Recent Comments
- Kyle Webb on Final Project Update
- Dan Palmarin on Final Project Update
- Denise Phaneuf on Keeping My “Girl-ish” Figure
- Shelby Mackey on Keeping My “Girl-ish” Figure
- Christina Schmidt on Keeping My “Girl-ish” Figure
Response Journal 1
January 22nd, 2012 by Micheal
I found the first article, ‘Why Teachers Matter’ by Merrilyn Goos an extremely good, insightful read. It made me think back the first day of Emath 350 when we had to write a brief starting paragraph to our mathematical biographies. Goos explained a similar process she went through with her pre-service mathematics teachers in asking them to do a similar thing in answering the question ‘what is mathematics?’, along with relating some other metaphors to math. The answers she received didn’t really surprise me in the slightest bit. People, both students and others in society, have a very bad connotation towards mathematics. They view it as being black, boring, and something that it makes them feel angry or frustrated; results which most people could likely conclude. There are only a select few in society who have a love and admiration for math, and
likely it is due to a positive experience they’ve had in their lives with the subject matter or someone related to it. A portion of the article which I thought it was rather comical was people’s perceptions of how people physically view math teachers; being old, grumpy and dressed poorly.
So what does all of this mean? Blatantly, we as math teachers are doing a very poor job at getting people excited about math and making it relevant to their lives. I love math; and the thought that the majority of people find it to be something fearful doesn’t sit well with me. It makes me want to become the best math teacher possible. Getting students excited about math, encouraging their independent thinking about it, making it applicable and relevant to their everyday lives, and of course dressing and looking well while doing it (we can’t have people thinking math teachers dress without fashion in mind) is what I’m going to strive for. It is up to me and the next generation of math teachers to break down those negative connotations and attitudes towards math and to get students excited about doing and living it.
The second article, ‘The Importance of Mathematics Teachers’ Beliefs’ by Kim Baswick talked a great deal about the beliefs people have and some of the contradictions related to those beliefs. She talks about how someone could state how much they dislike math because of a bad experience, but at the same time not realizing they use math in another part of their lives quite proficiently and enjoy doing it. This realization made me
think back to last semester when I, along with many of my classmates were taking an abstract algebra class at university. The course was very difficult and almost weekly I heard comments and complaints from my classmates exclaiming how much they hated math and wished they didn’t have to take the class. But at the same time, those same people were doing wonderful work with math in other classes and had completely different beliefs about it, completely contradicting their frustrations with their abstract algebra course.
It’s in our beliefs and views as teachers which shape who we are as math teachers. Students are not dumb. They can see right through us, often better than we can see ourselves. So when we’re having a bad day, when we’re not believing in what we’re teaching, or when we don’t believe that students can succeed in learning math, those thoughts are passed right along to our students without us even realizing it. It’s our own beliefs and ideas about ourselves, those we teach, and what we teach that will make us successful and meaningful math teachers. We need to believe in the product we’re selling, what it is we’re selling, who we’re selling it to, and what’s the best method that we can get it to them.
One good idea I would like to take from the readings are the questions/metaphors about math. I think it would be very beneficial to ask the students:
- What is mathematics?
- If mathematics was a food, what kind of food would it be?
- If mathematics was a colour, what colour would it be?
- If mathematics was music, what kind of music would it be?
Along with some possible other questions about their view on math. I would ask them the questions at the begging of the semester, and also at the end of the semester, and potentially even in the middle, to judge how their views on math and what they’re learning is changing. If I am
doing my job right, I hope their answers will transform from broccoli to pizza, from black to blue, and from classical music to rock and roll; and that they’re now truly enjoying math.
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Back At It
January 22nd, 2012 by Micheal
I logged back on to this blog for the first time in over two years today, which I thought would never happen. Originally creating this blog in my first semester of university for my ECMP 355 class, I really liked the idea of having a classroom blog in the future, but had just intended on making a new one when the day came that I would be in the classroom. So being back on this blog and working on it is something very unexpected, but also quite enjoyable. The reason for me logging back in and now continuing to update and post things on the blog is it’s needed for my education math 350 class, now that I’m in my third year of university.
