Blackboard Notes

Coming back to the classroom is always a refreshing challenge. As a new teacher to Martin County West, I had to rebuild the tools I will use in the classroom.  After saying goodbye to Heron Lake-Okabena, I also said goodbye to the materials I developed, NOT because they weren’t any good, but because they catered to HLO, not MCW. Each culture deserves material that suits them, and I’m going to make curriculum work for my new assignments, Intermediate Algebra and Geometry. I am not sure why the district wants to focus strictly on the standards, but I think I can get what I want, weaving them into the lessons I’ll give.  The students have given feedback already what they feel would work for them, and I’ll try to incorporate these ideas as I lead them. They (my students at MCW) are definitely hungry for ways of learning.  Many have not had consistent instruction, not due to any fault of their own (or the district's).  Can't really go down that road without divulging private

“Digital leadership requires connectedness as an essential component to cultivate innovative practices and lead sustainable change.” from Digital Leadership , Eric Sheninger @E_Sheninger. That IS my new challenge: connectedness. I’ll be in a new environment, I’ll have new (& more) students than I’ve had in five years. Not with the content, though I can always improve on that. I have yet to know what they are like, but I already know they yearn for stability and creativity.  I have done minimal to share my ideas, but now have a fresh slate to record them and use this platform as my reflection. I’ll also have new books, new classroom managemnt system, and new way of requesting time off. I realize I cannot replace the exiting teacher, nor can I imitate her. I do know by perusing through the old materials she kept that we share the same philosophies about math, regardless of technology. I also know I’m not the sharpest tool in the math department, and I’m okay with that, as lon

In all that I have studied, the "science" of math has driven the technology industry, especially in education.  I like to also use technology (apps like Desmos, devices like iPads, SMART boards, etc.) to relay conceptual foundations for the math topics. I also like to frequent Richard Byrnes' site for ideas on teaching mathematics to middle and high school students ( Free Technology 4 Teachers -see Math Games and Resources) I have seen many on #Twitter and other social media provide their own recommendations for some of their favorite things they used in the last year.  In my own reflection for 2017, I would say Desmos definitely rocked.  It also helped me find different ways to teach, especially smaller groups. Fezzik: Well, I haven't fought one person for so long. I've been specialised in groups, battling gangs for local charities, that kind of thing. Westley: Why should that make such a [squashed painfully] Westley: difference? Fezzik: You use dif