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.