I suppose I could just delete all of my old posts, comments, and work to start over again on this blog, but i kind of like the idea of having a basis started and just continuing on from that. For all of my new EMTH 350 related posts, and easy way to navigate them is through the categories tab i created for the class, where i will be sure to include all class related posts. I’m not entirely sure how many people will be viewing my blog now, but for those of you who are, enjoy!
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Final Project
December 11th, 2009 by Micheal
Perhaps the biggest thing that I’ve learnt this semester in ECMP has been the limitless possibilities of technology and computers, both in the classroom and out. So when posed for an idea for a final project, i had the brilliant thought to make a video. The concept i had seemed great, and i was genuinely excited to undertake such a project. At the time, however, i completely disregarded the fact that i have had absolutely nothing to do with movies, nor made a movie in my life; save the couple of web cam videos i made for ECMP. When it was time to start going on my project, i was faced with a very large moment of feeling unsure, “how they heck am i going to make a video?” I’ve never used a video camera before and I’m not even sure how to properly use the recording part on my digital camera, never mind the mass edditing that would come with doing a video that way. So that was completely out of the question (i also didn’t have a video camera, and my digital camera was away being fixed, so i had very little choice).
So if making a video by hand was out of the question, how else could i do it? I had thought about trying to use the web cam off of my computer, or even buying the appropriate devices, but the first would be of very poor quality, and the latter would be very financially straining. So i started researching alternate means to make a video on my computer, which is where i came across a website called screencast. With thise website, i have the ability to take a video of what is on my computer screen, save it, and publish it. I liked the idea as soon as i saw it, and step one was complete; i had found a means of making the video.
As I previously mentioned, i knew nothing about videos, so the next step in the process was finding out everything i possibly could to make a video of this nature. I found multiple websites, each of which have provided me with some very helpful tips and strategies to what goes into making a good video. The screencast website also had a wide variety of tutorial videos and things of that nature, each of which i watched until i understood how to use the program and how to make a video that people will actually want to watch.
Now that i was literate with the technology, the next step was writing a script for the video, which i had learned from the research I’d done and from the short videos we made in class. This was probably the hardest part of the process, as i had to try and visualize what i would say, and how i would portray it, while i was making the video. Some of the things that i tried to take into consideration while making the video were trying to not make the movie very lengthy, as long videos are often boring after a while; trying to show each individual step needed to portray what i was getting across; and also to come across in a semi-professional demeanor. I also made several short attempts at making portions of the video, so i could be learned of how the program works and so when it came time to do my final video, it would be simple.
I then made the video, and i feel that it came out pretty darn good. I’ve seen some other people’s final projects and have been impressed with them thus far. There is definitely an obvious difference in the projects that were done by multiple people and those that were done individually, in my opinion. I did my project all by my lonesome, which i’m kind of proud of and feel that there wasn’t really a way to do this project with a group.
This video may seem very useless to my fellow ECMP classmates and people who are already very technologically inclined, as i made it for those persons who have very little experience in the regard. My intentions for the video were for someone who knows very little about computers to be able to watch it, and take even one of the things that i mentioned and use it to their advantage. I originally made the final project about a week before it was due, and i was really trying to encompass the short and sweet thing, so i decided to show it to everyone at my mom’s office to see what they thought of it, and i received some mixed reviews. The people there aren’t very technologically literate, which is the very reason i made this video, but by me making it short, they didn’t know how to do the things that i was trying to get across. I made a big mistake; i was assuming that they knew how already, which was wrong. So i re-wrote my script and re-made the video, and showed it to them again. This time it showed them the step by step directions and they were emphatic about it this time. I ended up staying at the office for most of the day, getting their new google accounts and desktops set up to meet their needs. It felt great actually.
