Assignment Three
A) Build a web site and Upload it to be accessible
Here is the website that I created:
http://faculty.valencia.cc.fl.us/agroccia/
B) State how you think the design of the web page will enhance your mathematics courses.
The design of the web page will enhance the course because it is very user friendly. I feel that many students (and people) are afraid of trying new things because they fear it will be difficult and they will not understand. I have created the webpage so it should be very easy to access all of its features. Once you arrive at the web page, the options are all there with minimal scrolling. Once you decide what you need to see and click on the link, it will take you directly to the feature. Once you are done with the feature, at the end is the option to return to the top of the page. This will allow the user to move around easily without getting lost in the web page. I have used many motion clipart to make the webpage seem fun and welcoming. My goal is to make the web page a place where students can get help and access information easily.
C) State how your website will act as a resource for teaching a specific mathematical topic.
My web site will act as a resource for teaching my developmental mathematics courses because it has valuable information to help the students learn Algebra. The web site has all the course information such as the syllabus, instructor contact information, required homework, and sections to be covered in the text book. This web site has many activities that are designed to help the students learn the material required for this course. There are labs are there for students to receive more practice and the answers are there so the students can check their work. The web site also offers links to other websites that may help the students learn the material. The courses I teach have an exit exam that is a requirement for passing. I include sample tests and links for more practice. I also have sample quizzes and tests so the students know what to expect in the class and how the material is asked. If a student has a question on a specific topic, then there are labs designed for that topic.
D) Write a one page paper on how learning to create enhances learning/teaching mathematics.
Learning is a process that changes your current views or knowledge. During the process of learning you look at things in many different ways that you may have not looked at things before. During learning you test what you currently know and you either add to it or create new knowledge. Learning to create enhances teaching because you look at things through your students view, you expand your own knowledge, and you think of new ways to teach the material.
Learning to create enhances teaching because you look at the material through the eyes of your students. When creating something for my classes I am constantly thinking how could my students possibly read this question in a different way or how could one of my students solve this problem a different way. This enables me to help the student learn the material in a way that makes sense to them. For example, if I factor a trinomial using the guess and check method, then I wonder if a student will try to solve the problem using the table method. So when I create labs or tests I need to make sure that I can solve the problem both ways and be able to explain each method. Also, when I created my website I put myself in the user’s view and tried to make the site very user friendly. I wanted the user to be able to navigate easily, so I have many hyperlinks that will take the user to specific areas in the webpage and back to the beginning. Learning to create makes me aware of where the students will have problems with the material and I incorporate those pitfalls into the lesson so I can warn the students not to do them.
Learning to create also expands my own knowledge. When I created my website I thought this would be great and it will save me so much work. I did not realize that when I created the web page I would find that I now I have so much potential to add to the course. Now I want to include Power point lessons which can be jazzed up and improved through the use of Snag it which is more learning. Also, I want to work with scientific notebook which can be implemented into the web page. Once all of that is created, I can place all the information into WebCT which can be used for distance and online learning. So my idea of, “saving work” has turned into a wonderful more work filled learning process.
Finally, learning to create makes you think of different ways to teach. For example, when I created my lesson on how to factor trinomials I used to teach only guess and check. Then I learned you could factor by grouping once the trinomial was turned into a polynomial with four terms. Then I discovered that once the polynomial was in four terms it can be factor by the tic tac toe method. All of these types help me to teach students how to factor. If one method does not work, then I can teach another. Also, after I created my web site, I learned many shortcuts that I could have used, but I will have to save them for next time. Learning create makes you a better teacher because you develop new methods of teaching.
In conclusion, learning to create expands your mind and makes you a better teacher. I do not want to be the teacher that always teaches the same way and never tries anything new. I want to learn how to create new labs and activities. I want to learn about new technology that I can implement into my courses. I do not want to be afraid of learning new things because the ultimate goal of learning to create is to become a better teacher. I want to be the teacher who will learn new things to make the mathematics come alive and become real to my students so they can understand and use it meaningfully.