Part B Application of TPACK

1.        The technology that I have chosen to use is a SMART Board along with interactive websites to help my students practice their multiplication facts in class and get motivated to practice more outside of school.  Since I have been teaching there has always been a struggle to get my students to learn their multiplication facts.  I have used every game, trick and strategy that I could possibly find but nothing really seems to help the students that are slightly unmotivated or those who do not have a lot of support at home.  In the research that I have done there isn’t really a quick or easy way to learn multiplication facts except for drill and practice.  When given all of the strategies and tricks for understanding them the only thing left to do it memorize.  Since I fully believe that kids learn in different ways this will allow for students to practice their facts in a more hands on way.  The interactive games will allow them to be involved and require movement, which a lot of students need.  It helps to keep the students more interested and motivated.

2.      The technology that I am using will make the content more accessible to the students by driving their motivation to practice more on their own outside of school. What I have found in using the SMART Board to reinforce learning is that students like to be successful when they are playing another student.  It is also motivating for the other students to watch because they then want to be the one who is up there getting to play the game.  This will also allow for the student to get addition practice that they normally would not have had the opportunity to be a part of.  I will also make a list of the websites to send home with the students so they they can have some different ways of practicing at home as well.  Since I gave my students the technology survey I now know that they all have computers with internet access.  This will help to let they parents know how successful their children are.  My hope is that after completing this project I will be able to help other teachers who are also having this problem with their students.

3.      I have designed this project so that students will have the opportunity to practice their multiplication facts in a different more exciting way.  Since this is a skill that all student need to be able to do fluently, to help them in further math classes and as a skill that is used in everyday life,  ,my overall goal for my students is that they will be able to increase their mad minute score by at least 5 problems in a minute and be more confident as mathematicians.  I believe that this will help them to become more motivated learners and want to practice their multiplication math facts more!

I would definitely do this project again.  I am sure that I could find newer, better interactive sites for the kids to practice and use.  I would also like to start this project at the very beginning of my multiplication unit and not part way through.  I think that I would see different result.  Next time I would also think about having some volunteers come in to help monitor the SMART Board.  Then I would really know that my students are using the SMART Board in the correct way.

Trying to find research that supports my solution was not an easy task.  I found a lot of information that told how other teachers teach multiplication facts and what the others thought the best approach was but I was very limited in terms of finding research that showed playing math games would help kids to learn their multiplication math facts.  In one study that I found from the University of Sydney titled Improving Basic Multiplication Fact Recall for Primary School Students it compared using paper and pencil with computer practice to drill the students.  The results from the study showed that the students made about the same improvement using pencil and paper practice as compared to computer practice.    They did suggest that computer –based practice can be better because some of the programs provide instant feedback for the students (Evans, 2007). 

Another document  that I found was Fact Mastery and More!, this document said that not only do you need drill and practice but you also need to incorporate four main teaching principles when teaching multiplication facts.  First you need to teach the strategies.  Then, use visual representation.  Next, present the facts in a thoughtful order.  Finally, generalize the facts. This supports my thoughts and practices in that I feel I am doing the right type of teaching.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t give any information to back up my thinking that playing multiplication math games will help students to more fluently learn their facts.  (Woodward)

Evans, M. W. (2007). Improving Basic Multiplication Fact Recall for Primary School Students. Mathematics Education Research Journal , 89-106.

Woodward. (n.d.). University of Puget Sound. Retrieved April 2011, from www.ups.edu/faculty/woodward/facts%20overview.pdf

Web Conferencing

For the web conferencing lab our group decided to use Vyew.  We had used this site before for the text tool and thought that it was pretty easy to use.  It’s funny how some ideas can seem like great ideas but then flop.  It was really neat to be able to see and talk with everyone at the same time but for our group it wasn’t a good choice.  Trying to correspond our schedules to be on the computer at the same time was more work that it was worth.  When you take full time jobs, families, checking papers and all of the other things that life throws at you it is hard to set that up.  Technology definitely helps our group in other ways but in a less demanding way.  By using text messages and emails it allowed us to connect with others when it was convenient for each of us.

I could see this tool being used in the classroom for other purposes.  You could talk with other students and classroom all over.  I think that the kids would absolutely love it!

Part A – Description of Need or Opportunity

  The problem that I would like to address is basic multiplication math facts. I have seen an overwhelming issue with kids learning their basic multiplication facts, each year they seem to be less successful with this task.  This also creates another problem; they cannot quickly and precisely complete other math assignments that involve basic fact multiplication. The GLEC's state that students should fluently know their multiplication math facts.

