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Welcome! This site has been designed to "assist you in your pursuit of increased mathematical understanding," or whatever sounds good to you. The subjects covered range from Pre-Algebra to Calculus. First, a little background. As we worked our way through various math classes throughout the years, we often became confused or lost. Instead of deciding that it might have something to do with all the sleeping and talking we did during class, the teaching style, the pace of the class, or something like that, we figured that it was probably because we were just morons. So for those of you who are "morons like us," here's a site that will try to help you understand math concepts better. This site will hopefully clarify some of those confusing math concepts. You know - the ones that have been waking you up in the middle of the night for so long!

Although middle school students may have learned to identify basic place value in earlier grades, most are developmentally ready to delve into the deeper concepts of counting in other bases and the exponential growth of groupings within each increasing place. Just as students can more clearly understand the English language by studying a foreign language, math students can better understand our number system by studying other number systems and/or by creating a new one. Students who construct depth of understanding of place value through exploration will be more fully equipped to expand their mathematical thinking into the realm of decimals and scientific notation. I have chosen to use the term "number system" for this WebQuest rather than "numeration system," because I think it will more successfully link new ideas to the prior knowledge of the middle school students.

Although middle school students may have learned to identify basic place value in earlier grades, most are developmentally ready to delve into the deeper concepts of counting in other bases and the exponential growth of groupings within each increasing place. Just as students can more clearly understand the English language by studying a foreign language, math students can better understand our number system by studying other number systems and/or by creating a new one. Students who construct depth of understanding of place value through exploration will be more fully equipped to expand their mathematical thinking into the realm of decimals and scientific notation. I have chosen to use the term "number system" for this WebQuest rather than "numeration system," because I think it will more successfully link new ideas to the prior knowledge of the middle school students.

Using Pascal's triangle, find the number of items given each day in the song - The 12 Days of Christmas.

Using Pascal's triangle, find the number of items given each day in the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas." Using Pascal's triangle, find the number of items given each day in the song - The 12 Days of Christmas.

The primary purpose of blog is to facilitate interaction between a teacher and his or her students. This is possible because a blog is a dynamic tool which can be easily updated or transformed as necessary to meet the needs of a science or math class. The integration of blog technology in a class requires an investment of time. Because of this commitment, additional evidence is needed to support the integration this technology in a science or math class curriculum.

"Integration of technology is an integral part of project based learning, because technology is an integral part of life outside the classroom as revealed in this part of the definition - "types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom.""

Learning science and math is normally thought of as committing to memory facts and procedures. Because of this we tend to perceive the best way to teach is through rote memorization of ideas, theories, and models. As a consequence, students experience little opportunity to develop a real understanding of what they are expected learn. Our challenge is to craft strategies which allow student interactivity within lessons. Student involvement beyond memorization is an essential building block for learning science and math.

The Flip camera is great for all types of projects in science and math - at any grade level. Flip cameras are small handheld video cameras that can record 30 or 60 minutes worth of video. They connect to a computer with a USB plug that "flips" out from the side of the camera. The benefits of these cameras include another means for assessing students understanding of concepts beyond worksheets and tests. Besides a teacher's record, the videos provide a digital record for parents and administrators to show a student's successes or areas which need improvement.

The use of web based technology is growing by leaps and bounds every day. These online tools are the new set of keys for opening your students' minds. The vast resources on the Internet are making the use traditional methods of teaching and learning obsolete in countless ways.

An interactive White Board (IWB) or SMART Board has the potential to deliver content better than traditional methods of teaching. Why? Because it provides multi-media functional interaction across audio, video, and computer media. It is also ideal for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. These qualities of an IWB also promote the dynamic delivery of content (if used to its full potential) in an engaging manner, which allows students to interact with science or math content their self. Examples include: * data manipulation * responding to data * even creating data So with all these attributes - "How are interactive white boards unsuccessfully used in science and math classrooms?" For the most part - not effectively!

Active learning has a powerful impact on student learning. How? Student achievement increases through mastery of science and math content as a result of this technique. Students also develop improved problem solving, communication, and higher order thinking skills.

Often we search for meaningful ways to integrate digital technology in project based learning activities given to our students. We also would like our students to develop a thorough understanding of the concepts underlying the work - after all this is the purpose of the project. Giving students the opportunity to complete and present their project through a digital lens has one great advantage - student engagement. This in turn causes students to develop a more in depth understanding of concepts.

Tips and tricks for the iPod Touch are needed to assist teachers in making the process easier when using this digital device for teaching and learning. As these digital devices become more widespread in classrooms, the need for more efficient use of these tools is coming to the forefront. This evolutionary course of action is resulting in more efficient and time saving strategies. The purpose of these 10 tips and tricks is to provide teachers, both novice and experienced, with features and applications (apps) designed to make an iPod Touch's functions easier to use. These features and apps offer the ability to customize this device to resolve management issues and integrate efficiently with other digital devices, such as a Mac laptop.

Stimulating critical thinking using technology has the potential to create more in depth understanding of science and math content by students when engaged in learning activities which integrate in-class and on-line technology resources. Technology tools support stimulation of both inquiry-based and critical thinking skills by engaging students in exploring, thinking, reading, writing, researching, inventing, problem-solving, and experiencing the world outside their classroom. This is accomplished through learning content through the lens of video to multimedia to the internet (Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement, NCREL, 2005).

The value of Twitter for helping you and your colleagues stay informed of the latest trends, ideas, resources, and Web 2.0 integration tools has increased tremendously in the past year. A Web 2.0 tool is available for exploiting the every growing information on Twitter to remove barriers and allow you to collaborate with other science and math teachers. This new online tool is paper.li - a source of daily Twitter newsletters in education.

As many of you may have discovered, I also found that many of my previous colleagues have little use for technology for teaching. They are mired in excuses such as using technology is cheating, students learn best through lecture, the stresses of NCLB makes it too difficult to do anything but have students memorize facts to pass the tests, etc.

Learning algebra is difficult for most students. Ask any student what they are learning in algebra and you will probably receive an answer similar to this (after - Why do I need to know this?). "Using Xs and Ys a lot, a bunch of numbers and symbols, and memorizing a lot of rules." This often comes with learning algebra without connection to anything students can relate to. When students learn basic math, they can make a lot of connections.

This article examines the use of comparison as a means of introducing multiple strategies for problem-solving in mathematics, and encouraging the development of flexible knowledge in algebra.

Using multiple strategies to solve problems - what a novel idea!

This webquest is designed to introduce you to the exciting world of angles. You will apply your knowledge of angles to several fun activities. In order to complete this webquest, you will need pencil, paper, protractor, ruler, and a compass. After completing the activities, you will be able to recognize the types of angles and construct your own angles.

"All the time you hear what is the use of learning math? Auto racing is full of math applications and concepts. For a race team to be successful they must understand math. "