Saturday, October 1, 2011

Interactive technology enhances math classes at Mesa Community College.

Interactive technology enhances math classes at Mesa Community College. Now, more than ever, is an exciting time to teach college students.As advanced technologies are being developed, instructors have a greaterability to engage 21st century learners. The traditional method ofinstruction, where a professor speaks in the front of the room and thestudents listen, is not effective in a modern classroom. We are in a newage of instruction, where instant feedback, collaboration, mobility, andeffective communication are becoming increasingly important. I used to ask myself "what can I be doing better to engage mystudents?" The solution isn't one-size-fits-all and itdoesn't come overnight, but by using technology in my classes atMesa Community College, I have seen my classroom transition into acollaborative learning Collaborative learning is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches in education that involve joint intellectual effort by students or students and teachers. Collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common task in which each atmosphere where students are engaged like neverbefore. Instant Feedback for Real-Time Intervention With multiple classes and many students, it is impossible toprovide feedback instantly to everyone. In my math classes, I use theeInstruction CPS (1) (Characters Per Second) The measurement of the speed of a serial printer or the speed of a data transfer between hardware devices or over a communications channel. CPS is equivalent to bytes per second. Pulse student response system. With the system, eachstudent has a response pad, a remote control-like device that can beused to answer in-class or exam questions. All students have to do is"click" to answer. This method holds students accountable forparticipation and ensures that every student has a voice. It also givesme instant feedback that can be used to gauge how well the classcomprehends what I am teaching. If 20 percent of the class gets aquestion right, more time needs to be spent on the lesson. If 100percent of students reply with correct answers, I can move on. Fostering Engagement Through Mobility It's hard for an instructor to feel connected with a classwhen he or she is chained to the chalkboard or fixed interactivewhiteboard at the front of the room. To solve this problem, I useeInstruction's Mobi, a mobile interactive whiteboard tablet. Withthe Mobi tablet, I move freely around the room and interact one-on-onewith my students while still working on the board. The Mobi works justlike an interactive whiteboard, but its content can be projected on toany surface using a projector. The freedom to display content anywhere,without needing a physical board gives me flexibility in room structure.It's also a lot less expensive. When it comes to interacting with the class, the mobility makes iteasy for me to monitor what's happening in every seat of theclassroom, and to become more engaged with students. This has beenextremely helpful in keeping students on-task. Mobi also has a small LCDdisplay, called a KWIK KWIK Cross Wind Integrated Concentration screen (for Know-What-I-Know) where theinstructor can see immediate response data generated from the CPS Pulsestudent response system. Creating Collaborative Learning Atmospheres Getting college students to collaborate, even participate,hasn't always been easy. In addition to the Mobi instructor tablet,eInstruction makes Mobi learner tablets. Up to nine tablets can worktogether at once, creating a truly collaborative learning atmospherecentered on student participation. In my classes, I have studentsarranged in several clusters, and the groups use the tablets to presenttheir work all at once using the Mobi's split-screen option. I alsouse multiple Mobis to have multiple students work out a problem "onthe board" to compare methods. Helping Students Succeed With Effective Communication With email, websites and blogs, students no longer need to wait foroffice hours office hours,n.pl See business hours. or a return call to connect with an instructor. The Mobisoftware, Workspace, has recording features that make onlinecommunication even more effective. With Workspace, lessons that appearon the screen during class can be recorded, and then posted online. Ican record myself (my voice and the problem-solving motion of the Mobipen) as I work toward a solution. The video can then be uploaded to awebsite or sent directly to a student, for reference after class. I haveused the recording capability to create lessons, and to answer questionsoutside of class. I can email the solution to a student or post a lessonon my course website. I can also save the in-class presentation as anAdobe PDF file See PDF. to share with students who missed class. Another powerful tool that aids in quick, effective communicationis the Livescribe Smartpen. When a question about a particular mathproblem is asked via the website or email, it can be quickly worked out,with voice and step-by-step solving instructions, and then a"pencast" can be sent to a student or posted on a website. Thepencasts are a quick alternative to typing cryptic cryp��ticn.1. Hidden or concealed.2. Tending to conceal or camouflage, as the coloring of an animal. math steps back in anemail. The Livescribe Smartpen is especially effective with hybrid oronline classes. My Algebra algebra,branch of mathematics concerned with operations on sets of numbers or other elements that are often represented by symbols. Algebra is a generalization of arithmetic and gains much of its power from dealing symbolically with elements and operations (such as courses are hybrid, and I use a Livescribesmartpen to create the same examples that I would have done during aface-to-face lesson, and then post them on my website. Studentsappreciate that they can watch and hear the problems being worked asmany times as needed as neededprn. See prn order. . Looking Into The Future The new Math new mathn.Mathematics taught in elementary and secondary schools that constructs mathematical relationships from set theory. Also called new mathematics. Foundations Center, where arithmetic classes aretaught at Mesa Community College, has made technology a priority, and isgiving more than 36 arithmetic class sections access to advancedtechnology from eInstruction. In the spring semester se��mes��ter?n.One of two divisions of 15 to 18 weeks each of an academic year.[German, from Latin (cursus) s , the center willimplement workshop classes, and interactive technology will play a keyrole in creating the desired collaborative learning atmosphere. Advanced technology will never replace instruction from a trainedand experienced educator, but I have personally experienced howtechnology can enhance what we do. The Math Foundations Center is takingsteps to help Mesa Community College move to a 21st century teaching andlearning model. We are using new tools to engage students, and they inturn are using these tools to maximize their potential. It has been anight and day transition in my classes since I implemented this newtechnology. Engagement, participation and scores are higher than everbefore. As more teachers learn this technology, they will see thepositive implications it has on teaching in higher education. BY SUE GLASCOE MATH INSTRUCTOR MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

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