 Since I already have a SMART Board I would like to incorporate that as my use of technology.  I have already found some interactive games that can be used with addition and subtraction facts practice so I am sure that I can find games that support multiplication fact practice.  I would like to incorporate the use of the SMART Board as an everyday tool for the students to use to help them practice their facts, on top of the other games that I have taught.  I think that the SMART Board will help to motivate the students to practice more at home and maybe even use some of the technology they are seeing at school, at home as well.  In knowing that kids learn in different ways I have used a multitude of different strategies to try and help my students to learn their multiplication facts.  I have tried skip counting, chanting, flashcards, memorization through repetition, songs, trick and tips, fact families, arrays and even bribery!  Nothings seems to work effectively for the majority of students. 

  Using the games every day will help the students drill and practice in a more interesting way.  My plan is to allow the students to use the SMART Board in the mornings during seatwork time as well as during math time.  I would like to use a rotation system to ensure that all of the students get a chance to play the games. I would like the students to be practicing using the SMARTBoard everyday for the first 2 weeks.  After that, we will go done to two or three times a week to help reinforce the facts.  Since I already track the students on if they know their multiplication math facts or not it will be easy to see if there are improvements that are being made.  The kids are assessed weekly by completing a fact sheet that is timed.  They are also are given the option to take an oral test.  So I already have some data to compare it with.  I think that it will be important to keep the kids practicing the facts even when we move on to another math unit.

In searching for research on this topic I wasn’t very successful.  There are tons of websites that offer ideas to help the kids learn the facts but nothing seemed research based.  They all basically say the same tips and strategies to use (which I have tried).  So I took it upon myself to talk with other teachers and see what they thought and what exactly they used to practice the multiplication facts.  Unfortunately, we all seem to be in the same boat.  The problem is unanimous; no one has a good program that is effective for most kids.  Maybe the games, coupled with the other strategies that I use will do the trick!

Personal Introduction

Here is the link to my personal introduction:
http://jaycut.com/community/mixes/v7hhaE9Th/h264-mp4-medium.mp4?0

PART A-Brainstorm Session

Below I have listed the link where you can find our web conferenceing session:

http://www.msu.edu/~satovsk6/part3.swf


For th brainstorming part of this project our group decided that we would use vyew as our web conferencing tool.  After a few minor setbacks we all figured out how to use vyew on a very basic level.  I think that one of the advantages of using vyew would be the fact that you can allow each of your group members to share at the same time, it makes it feel like you are in the room with your group. As for a diadvantage, it did get a little confusing at times because everything was being posted all over the screen.  Is there a way to better organize what is being posted?  That would be something to furhter investigate.  It seemed to help a little when we could organized the comments a little by moving them on the screen.  I could see that this would a powerful tool for students to use when they need to communicate with others who are  far away.  You can have multiple people involved in the same conferenceing session, pretty cool!  For our purposes on this assignment I think that it would have been nice to be able to  have a video capture of our session.  But then we wouldn't have been able to explore another technology!! Unfortunately, I didn't get to explore this as much as I would have like but I am excited to add this new tool to my technology tool box!

Personal Reflection

What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?

In thinking about effective teaching strategies when incorporating technology I have learned a lot.  First, whenever you are dealing with technology in the classroom you need to be prepared.  That also includes having a backup plan and trying out the technologies on different computers.  I found that what works on one computer isn’t always the case on another.  I think it also helps if you can sometimes start the desired lesson with smaller groups.  Especially at the elementary level the kids like to be involved and doing things.  So if you can use small group then everyone could have a change to use the technologies if they are interactive.  Also, I think that it is important for the teacher to know which programs they have access to on the technologies they have available.

How did integrating web-based technologies help you think about and evaluate uses of technology?

I am amazed at how easy it is to access help on the technologies that we have been learning about.  I was always so afraid of technology because I felt that I didn’t know anything, but now I don’t feel that way.  Unfortunately the technologies that I have available in my district don’t always support the new tools and programs that we are learning about.  I am excited to try and use what I can when it is supported.  But, I feel very confident in trying new things as well!

How have you met your own personal goals for learning about technology integration?

Personally, I have been pleasantly surprised at the ease I experienced in using the new technologies presented in this course.  I find myself feeling more confident in experimenting with the unknow.  Before I started these courses I would have never imagined that I would be accomplishing the thing I have.  I have worked with websites before but I really enjoy seeing all of the programs available and being able to choose the program that would work best for me.  I feel that I have a huge variety of tools that I can know access and feel confident using.  I am excited to continue with this journey.  

Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over?

As this class comes to a close my mind is turning and turning with new ideas on how I will use the new technologies we have learned about.  In knowing what I have available I plan to create addition STAIR presentation that will help my student.  I would also like to use more media in my lessons and try and make them more interactive.  I am trying to keep my goals small, therefore they are attainable.  I have high hopes for myself in this tech savy world!