Reflection

I have learned that when implementing technology that it must have an educational purpose and assist in accomplishing your goal or need. Also, when implementing you should have a well thought out plan and consider multiple things including safety, copyright, access to technology, group selection and grading procedure.

Integrating web based technologies has really helped me to consider all of extras that come along with it. The items I mentioned above are just a few and I'm sure once I get back in my classroom in a few weeks and actually implement it, I will come up with many more. I'm already thinking about students that are absent or special need students and how I will address that.

I don't believe I have completely met my goal of integrating technology yet. I really need to get back into my classroom in order to do so. I feel very comfortable with it right now, but know that things always look good on paper and then don't always go as well once applied!!

I plan to immediately put my classroom Wiki into place at the start of the school year. I believe I am going to assign students to groups, so it is not as overwhelming for them. I also would like to update my teacher website to include more resources and interactive applications for the students to look at. During my techquest research, I found many resources that I am excited for my students to see.

Project Evaluation

Ahhh...TechQuest almost done! Now, it is time to evaluate the process.

I really enjoyed researching and learning more deeply the use of Wikis in the classroom. I had a basic idea before the TechQuest project, but I have so many resources and ideas now! It is somewhat hard to say what I would do differently, because I haven't had a chance to actually use my TechQuest in my classroom yet. As I'm sure every teacher knows, nothing goes as planned. So, I'm sure there is something, but at this time I don't realize anything major because I haven't used it yet. I spent A LOT of time researching, I was looking for the "perfect" resource instead of compling a bunch of resources that worked together to be perfect. I looked at a lot of example wikis without much luck. So, I believe that my educational need was possibly too specific.

A lesson to others that will follow in my footsteps is to really have a passion to change your educational need. I was very driven as my educational need is something that I have been dreaming to improve since I began teaching. If you aren't passionate about the change, it won't happen. Also, spend time researching WHY the technology is going to address your need. Don't just assume it is and roll with it.

I do believe that I do techquests in a small way often in my teaching. I am always evaluating my teaching and classroom and looking for ways to improve. The first place I look is to technology. Not always do I end up using it, however I often do. I have had successes and failures but am confident in my choices and love that I will always have a chance to be a better teacher by finding new and exciting ways to deliver the material.

Project Implementation

Here is a link to my PODCAST

Internet Research

In searching for resources for my TechQuest, I found the following:

• An Article on how Wiki's can be useful in a math classroom. This article provides strategies on how to implement a Wiki and also some examples of how you could use a wiki in a math classroom. It also has a link to information regarding security and safety of students while using Wiki's.
• Darren Kuropatwa's Blog that has articles on general education issues/concerns. However, the valuable section for me is his links to his classroom blogs. This is where I could view how he organizes his Blog and provides information and encourages collaboration between his students. Here is a link to his AP Calculus Blog.
• Cool Cat Teacher Blog. The blog provided a storyline of how to implement a blog into a classroom and her though processes as she went. She mentioned questions that she asked her students, guidelines she set up and also provided a link to some student work.
• Teacher's First Wiki Walk Through. Wow! This resource was and is going to very useful. It has basic wiki information, examples of how to use a wiki in each subject area, an opportunity to look at other teacher's wiki's, information on why you should use a wiki, how to plan and implement it in your classroom, and issues that you might run into along the way.
• Example of a Math Wiki - In this wiki, the teacher used the wiki to allow students to add information about certain topics that they will be covering in class. This was one of the first examples I looked at and it is very basic. However, it got my thought process advancing in the right direction as to having students add information about specific content.
• Mr. Lindsay's Wiki - This wiki is much more developed. He has many different sections that the students can access. I was excited to see the homework tab as I thought it might be something along the lines of my TechQuest, however it was just a listing of homework assignments for the week. I found many wiki's that did exactly this, however not many that actually had students collaborate and allow them to receive feedback.
• Mrs. Atwood's Wiki - Even though this is not a math wiki, I liked what Mrs. Atwood achieved with her Wiki. She posted discussion questions for the students to think about after watching a documentary. The students then had to answer 2 of the questions and comment on 2 other posts. This really forced the students to collaborate and communicate and also gave them feedback efficiently.

In order to complete my search, I used few different search engines. After reading Valenza's article, I used her links to help me find my resources. The first I used was Google Scholar. To begin, I search "math teacher's wiki's" and did make some nice hits of examples to teacher's wikis. I navigated around my results for quite some time, looking through many different wiki's as I tried to develop a more concrete plan for my TechQuest. I then tried the search engine, Rollyo, which I found in Valenza's article. This time, I searched "how to use a wiki in a math classroom" and was able to find articles and blogs relating to my search. I went to a9.com, however could not seem to figure out how to use the search engine. Finally, I went back to my comfort zone and used Google and searched "examples of wiki's in a classroom" and navigated through some pages but didn't find much that I hadn't already found and used.

I found that on each of the search engines, I found examples of teacher's Wiki's (or links to them from another source), however when I searched for Math specific wiki's I didn't find many that had the collaboration component. Most of the Wiki's just had the homework and/or assignments listed, but did not have the students engage with it at all. So, I found myself looking at other content area's Wiki's for ideas. Something that hindered my search results were many invalid or old links that did not work. There were many times that I would get my hopes up and then have them disappear with an invalid link. I believe I found some very valuable resources, so if I had to search again, I would try to be a bit more descriptive in my words immediately so I could get the most accurate results quicker. I spent a lot of time on this research, so I'm sure that either there is a much more efficient way to do this or I just enjoyed looking at all of the results!