It may seem like a simple video, but all of the time that went into making it, made it a very long, involved process, whether it may seem like it or not. It was a definite worth while process, as i learned a lot about things I’ve never had experience with before. So regardless if you know everything in the video, or nothing at all, I hope you like it, regardless. The program i was using only allowed me to have five minutes per video, so i made two parts, both of which have links below. I thought about having upwards of five or six videos, but i had originally hoped to have one single, defined video, so even having two went against my original plans.
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Wrapping It Up
December 9th, 2009 by Micheal
Today is officially the last day of the semester. A fact that may be very exciting for some, as they have a two week break and no classes; while at the same time being scary for others, as they’re faced with the inevitable end of semester realities that most dread all term, final projects and final exams. It’s about a mutual feeling for both aspects of the end of the semester for me. I’m without a doubt looking forward to having some time off, and being able to kick back and take it easy. My kicking back is going to have to wait for about two weeks though, as i have finals off and on until the 21st and two projects due in the next four days. Luckily for me, i have at least three days between each of my finals, and I’m nearing completion of both of the projects (one of them is my ECMP project, which i should have up sometime on Friday, at the latest), so my schedule isn’t overwhelmingly engulfing.
I’ve been finished my mentor-ships for about a week now. They were my favourite part of this class by far. The new information i attained from this class was obviously great, but being able to work with some experienced teachers and create things for their classes, was beyond rewarding. The video conversations i had with two of my mentor-ships were amazing; I’m smiling right now, just thinking about them. The kids were so enthusiastic and happy to be interacting with me, their smiles and child-like questions made this entire course worth it. I would like to give a huge thank you to all of my mentorships, Ian Pratt, Lee Kolbert, and Gerald Augnst. I had different experiences with each of their classrooms, but they were each individually enlightening and very educational for me. Thanks.
I haven’t yet decided whether or not i’m going to continue with this blog after the class ends. It’s actually a lof of work, and has been quite the filler
of my time this semester, but i am getting marked on it, so i fully understand the allocation of my time with this blog being worth it. If i decide not to continue on with it, i fully am planning on creating a classroom blog one day,when i become a teacher. I now fully realize their importance, and feel that it’ll be a great tool for my classroom one day.
I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas, and hope that their holidays are favourable. If you’re writing Santa, feel free to request that the big man sends something other than coal my way. Hopefully I’ve made the nice list this year. Take care team.
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Final Project Update
December 8th, 2009 by Micheal
My project is almost finished… thank God. I finished up my written script earlier this weekend and have been practicing going through it quite a bit. I’m pretty sure my roommates think i’m going crazy since they keep hearing talking coming from my room when i’m the only one in here. They’ve both came in to see if there was anyone else in here with me, but i keep telling them i’m just talking to my computer. My dog even looks at me funny when i’m practicing; mostly because i’m distrurbing his 6th or 7th nap of the day.
I hope that the end result turns out how i had originally wished it would. There have been some minor set backs and revisions along the way, but with any luck, it should hopefully be close to what i had originally envisioned. I’ll have it up near the end of the week.
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Keeping My “Girl-ish” Figure
December 3rd, 2009 by Micheal
With my gradual transition to university life and being completely independent of my parents have came a great deal of changes. None of which i can really consider being bad; those that appear questionable have just taken some getting used to and the others have been purely efficacious. I feel that I’m now well at the point where I’m fully adjusted and am in a very comfortable routine. With my new lifestyle, the changes have been plentiful, but the most prodigiousvicissitude that I’ve undergone has been my new diet and physical lifestyle.
Throughout high school, i was never the type to have poor eating habits, or have a lethargic lifestyle in the very least. I’ve always been involved in numerous physical endeavours, and i ate what my mother did, which was usually very healthy. Like all teenagers, however, i did enjoy a soda or some sweets from time to time, but never in great excess or magnitude. I would have considered myself a healthy individual, especially observing what my peers were consuming; often things of pure sugar or containing very little nutritional value.
