Annotated+Bibliography

Reflection on Collaborative Bookmarking Tools To view Team A's [|Annotated Bibliography]  If ever a truer statement has been said about this class, "There is never a dull moment." Yet another application I have not heard of known as a collaborative bookmarking tool. After researching several collaborative bookmarking tools on the web, our group (Team A) decided to go with Diigo. I found this tool so user-friendly that even I could navigate through it with ease and not too many curse words. Prior to this introduction of a collaborative bookmarking tool, the only bookmarking tools I was familiar were the ones attributed to Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox. In working with my teammates this week, I can honestly say I see the power in using the collaborative bookmarking tool in teaching. There have been many math websites I have found and wanted to share with my fellow math teachers and did so through a very time consuming and cumbersome process via email. Standard operating procedure for sharing a new website was to copy the website address, write an email, paste the address in the email, and hit "send." Now with this tool, I can set up a group for all the math teachers in my school to have access and to share websites of interest. I look forward in taking the information learned in this class and sharing it with my middle school math teachers. Students in all grade levels have difficulty mastering abstract mathematical concepts. According to a website funded by the Virginia Department of Education known as MathVIDS, "The purpose of teaching through a concrete-to-representational-to-abstract sequence of instruction is to ensure students have a thorough understanding of the math concepts/skills they are learning. When students who have math learning problems are allowed to first develop a concrete understanding of the math concept/skill, then they are much more likely to perform that math skill and truly understand math concepts at the abstract level." Therefore, it is critical for all teachers to integrate manipulatives into their mathematical instruction. Unfortunately, many teachers have acquired their mathematical knowledge through rote memorization,and they fail to see the power of manipulatives in instruction and are uncomfortable using any type of hands-on manipulative like algebra-tiles or two color counters. The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) provide access to an array of manipulatives for students to achieve thorough understanding of mathematical concepts on concrete and representative levels. This website allows teachers the ability to integrate manipulatives in their classroom instruction without a history of prior use. I have recommended this website to many teachers who were fearful of using manipulatives in their classroom due to their lack of understanding of the tool. When they "played" with the NLVM, teachers discovered how the manipulatives assist students' understanding, and in turn increased teachers' mathematical knowledge. No longer was math a memorized algorithm, the teachers actually grasped the concept involved in the calculation. The only flaw I can find in this website is there needs to be an increase in math algorithms depicted by manipulatives. "Math Dude" is an award winning video series to assist students in Algebra I. The videos are the creation of Montgomery County Schools in Maryland. The lessons in the videos use real life situations and illustrate how these problems can be solved through Algebra. The information presented is engaging, informative, and fast-paced. The videos should not be used as a replacement to instruction, but simply a supplement to it. Not all the units align with the state of Virginia's Algebra curriculum, so there are gaps in the instructional units. Students with Attention Deficient Disorder (ADD) love the fast-pace instruction of the video, but pausing the video and asking/answering questions throughout the video is recommended. To determine the effectiveness of the video with all students, an exit ticket with two to three questions is suggested. "Student-Centered Learning Strategies for Math and Other Subjects" is an article written on the blog www.edutopia.org__.__ The author Paul Bogdan is a self-admitted reformed direct instruction teacher. Through an epiphany, Paul Bogdan has devised five strategies to help create a student-centered learning environment. Strategy one is the development of lesson plans tailored for student use. Second strategy is to teach good note-taking skills. The third strategy is keeping students motivated. Fourth strategy is making test taking a learning experience. Finally, the grade should depict the learning, not a Standardized Test. To better ensure strategy one success, heterogeneously ability group students are appropriate. Through this arrangement, there is a better opportunity for the students who are procrastinators to become motivated by their peers. Note-taking skills are a lost art, but remain important for students to prepare for higher level thinking skills. Summarizing and note-taking is one of Marzano's proven strategies for effective teaching as it promotes greater comprehension. The importance of summarizing and note-taking elevates the need for it to be incorporate into instructional practices. Strategy four exists in an utopian learning environment. The non-motivated students, which the author acknowledges their presences in his student-centered classroom, given the opportunity to enhance their learning or grade by correcting "missed" problems on a test, will more than likely elect not to rework these problems. Without the exercise of correcting problems, students have failed to increase their learning in whatever areas(s) are being assessed. Strategy five omits the fact more and more teacher evaluations are predicated upon students' results on Standardized test. One of the measures used in the state of Virginia to determine teacher's effectiveness is students' growth in Standardized Tests. While I understand his supposition on Standardized Tests, his rational is simply not realistic.