Project Description

The educational need that I plan on addressing is the effectiveness of student to teacher feedback. More specifically, in my high school math classroom, it is extremely important for the students to practice the skill and then receive feedback on their practice. Currently, I do a few things in order to try and accomplish this. Examples: posting solutions on board or overhead, peer check, photocopy solutions and doing a carousel. However, I feel that none of these techniques accomplish my goal. Most of the students end up completely zone out, use it as a social time, cheat/copy and therefore do not check their work, make corrections or learn a thing.
I would like to use technology in order to motivate my learners to check their work, make corrections and learn the skills.

In order to address my educational issue, I am going to use a classroom wiki. I believe that incorporating a wiki in my classroom will have a significant impact on my learners motivation and also understanding of the material. An important note to make about the changes in my classroom in the fall is that all of my students will have their own laptop and I will have a SmartBoard. I believe that this will allow the wiki to be much more valuable as my learners will be able to communicate with me and also their fellow students.

In the research that I completed, I found some resources and examples.
Examples of wikis or blogs that are similar to my idea:
- A Solution Manual Wiki http://am40s.pbworks.com
- Classroom Blog Hub http://sargentparkmathzone.blogspot.com/
- Outcome Portfolio http://acrospire.pbworks.com/

I read an article, "Why Use Web 2.0 Tools when teaching Science and Math?" that addresses the major question of why! It also gives advantages for teachers when using Web 2.0 tools.
Another article, "Using Web 2.0 to breath new life into old projects" addresses that we don't have to throw the past out, but use it to help us develop our ideas for the future, which includes Web 2.0 tools.

My plan for implementation of my Wiki is to implement it with the start of school in the Fall. Therefore, I would like to begin getting it set up and get comfortable using it during the fall. Also, I am going to have to have a set of rules/guidelines for my students about posting and acceptable behavior while posting online.

My project addresses the following four common places of education:
Someone teaching - this will allow me as the teacher to be more of a facilitator or the "guide on the side"! I am so excited for this part, as I am constantly the "lecturer" and feel that I lose my students rapidly while doing so.
Someone learning - my 9th grade students will benefit greatly from the use of a wiki in our math classroom. It will be something new and exciting for them, so it will engage them and increase their motivation to learn. It will allow them to communicate in an open forum, ask questions, work with peers and also read and write math. This will allow me to communicate with some students that don't feel comfortable doing so in a classroom environment.
Subject Matter - my wiki will allow my learners to understand the Michigan High School Content Expectations more deeply. It will also provide my students with an opportunity to achieve some of their required hours of learning online.
In Some Setting - using a wiki in the classroom is wonderful, however the students can also access the wiki from home or even their cell phones! It allows the student to use in any setting!

Problem of Practice PREVIEW

The real issue that I would like to address in my techquest is the effectiveness of student to teacher feedback. More specifically, I teach high school math and it is extremely important for the students to practice and then receive feedback on their practice. Currently, I do a few things in order for the students to check their homework (post work and solutions on overhead/board, photocopy solutions and do a carousel, peer check), however I feel that NONE of them serve their purpose. The students completely zone out, use it as social time, cheat/copy, don't end up checking their work and making corrections and therefore learn NOTHING.

If I can find and implement some technology that would help solve this problem, it would have a SIGNIFICANT impact on the learning in my classroom. I feel the best way to learn math is to practice, make mistakes and then fix them (and then try again!!). I'm not sure what the solution is going to entail, however I have a hunch that peer collaboration is going to have to be included. I'm excited to see what I can come up with to help address this problem.

Reflection

What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?
I have learned that there are multiple teaching strategies that can be used when integrating technology. Depending on your goals of the activity, you will be able to choose the most appropriate strategy to enhance learning. It seems as though the most effective strategies involve the "teacher on the side" idea, where the teacher is a resource.

How did integrating web-based technologies help you think about and evaluate uses of technology?
Evaluating web-based technologies such as the WebQuest, Online Learning, Google Docs, Blogs and Wikis allowed me to really process how and when I should use these technologies in my classroom. I was able to critically examine the pros, cons and uses of these and had time to consider applying it into my classroom. Some of these technologies I am able to implement immediately, however the others will take some coordination and time in order for their potentials to be maximized.

How have you met your own personal goals for learning about technology integration?
Not yet. I have definitely taken a gigantic step in the right direction as I learned about so many new programs and technologies during this class. However, I will still need to implement them in my classroom, which seems to be a daunting task. This upcoming fall, my school district is getting SmartBoards and also every student will have a computer. So, there seems to be a lot of changes and I am excited to be using these technologies in my classroom.

Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over?
Yes! My new goal is to put these technologies into action in my classroom. For this fall, I would like to develop my website, use a blog and google documents. I know that I will have much to learn this fall with the SmartBoards and the student computers, but know that it will make it easier to have this technology in the classroom. After I implement those, I would like to work on using a WebQuest for one of the most important concepts in Algebra, SLOPE! I am excited to bring these new ideas and technologies to my students as I know it will improve and enhance their learning.