor of mine used it to create animations and other visualizations.
Imagine being able to demonstrate trigonometric identities with animated sin waves, or geometry with 3d surfaces. As a programming language, it will give you incredible flexibility to demonstrate difficult concepts without putting emphasis on how pretty it looks.
So it would appear that Slasdot has spoken, and that most are trying to tell you that computers have no place in the maths / physics classroom. But that wasn't what you asked. What you were really asking, it seems to me, was
/. that you have some level of programming experience (bad assumption?) so I would recommend VPython and SciLab (or FreeMAT) for physical simulations. Some of the simulations at http://www.myphysicslab.com/ might give you some ideas of the sorts of things I'm thinking about. And I would say that a bit of thought at the outset as to what you are trying to achieve with each simulation will go a long way. Make them able to accept parameters so that you can easily show what happens when you change things. If your programming knowledge is less, there are systems such as Interactive Physics which may be of some use, I don't know, I've never tried it (just googled it).
"I have these cool tech toys, how can I incorporate them into my lessons?"
First of all, you have listed 3 subjects which you are/will be teaching, potentially with the aid of this equipment. I had typed out a great long post here, but really it boiled down to "Algebra and Calc are not going to benefit from this much more than using it as a glorified OHP that can show moving pictures". By all means use it if it's more convenient than an OHP though.
I think there is potentially a benefit to be had in Physics lessons, where there are often concepts which are taught in simple forms, then experiments which have extra constraints on them are used to prove the concepts. Friction or electrical resistance are good examples of uncontrolled parameters which cannot be removed in reality. If you can show simulations of physical systems, and add in elements as you go, then you can potentially build up a better understanding of what parts of the system contribute what effects. Take for example series resonance - (either Mass-Spring-Damper or LCR circuit). In the real world it is impossible to build a system to demonstrate LC or Mass Spring resonance without any form of damping. But on a computer, easy. Arbitary amounts of friction/resistance can be added as you go, to show what the effect is.
That is obviously only one example of how a simulation could be used, and I would think that just about every concept that is taught at a High School physics level could be simulated easily. A lot of excersises in physics text books are perfect examples of things that could be simulated - especially the ones which say things like "Assuming there is no air friction" or other such assumptions which are hard to replicate in real experiments.
Students could be asked to calculate parameters for the simulations (the same as the would for real experiments) in order to acheive certain goals - eg. calculate values of L R and C to give a certain frequency of oscillation and damping factor. The ability to test them with a simulator would show quickly and easily if they are correct, without relying on what parts you have available at the time.
It is important to note that these simulations would absoulutely NOT replace hands-on experiments by the students, and in fact should probably be done after the students have already collected their own results - so as not to give the game away first. But simulation is an important tool in engineering (applied physics!) these days, so I see no problem with using it in the classroom, as long as it is used as a tool for learning, not a crutch.
As for my recommendations of what software to use - that really depends on you and your level of knowledge about computers and programming. I will assume that as you are posting to Ask
Anyway, that's my 2c worth, I wish you luck
AJ
my sig could kick your sig's arse...
I'm not certain why no one's modded you up, but that comes the closest to what I think an eBoard should be. I figure as technology improves that board should improve as well.
Has a small section on Maths/Science Software. Graphcalc is ace http://www.graphcalc.com/. sci lab also though probably a little complex http://www.scilab.org/. Open Education CD can be found here: http://www.theopencd.org/education
"all through my house i set up traps, it seems like the rats have a map, so now i feed the rats crack" - Donald D
My physics teacher at A-level (17-18, school leaving exam for the Americans) was the only teacher I'd had who used a digital whiteboard effectively.
1. Just with a remote camera for the small, fiddly demonstrations that are hard to see and normally have the whole class crowding round some small equipment.
2. For whole-class data analysis of an experiment, eg. software grabs the charging curve of a capacitor, or a truck rolling down a hill, etc. You can use the whiteboard to do the maths on that data to demonstrate the concepts.
Check out a few of the active research projects and (some free) products specifically designed to support the classroom learning environment -- both lecturing, active learning, peer evaluation, noteblogging, etc. --Ubiquitous Presenter http://up.ucsd.edu/ (yes, I'm a co-inventor) --Classroom Presenter http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/dl/presente r/
--(not free, but good) DyKnow http://dyknow.com/
These systems have been designed (and studied) not only to support standard fare of "inking up" lecture materials, but to support improved pedagogies in the classroom -- such as engaging students in trying out their learning, supporting reflection on exercises or demos, empowering students to contribute or share knowledge, etc.
All of these products have publications web pages with pubs targeted at the instructor. You can also look for more publications in the proceedings of WIPTE (Workshop on the Impact of Pen Technology in Education). http://www.itap.purdue.edu/tlt/conference/wipte/
If you want to hear from students about what THEY like about Tablet PCs and some of the things they like instructors to do with them check out
http://www.studenttabletpc.com/
You indicate that you also teach physics. Instead of just patching on technology because you think you need to, be constructive. Go over to Vernier or Pasco and start looking at the tools for interactive learning. At my school, we make extensive use of computers and sensors in our physics and physical science classes. The students are happier, the technology is actually doing something useful, and it allows you do do much more in less time. I also create PowerPoints for all of my classes as well as create a class site using Blackboard software.
Watch Alan Kay's talks for some ideas. 8)
In my high school science class I use a wireless quizzing system by TI (called TI-Navigator) to get immediate feedback on whether my students learned what I just taught. Constant assessment is the key to good instruction.
For math a Smartboard is better than a tablet because once you draw a geometry problem on it is easier to go back and write on it as you solve the problem (for other subjects a tablet/projector is a better value).
Wikis, podcasts, and blogs are great for all types of classrooms - a quick amazon search will turn up books with good suggestions.