My move to the city was the start of a complete makeover of my diet and lifestyle. During my initial days of living in my new house, i felt completely distraught at knowing what to make for food. Not only was i completely cooking for myself now, but there were plenty of new varieties of foods in the house that i had seldom eaten before. My early days i found that my stomach felt very empty, as i hadn’t been very practiced in being creative about what i was eating with regard to the food that was in the house. That’s definitely not the case anymore.
I now eat very healthy, to be completely blunt. My breakfasts are either oatmeal and fruit or egg whites and fruit. My lunches, very small, and usually consisting of some sort of dairy product and some tuna. Suppers are my largest meal of the day and vary quite a bit. Earlier tonight i had some grilled salmon, brown rice, and some steamed broccoli for example. The main thing i try to do with my diet is limit my carbs, drink plenty of water, eat nothing processed, and snack as little as possible. I’ve been in the city for almost four months now, and I’ve still not been to a fast food establishment of any sort; a fact that i’m very proud of .
The biggest thing that i try to en
vision when striving to be healthy is thinking about what i eat. “I could grab some pizza or a burger at the university, or i could wait half an hour and cook something when i get home”. “Those cookies/cakes/sweets do look rather good, but it won’t kill me if i don’t have one”. Not only does eating at home as often as possible ensure a healthy diet, it’s also very easy on the wallet. It was a hard transition to make at first, but it’s one that has been well worth it in more ways than i can name.
Along with eating right, I’ve also been striving to be as physically active as possible. The opportunity to play high schools sports on a daily basis is now in the rear view mirror, so I’ve been finding other ways to be physically active. On a weekly basis i: go for a run every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (4.3 km); play basketball every Sunday and Monday; and also work out two or three times whenever i can fit it in. It may seem like a lot, but like with all changes in life, you get used to them and they become something ingrained in your weekly schedule and also your mentality.
I try to be as quiet as possible about my new found lifestyle, as most people think that an 18 year old shouldn’t be on a diet or concerned about things of that nature. But my train of thinking is that if i take care of my body from a young age, my latter days will prosper resultingly. My peers also can become amused about my positive lifestyle when i make the joke that “i need to keep my girlish figure”. Most people would actually be amazed if they knew that since i started my diet, i lost about 6 pounds in fat and have since gained it back in muscle. I definitely am not concerned with my weight at this point in my life, I’m often just curious about it, so it’s nice to let the scale and i meet from time to time.
Learning how to take care of my body is something that i can give credit to the university for giving the opportunity to start over at a new place in my life. With any luck, I’ll stay on track and will only become healthier; healthy body, healthy mind. Christmas is just around the corner as well, so for all of you who love the Christmas baking and treats that the season brings, only take one helping and limit how much you take. Your body will thank you for it.
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Final Project Update
November 29th, 2009 by Micheal
I sort of got off to a slow start on my final project. A few people in class the past few weeks were saying that they had already finished or were very close to finishing their final projects, so that sort of gave me the kick in the butt that i needed to get rolling on mine finally.
To reiterate what exactly my project entails, i am making an instructional video on how to get more time out of your day. Hopefully up to an hour for some people. Originally, i had a few ideas on how to make the video, but combining all of those ideas seemed impossible and i could not find a way to make them all work, so i decided to just choose one way. The video is going to be very instructional, with some comical aspects in it whenever possible. I wanted to find a way to have my scree
n be seen for the duration of the video, so through doing some research, i stumbled across a website called screencast.com which is completely devoted to sharing your screen for a video. I watched quite a few of the tutorials on there as well as looked at some other hints to making a decent video from other sites, so when it comes time to actually make the video itself, it will go off without a hitch.
Basically, the hard part of making the end result is all of the planning that it takes to get there. I’ve already became versed with the program, and have fooled around with it and made a few sample videos, so i should be good with that part of it. The next big step is creating a storyboard or plan for everything i need to include in the video, which I’m currently in the process of making right now. Once I’m finished that, I’m going to go through the video a few times without recording, so i can find any hiccups or problems with it. Once I’m finished that, it’s lights, cameras, action!
