Only 3 Classes left??

Wow. How fast everything this semester has happened! Even though as I think back to the first day of class, getting our color coded name tags and introducing our partners to the teammates, it seems like it was just last week.

Fast forward to November 5th. Three EEVC Warm Ups were completed and packaged. Workshops have been completed. Many tools have been introduced, which I can't wait to start using.

Somewhere in between, all the confusion and curiosity lessened and the program as a whole just started to make sense. With each class, more confidence has come from within, that I, a relatively new technology user, can use all the tools I've been exposed to.

I know that the next three classes are going to come and go so fast, but I am glad that I spend time each week immersed in a learning environment that I control, based on my needs and learning style. It will be interesting, during the month break, when I start to create my website. I'm very excited!!

Constructivism, eh?

Since reading through the Constructivist materials I am beginning to understand TEAM. Since orientation I was a little confused about the reason for all the collaborative work that I'd be engaging in during the 2 years. Now it makes sense. Collaborative learning occurs when there is social negotiation so there is better understanding, use and retention. It totally makes sense. Looking back to my undergrad years, collaborative learning rarely occurred. I have a feeling if it would have, I might have walked away with a completely different experience.

So all of that got me thinking about the constructivist learning environment for students. Student teaching for me was a time to explore the many different ways of teaching. My mentors always stressed the importance of multiple representations to ensure that each learner was learning. But, it's much more than that. Sure I've learned about constructivism in psychology courses, but I didn't really understand how to apply it in the classroom.

Within the mathematical content, it's crucial that students engage in tasks that are meaningful, and along with prior knowledge develop their problem solving skills while actively involved. Just as with TEAM, it's important for students to have social interactions while they embark on learning and take ownership. By creating a learning environment where students work with one another, they will be able to take more away with them, for immediate use and in the future, when they enter the real world. The skills learned while engaging in collaborative work are lifelong skills which will be a part of them, always. Those skills include but aren't limited to the ability to problem solve, think critically, reflect on oneself and interact socially.

As far as the methods for creating such an environment, the possibilities are endless. Aside from ensuring that the material pertains to the students lives, there are so many activities where students can take ownership of their own learning, especially when you realize how many ways there are to obtain solutions, to many topics within the curriculum. Of course feedback and modeling would be used, but ensuring that students can perform on their own is the true meaning of all of this. What good is it if students watch and leave the room clueless?

Photostory or iPhoto?

PhotoStory is only available for pc's, which is sort of disappointing! iPhoto, is similar but just not the same. For Warm Up 2, our group chose to use PhotoStory for presenting our ideas, and even though I personally didn't use it, I really liked it.

Over the past week, I explored iPhoto slideshows and found that it wasn't as user friendly of which I expected from a Mac, since everything else seems that way. As I explore deeper, accessing the help section, I hope to appreciate it as much as I hoped.