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My point is that the world around us has changed so much in just the last 15 years. Our students LIVE technology every single day! The world around them is constantly changing... but our classroom's aren't.
We need to bring the world where our students live INTO our classrooms!
"Technology is an inescapable fact of life of the world in which we live and should be embraced as a powerful tool for doing mathematics" (NCTM, 2014, pg. 82).
Technology has completely transformed our everyday lives, and it should transform our classrooms too!
But HOW do we do that?
In NCTM's Principles to Actions (2014), there is a comparison of productive & unproductive beliefs about the use of tools and technology in the classroom.
1-Use technology to help students investigate mathematical ideas (NCTM, 2014).
Instead of graphing multiple lines by hand, let students use a graphing calculator or a graphing app to push past the tediousness of graphing and focus on the reasoning and sense making of the task (Dick and Hollebrands, 2011). By using technology to investigate ideas in our classrooms, we model for our students productive ways to use technology for future careers and pursuits. Technology can also help students explore ideas that might not be possible without it. "Teachers need to recognize that mathematical action technology influences not only how they teach, but also what they are able to teach" (NCTM, 2014, pg. 84).
2-Teachers need to be willing to learn new technologies.
I think as teachers, we often get stuck in the rut of "this is how I was taught" and are afraid or unwilling to step out of the box. We are also guilty of the "I learned this without technology" mentality, but the reality is that this technology wasn't around when we were in school--or if it was, it was too expensive! Maybe we would have a better understanding of some topics (like Geometry for me!) if we had the technology available to us! Explore options for Professional Development that focus on technology. "Without well-designed professional development, teachers may feel uncomfortable about using tools and technology in their classrooms. However, once they understand the role of tools and technology as a support for student reasoning and sense making, teachers come to see that they allow opportunities to pose more challenging questions that focus on exploration and understanding" (NCTM, 2014, pg. 84-85).
These ideas are not new, but they are the first steps toward bringing your classroom into the 21st century, engaging your students in new ways, and transforming the way that you teach and help your students learn mathematics! :)
We need to bring the world where our students live INTO our classrooms!
"Technology is an inescapable fact of life of the world in which we live and should be embraced as a powerful tool for doing mathematics" (NCTM, 2014, pg. 82).
Technology has completely transformed our everyday lives, and it should transform our classrooms too!
But HOW do we do that?
In NCTM's Principles to Actions (2014), there is a comparison of productive & unproductive beliefs about the use of tools and technology in the classroom.
1-Use technology to help students investigate mathematical ideas (NCTM, 2014).
Instead of graphing multiple lines by hand, let students use a graphing calculator or a graphing app to push past the tediousness of graphing and focus on the reasoning and sense making of the task (Dick and Hollebrands, 2011). By using technology to investigate ideas in our classrooms, we model for our students productive ways to use technology for future careers and pursuits. Technology can also help students explore ideas that might not be possible without it. "Teachers need to recognize that mathematical action technology influences not only how they teach, but also what they are able to teach" (NCTM, 2014, pg. 84).
2-Teachers need to be willing to learn new technologies.
I think as teachers, we often get stuck in the rut of "this is how I was taught" and are afraid or unwilling to step out of the box. We are also guilty of the "I learned this without technology" mentality, but the reality is that this technology wasn't around when we were in school--or if it was, it was too expensive! Maybe we would have a better understanding of some topics (like Geometry for me!) if we had the technology available to us! Explore options for Professional Development that focus on technology. "Without well-designed professional development, teachers may feel uncomfortable about using tools and technology in their classrooms. However, once they understand the role of tools and technology as a support for student reasoning and sense making, teachers come to see that they allow opportunities to pose more challenging questions that focus on exploration and understanding" (NCTM, 2014, pg. 84-85).
These ideas are not new, but they are the first steps toward bringing your classroom into the 21st century, engaging your students in new ways, and transforming the way that you teach and help your students learn mathematics! :)
Resources:
Dick, T. P. & Hollebrands, K. F. (Eds.). (2011). Focus in high school mathematics: Technology to support reasoning and sense making. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2014). Principles to Actions: Ensuring mathematical success for all. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
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