I’ll have another update on my progress later in the week just before I’m ready to record the video. Stay tuned…
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Not So Big Feet
November 28th, 2009 by Micheal
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3532/3220087251_f5a280f489_o_d.jpg
Our latest ECMP assignment is to write about our digital footprint. In class we talked about how what’s on the internet about us can affect our lives in many ways, whether we know it or not; we should be in control of how we’re viewed by the world over the internet so that it will help us rather than hinder. I would say that I’m the type of person who has a very small digital footprint, as I’m not very much into a lot of the social networking trends such as myspace or facebook. I figured i would do a few google searches of my name and place(s) of residence to see what i came up with:
- Micheal Head: The only thing that i was able to find was my twitter account, which i originally signed up for purposes of the ECMP class.
- “Michael Head” Fort Qu’Appelle - I added my home town to the search but not very many results about me for this one either. I did however find a Saskatchewan newspaper article with my name in it for when i received my gold duke of Edinburgh’s award last November.
- “Micheal Head” Bert Fox – Adding part of my high school name didn’t seem to yield tons of results either. One website i found linked me to my youth group leader from Fort Qu’Appelle. Interestingly enough, i was the one member of the group mentioned on the site about her.
Basically, i found nothing about me. If as person were to search for me through google, all they would discover is that i have a twitter account linked to groups of teachers and that I’ve received my gold duke of Edinburgh’s award. I tried many variations of Micheal; i spell it EA instead of the more common AE, and a lot of people get it wrong, which I’m used to by now, but it wasn’t any more successful. I also tried using Regina as well as variations of my home town and school, but could find very little. I did find my name in a legislative assembly debates and proceedings paper, which was very interesting to see that i was in.
I’m not really too sure how i feel about not having a very large digital footprint. In person, my size 14′s can usually leave a pretty big mark where needed, so not having a large one online is new to me. Being hard to find on the internet has it’s positives and negatives i would say. The positives being that there are no obscene pictures or writings of me online, which is very nice to see. The negatives being that all of the very much positives aspects in my life, as well as some of the milestones I’ve reached aren’t on display. However, i don’t see myself doing anything greatly to increase the size of my digital footprint in the near future. It will grow in time the more i experience and do in life, and that growth will be completely positive.
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Six Words
November 25th, 2009 by Micheal
During our latest ECMP class, we were asked to take a picture and describe how we were feeling that day in only six words. At the time i was feeling very tired, and overwhlemed by the school work i had already finished that week, as well as the work i still had to do. I felt like if i did one thing wrong, and strayed from my homework schedule, my entire week would be thrown completely out of sync. It all worked out very well though, and i finished everything that i needed to on time.
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Mentorship
November 24th, 2009 by Micheal
My mentor ships are rolling along like they have been all semester. My last mentor-ship update post had a couple of voicethreads i made for two of my classes, both of which were actually used in their classrooms. I was very glad to hear that the things i made weren’t just for a non-meaningful purpose, but instead were actually used in a lesson plan to enhance what the children were learning. Both Lee and Ian seemed to be very appreciative of me making them also. It’s great to look at the comments the kids left on the voicethreads as well; it definitely puts a smile on my face.
I’m not working on very many new things for my mentor-ships right now in two of my classes, as the semester is coming to an end. In Gerald Aungst’s class, the class is actually going through a teacher change, so there’s pretty much nothing happening there. In Lee Kolbert’s classroom, they just finished with my voicethread late last week, so i haven’t received any new instructions or ideas on what do to next. For my third teacher, Ian Pratt, i talked to him over skype earlier today, and we were able to figure out a few more things for me to do. I’m going to put together something on electricity and circuits, and talk to his class about it over skype Monday morning, bright and early at eight (two o clock their time in the UK). I’m also going to try and make a podcast for him as well, if i get enough time and am able to figure out how to actually make one.
My mentorships seem to be going good; stay tuned for more updates.
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