Assistive Technologies

Here are two screenshots of me demonstrating the use of assistive technology tools provided by Microsoft Window Vista.

In the bottom of this screenshot is the on-screen keyboard. The on-screen keyboard would be useful for someone who could only operate a mouse and could not use a traditional keyboard.

















This second picture shows the screen magnifier in use. This is good for someone with limited vision who is not blind, but cannot see the small print on a screen.
















These are only two of the many options Microsoft Windows has in order to be handicap accessible for people with a variety of disabilities.

Ways to curb cheating on tests

http://prezi.com/ncodg7cessnr/

The above link leads to a Prezi presentation that my group and I made when charged with the task of figuring out ways to lower the level of cheating going on in a classroom in a given scenario.

My Prezi presenation on PLN's

A PLN is a "Personal Learning Network.

Here is a link to a presentation I made using Prezi on a network I chose.

http://prezi.com/4icngpm1p-pw/edit/#16

My Short Term Proessional Development evidence

Here is the evidence that I have met my goals for my short term professional development plan as of November 16, 2009.

1. Be able to produce a functioning webpage using google sites

Evidence: http://sites.google.com/site/aaronsmithw200/home


2. Be able to use a blog to coherently express my thoughts on a given topic

Evidence: See the other posts in this blog


3. Be able to modify an existing Wiki or run my own.

Evidence: http://manyshapes.wikispaces.com/

Classroom Communication

Since I will be a secondary math teacher I will not have a lot of regular contact with parents, other teachers, and students outside of the single class period I have with them per day. I am responsible for making sure the students know what they need to do and are doing what they need to in order to pass the class and that parents can be made aware of their child's standing in the class if they so desire. My professional peers and administrators may want to know how I run my class and what we are doing at a given point in time.

Thus, my plan is to have a course website and send out a weekly or bi-weekly email to parents. This email will contain a (tentative) schedule of the upcoming classes and other pertinent information such as resources on how to get math help if a student is having trouble in the class. The website will also have a class schedule and resource list, but will also contain a section listing the class assignments, a grade sheet, and perhaps video file of a sample lecture. I could also add sections such as a "sudoku puzzle of the week", "fun math problems" or other activities not completely related to class but would still involving learning and math.

In keeping with my professional appearance the website will be well-written, containing correct grammar and maintaining an image in the viewer's mind that I am a professional who knows what he is doing. Obviously all material on the site will be school-appropriate. I hope I can put this plan into action in the future.

Communication Tools Workout

My group members were Kaitlyn, Kristan, and of course myself, Aaron. We communicated using the forums on Oncourse, which worked out pretty well for us. We used this a fair amount, perhaps posting every couple minutes or so. The project went well. We were able to communicate the ideas we wanted to, so technology did not provide a barrier after some initial (and easily overcome) confusion on who was going to perform what task. I personally thought it went well. We were able to work well together and did not disagree. This was my first time doing a project like this where we couldn't communicate without talking. I liked that the project we were doing was fairly straightforward and simple; a complex task would have been very difficult to coordinate between three people without talking. There wasn't really anything I disliked about the experience, and can't think of anything I would have done differently. One advantage of doing a project like this in a middle school math class is that it would allow the students to collaborate with people on a project at home without them having to go to the houses of other members (since they can't drive). It would also allow them to collaborate with students from a different class. The downside is that younger students may not be able to express their ideas as well in written form, and mass confusion could result very quickly, in addition to the danger of messages getting very off topic. I'm not sure I would assign a project like this.

Geometer Sketchpad

Geometer Sketchpad is a computer program that is very useful for drawing figures to exact tolerances in order to study their geometry. Whether the student needs to study angles, circles, triangles, any other shape or how they all relate to each other, Geometer Sketchpad can provide a way to produce accurate figures that have exact angles, lengths, and can even keep proportions correct when changing the figures.

Geometer Sketchpad does not require in depth knowledge of the program in order to use the basic functions. It is very simple to produce basic shapes, and could probably be used by students as young as first grade. Yet it also can be complex enough to be used at the college level when studying angle relationships and the way to produce perfect figures with many sides such as nonagons and the like.

Here is an excellent lesson plan involving Geometer Sketchpad.

Here is a tutorial that covers the basics of the program and provides links for further study.


I hope you now have a better understanding of what Geometer Sketchpad is and how it can enhance a math class.