The Physics Education Group at Kansas State University has made a set of tools for teaching quantum mechanics. Some of them involve computer simulation of wave packets, etc. This helps for visualizing the (rather complex) ideas behind quantum mechanics. I interacted with these tools while taking an undergraduate physics course (intended for non-majors). They really worked well.
At the same time, I find it really useful for some things:
Lucky? Perhaps...teachers I still consider my lifetime best all taught me how to learn. The ancient bagful of tricks, as it were. Learning a subject's basis, how it is constructed, and how the pieces interact is more important than derivitive details and facts -- the derivations can be performed anytime when necessary.
How to utilize reference materials is a key skill for any student. Using reference materials in teaching provides examples of use.
Among standard classroom reference materials like dictionaries and textbooks may be access to Internet content. Project a (scripted) lecture-oriented exploration of related online material. Individual and group guided explore on their own, and to complete focused assignments.
Computer Programming is an essential skill for both math and physics. Excel in the lab.
I forget which Fibonacci Number took a whole box of fan-fold to print, writing the program to calculate it was fun as were the ones that calculated many pi and e decimal places.
The program that graphs the bouncing-ball for initial motion vector input, likewise, for achieving orbit at different g (mathematicians can vary or oscillate g and see what happens!)
Technological device is practical example to explain mathematics and physics. Consider LCD Monitor, topics include quantum, atomic, electric, photonic, etc..
What technology is used in today's research and in the field? Which are suitable for teaching?
In this light, older technology remains a teaching and learning resource; oftentimes can be had inexpensiviely or for free.
Robotics.
I am from Sri Lanka. I did A/Levels here. And all the teachers used blackboard (or whiteboards) to draw diagrams and explain. We were just writing down them as well as other facts he/she explain.
Then I went to uni, an australian one. Pretty much every class was using power point. Yes, it gives the idea "oh.. I can sleep now.. probably read the slides later". Even sometimes I didn't bother going to classes... one thing is.. lecturer is boring, and nothing worth writing down. This eventually backfires. As in...when powerpoint slides don't guide you through subject matter.. you are in trouble.
The best class I had ever was my Microelectronics class. Professori used whiteboard heavily with multiple colour pens. Also he prepared his own notes and handed us at the end of class. Furthermore, he gave assignments that need to use most of what we learn in the lectures, rather something just came to earth from mars. I think these assignments was the great pleasure, joey and the key for a successfull understanding and long term rememberence.
So... praise black/white boards.
Teaching is now as much about searching as it is about instilling enthusiasm about a subject. Having worked as a lecturer in animation for some years I set up several projects in getting children to use technology for making their own teaching movies. This is at www.MakeMovies.co.uk In the linked blog (www.MakeMovies.co.uk/blog/index.html)there are thousands of links to animation sites offering lessons on just about anything you can think of. The best use I found for technology was teaching children to find the information they needed themselves, and to make their own teaching projects with the help of other children. The teacher becomes a resource for when they need help.
One way of using technology effectively is to enable role play in the classroom. Collective Simulations combine social learning pedagogical models with distributed simulation technical frameworks. We have a human physiology simulation called Mr. Vetro. At the beginning of the class organs, simulated by PDAs, are handed out to the students. They have to collaborate in real time to keep Mr. Vetro alive. Nobody is falling asleep in these classes. Things can get very hectic in the classroom with heart and lung team nearly shouting at each other at times. However, this is not just about fun and engagement. Early evidence of our research indicates that the students better retain information and gain a deeper understanding of the interactions between the systems. Simple but working demo: http://www.agentsheets.com/research/c5/documents/i nteractive%20flier/c5-flier.html
An excellent math tutoring system for high school students - http://www.assistment.org/
Nothing is wrong with the blackboard. But, new technology does bring new opportunities. I am trying to navigate this. I want to use it, but only effectively. I don't want to shift the focus on the technology and have it hinder my lesson, but I don't want to ignore its availability and miss something that could benefit my class.
"Use, but not overuse" - is what I am thinking. But, I am young. I am just fishing for ideas.
I am looking forward to reading all of this thread, but it's now the middle of the school day. I'll be back tonight.
One last thing: Sometimes I wonder; "Is that someone's signature? Or do they type that at the end of each post?"
The projector is bright enough to leave the lights on. :) I am young. I remember highschool :P
One last thing: Sometimes I wonder; "Is that someone's signature? Or do they type that at the end of each post?"
Someone metamod this unfair, this is not flamebait by any stretch.
I write bullshit
I suggest you compliment the technology there with a pair of night-vision goggles or something.
"My, that is some *lovely* technology! Please have this free pair of night-vision goggles!"
I believe you mean complementary.
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
Having examples with which you can interact is great. It takes time to put a complex example or problem on a board, so coming to class with that example already available (and reusable for other classes) is a big bonus. It saves on time which can then be used for discussion.
In a classic lecture, you can run through your material more effectively than you can on a board. You can return to a previous slide to reiterate a point more easily than with a regular over-head projector. And - and this is the big benefit of using your setup as far as I'm concerned - you can mark-up your presentation during the lecture and capture those notes for future use, while still keeping the original presentation without the extra notes for another class. To me, this last bit is HUGE because different groups of students will need you to drill down into different areas, and because going through the drill-down exercise is a great learning tool.
Finally, if you have network connectivity, you can take advantage of it. If you want to put up a resource web site, Wikipedia, WebPC or any other online educational tool, it's right there at your fingertips. You can project your website, with the syllabus and course notes. You can upload your notes to your website at the end of lecture.
I appreciate all the comments. I am still reading through them. But I have many papers to grade and tests to write still. So, it'll probably be till the weekend before I finish.
One last thing: Sometimes I wonder; "Is that someone's signature? Or do they type that at the end of each post?"