Podcast Blog Reflection

Directions:

Present basic information on your podcast.
Present the link and title of the podcast you listened to.
List and describe the ideas presented in the podcast you listened to.
Form a response based on the following questions:
Discuss why or why not these ideas were a good example of meaningful technology integration.
Discuss why or why not these ideas shaped or changed your ideas about meaningful technology integration.
Discuss how you might use these ideas in your own classroom, even if the ideas presented are not in your content area - find a way to apply them to your future classroom (be creative).

Response:

Title: Episode 8 - Teaching Area, Perimeter, and Scale Drawing with Microsoft Word
Artist: Danny Maas
Album: TILT - Teachers Improving Learning with Technology
Ideas Present:

• How to create grids in Microsoft Word and draw pictures on them - Maas provides complete steps in setting up an appropriate grid paper using Microsoft Word and then shows techniques at creating rectangular shapes to demonstrate area and perimeter.
• How to compare area and perimeter - Maas demonstrates different worksheets that would guide students through analysing the connection between area and perimeter. This idea is guided toward the beginning of a lesson to provide the students with the information to make a conjecture.
• How to use perimeter and area in real life situations - Maas presents some lesson plan ideas on how to allow students to apply the project to real-life situations including building a dog pen and building a porch.
• How to use the program to model - Maas shows a lesson idea involving using the Word grid to represent a room and the objects in the room using a scale. The students then have the ability to move the objects around in the room and decide how to organize the room.

These ideas were an acceptable form of technology integration but the technology was not necessary. The first 2 lesson ideas could have been done just as easily using small math tiles that are present in most schools. Actually, using the tiles may alleviate the prep time needed in teaching the students how to create and use the grid. The tiles would also allow the student to manipulate a tangible object with his or her hand which might better facilitate certain learning preferences. It would also be possible and perhaps faster to use graph paper and scissors to make the model of a bedroom. Using graph paper and cutting out the shapes of the furniture would allow the student to easily rotate the furniture around to the desired positions. Finally glue or tape could be used to hold the representations in the final locations. The activities might be more professional looking if done on the computer but I feel the lessons could be done faster and just as effective if done without technology. This lesson is proof that using technology may be fun and may look impressive but may not add anything constructive to the lesson. Just because technology can be used does not mean it should be used. Although the use of technology in this particular activity was not needed and I would prefer not to spend class time teaching the complicated computer usage for that activity, being able to draw the shapes in Microsoft Word is a good skill for the students to know. It is common in math classes where papers are required to need to be able to sufficiently draw shapes and diagrams. Perhaps if a report was needed to evaluate the students comprehension then having the students be able to draw their design or diagrams on the computer about be important in teaching how professional math can be. I will personally use the knowledge about pictures in Word to help myself create exams and quizzes for my students in the future where diagrams are needed. Another computer software program may be discovered to be more appropriate for the drawing for the lesson than Word. Word is not primarily a drawing software and therefore ClarisWorks Drawing (or Painting) program might be easier for this sort of project. The general idea of the lesson though is one I intend to use if teaching geometry.