Google Spreadsheets Group Assignment

Just like the other programs in Google documents, Google Spreadsheets provides solid alternative to its Microsoft counterpart while adding the functionality of being able to share your spreadsheet with anyone else with a Gmail account. I can see myself utilizing Google Spreadsheets in several ways, including uploading and maintaining grades, creating unique classroom projects, and sharing the most up to date classroom data with students and parents.

·         Uploading and maintaining grades- Google Spreadsheets provides an advantage to other spreadsheet programs in that anything I enter into the spreadsheet will instantly be accessible from any computer, so student grades can be viewed and edited from home, school, or a smartphone. Google Spreadsheets also eliminates the necessity of back-up.

·         Unique classroom projects- I can imagine setting up a math project that spands several classrooms, and is updated simultaneously in real-time by all the classrooms involved.

·         Sharing up to date classroom data with students and parents- I would set up a unique spreadsheet for each student that would include grades and any comments that I have on their assignments.

While I do have some experience with excel, I did experience somewhat of a learning curve in Google Spreadsheets because the menus are quite a bit different than what I am used to in Excel 2007; they remind me more of the menus in previous versions of Excel. Besides the basic functions of AVG, MIN, and MAX, the more complicated functions weren’t as easy to access and I missed some of the cell formatting templates that are available in Excel 2007.

My main contribution to the group was my previous knowledge of excel. Our final spreadsheet is here,  and my group's reflections on the project are here.

Running List of Great Math Sites

http://teachhighschoolmath.blogspot.com/

Assignment #2

As a student, how many times did you get home from school only to realize that you forgot the homework assignment for the day? How many times did you leave from class, confidently knowing the material, only to open your book a few hours later and not have a single clue how to find the interior angles of a transversal, or even what a transversal is in the first place? For some students those worries are a thing of the past. Why? Because their teachers use blogs as part of their teaching, actively posting homework assignments, helpful reminders on the day’s lesson, and even responding to student questions before class the next day.

Not only do blogs help teachers access students in today’s ever increasingly technology centered world, they can also provide a place where students post their work, reflect on the day’s class, or connect with their peers or teachers. Imagine being able to get feedback on the day’s lesson from every student in the class, easily compiled and sorted using Google docs, or have an open chat session where students can post their (class related) comments and concerns.

Some other technology resources to consider:

·         www.goanimate.com   - Courtesy of Rebecca Garland, a guest poster on theEmergingEdTech website. Allows students (or teachers) to create animated sequences to convey information. Could be used for students to show comprehension or for a teacher who wants to use a new creative way to give the syllabus.

·         www.youtube.com - (blocked in some school districts) Hundreds of educationally valid videos showing everything from a proof of Pythagorean Theorem using tape, to 3d images of the most giant stars in the universe.

·         www.twitter.com -Students can use twitter in the classroom to see what experts in the subject are saying about the latest finding in real time.  

Assignment #1

Hi,

I'm Ben Kaufmann and I am a MAT student at Willamette University. I hope to be a middle school math teacher in the near future in the near future (next fall would be great). I will also be receiving an ESOL endorsement and am very open to the possibility of teaching in an ESOL classroom. If I am not able to find a job right away, I will be moving to Nicaragua and teaching in a small school in Bluefields.

Some of my hobbies include playing piano, working out at the gym, swimming, and exploratory eating. When I am not being a student, I like to explore the world, meet new people, and experience other cultures.