CEDu 533 Class #3

CSS are such an easy way to save time and a way to avoid cramping in your hands. It is much easier to define something once, than over and over again. Using CSS is another new language to learn, you don't need to type is as frequently as html. I think the most helpful CSS would be the external as well as the embedded. The embedded would be helpful when working on my school website where I am unable to create any external CSS. We shall see, taking this class as made me want to change the website to be able to format it the way I would like to.

Another aspect we looked at this class were Java applets. These would be a great add-on to my website to make it more user friendly for students. By adding the graphing calculator to the website, should would be able to complete most of the assignments without the TI-Calculators. This would be handy for those students who are sharing a calculator with a sibling or even a parent.

The last topic we examined on our own were e-portfolios. This reminds me of my undergrad experience. We were the first cohort, to go through with the revamped requirements. We created our teaching portfolios with Dreamweaver. It was the first time I created a web-page, let alone a web-site. I have an entire flash drive devoted to this endeavour. There was a lot to learn and a lot to upload... every image, thumbnail, converted interactive geometry sketchpad activities, lesson plans, and linked examples of how we met the standards. Lately the e-portfolios have been discussed in a regular classroom setting. Students create various portfolios, much like they create for English class from the writing they have done throughout the years. Portfolios are a way for students to organize what they have learned and more powerfully, reflect upon it. In mathematics, I feel that it might be a little time consuming to add artifacts to the portfolio. Students would be able to scan artifacts, or create various projects to showcase their learning. I feel that many students would benefit from reflection since math is sometime blamed for being so disjointed from everyday life. This would force students to reflect on where they have seen the concepts around them, as well as how learning something difficult could change how they would approach future problems. I feel that using an e-portfolio would force me, as a teacher, to be more creative with assessments. The sequential nature of mathematics sometimes makes this difficult. I feel pressure to ensure that my students have been exposed to everything so they will be successful in the next class. Well, I can always give it a shot and see.

CEDu 533 Class #2

This week we spoke about tables. This was the perfect thing to discuss because as a math person, I can get a little particular about the way I want to present information. On my website I wanted to be able to create a table to insert information about dates, assignments, and topics we are discussing in class but was unable to successfully make the table reflect the information I wanted it to. Now, I'm going to try to give it a shot.

When we were working with a group it was interesting to discuss both good and bad websites. There were many examples of great websites, which I frequently go to. We also explored some bad websites which started to make me worry. Would my website considered the good or the bad kind? Our school district has a style sheet they would like us to use and some teachers use it while others don't but as I'm learning more html I am more willing to play around with it and manipulate it until it is a website which is easier to use and more functional. We shall see how it turns out.