Shifting from "What" to "Where" and "How"

I think my biggest challenge in shifting from 'what' to 'where' and 'how' is how do I get my students to pursue personal interests in a content they are not interested in? Can I frame the application of Math in a way that my students will be naturally curious and care to work towards their own discovery?  I found this video of Dan Meyer (perhaps some of you have seen his TED Talk presentation) exhibiting how he presents questions in a way that makes the student wonder.  It seems no matter their tendencies towards mathematics, curiosity would take over and make students have a vested interest in the answer. A definite lead to get me over my biggest hurdle. He also has a website http://www.101qs.com/ very simplistic, just a archive of pictures and videos to spark an initial question.

Another concern as voiced by Nyoli Connor (2010) questions, 'How do we get students to view themselves as capable of discussing and developing their mathematical framework without constant “expert” direction?' I suppose that just comes with practice. I know not to expect the first attempt to step away from the 'what' to be without bumps. 

One more idea that would help, Connor asked a student for their perspective on how social media is being used academically. Brilliant! I feel in this situation it is definitely worth it to call in the experts! I can only imagine how frustrating it would be to develop a move to where and how only to find you missed the mark on what students are naturally doing and using digitally.  

My second, almost equally as big challenge, is to not just mask the content in a weak attempt to step away from the 'what' but to fully shift to the 'where' and 'how'. In my search to solve challenge #2, I have found:

http://www.mathalicious.com/

http://www.yummymath.com/
http://www.thirteen.org/get-the-math/
http://csdt.rpi.edu/
As well as Dan Meyer's site listed above. Although some still seem to me to be a mask, they are a good starting point if nothing else.
One more site I want to spend more time on is http://www.edutopia.org/knowledge-in-action-PBL-research-video?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=video-pbl-research-question I started watching a video on project-based learning and ending up viewing how to remake your classroom so it is more conducive for collaboration. And many other things in between. Think it will be a valuable resource. 

Connor, Nyoli. (October 15, 2010). Geeking Out With Math...Can This Dream Become a Reality?

Retrieved from http://www.coetail.com/nconnor/2010/10/15/geeking-out-with-math-can-this-dream-become-a-reality/

670 Reflection Week 2

A couple of big questions and thoughts came out of this week:
1. Government subsidized internet as suggested by Christopher on my blog. I agree, but wonder how many will be up in arms with the government involved in their internet service?
2. Tiffany's link to an article of teacher versus students opinions on social media had me wondering if we will always be chasing students' desired technologies? I've heard it said that kids and parents shouldn't like the same music because songs should speak to what the listener cares about. And kids and parents shouldn't care about the same things. So does this same theory apply to social media? We are trying to implement what students use and are a part of their daily life, but do they really want us to? Should we be trying to do so? Not to say we shouldn't use social media but perhaps it's ok to use what works for the classroom rather than chasing what students are currently using and is 'cool'.
3. Thomas brought forth the resistance to technology is not about technology itself but the implementation of technology in our homes and schools. This brought me back to my image for refocus

and also made me realize how lucky I am to be in a community that seems to be embracing technology and all it's strengths.
4. Colin brought back to my attention the Conrad Wolfram TED talk on teaching math, not calculations, which fit beautifully with my inquiry based learning discussion in EDET 668. Everything is coming together!

Reflection Week 8

Finally the pendulum has swung the other way! It seemed in the last few weeks I was the one benefitting from the knowledge and expertise of my classmates. Taking all and giving little. However, this week I found a couple of inquiry based sites that Tracie, Barbra, and Hallie appreciated and plan to put into use. It feels good to give back!
Of course, I still did a little 'taking' this week as well. Tracie's process of keeping an Essential Question up during inquiry to refer to for guidance is something I hope to implement in my course. She also gave me hope that all is not lost with older students, that they can still learn with practice, to ask questions. She provided proof of that with her own eighth graders. She also gave a reminder of the importance of keeping communication open with your students as at times your intentions can be interpreted completely wrong. There is no way of knowing this other than to have students speak to you about their thoughts. Barbra voiced similar concerns to mine about this success of inquiry based learning if it is not consistent throughout a students education. If it is not practiced to some degree or another across the board, would it lead to holes in the students learning? Reflecting on my own post that inquiry based learning is not an every day, all day occurrence, I am coming round to the idea that it can be used  and not create too many gaps even though future teachers for my students don't use it.
On a personal note, I was thrilled to hear Courtney is interested in the International School scene. It is where I started and hope to someday return. Tis always fun to share dreams!
And finally, I found myself realizing I too 'know more than I can say'. In my own experience in switching from a very similar game to hockey I did not feel I had enough knowledge to lead my fellow teammates as it was a new game to me too. However, when questions about positioning or rules came up, I just seemed to know what to do. Growing up around the game gave me more tactic knowledge than I realized I had especially compared to people who were totally new to the game. So it is possible to know more than one can say. Guess I'm proof of that :)

670 Implications of Economic & Societal Changes on Tech Planning

"Many people and organizations are having a hard time coping with these (technological) changes and feel left behind or alienated by them." (Robinson, 2011). I get it, it's scary to look far in to the future with respect to technology, or life in general really. I quickly learned after becoming a parent it's all about baby steps. Take it in stride, it's not all happening at once. Infants don't come out having temper tantrums (thank goodness) nor starting to date. When that time comes we have slowly made our way to that place and will be more prepared for it. It will be where we are, not some foreign distant place. Technology in thirty years sounds downright scary but so does thinking of my kids thirty years older. Fortunately, the changes progress and come naturally, not all at once. My kids don't go from 5 to 35, I have time to gradually change with them and adapt my parenting year by year to their current development. Same with technology. Baby steps.

Or...  may be I need to start taking larger steps. Yikes! Here is some technology I had no idea already existed. Jetpacks on the market next year? Jetsons here we come!

Ken Robinson (2011), in reference to a New York Times article where the author states, regarding the introduction of television, that "The average American family doesn't have time for it." Are we at this same point when people say they don't need technology? I think we're past that stage, people are getting on board, teachers are embracing it. Point is we are at a place with technology that is just as transforming as the introduction of television.

Things are changing. Economy and society go hand in hand and education needs to keep up with it. Which means our technology plans must be fluid and essay to adapt, not written in stone. 

As discussed in our twitter session, a living document would keep a tech plan in the forefront, easy to adapt, and able to keep up with societal and economic changes. Forward on! As Robinson (2011) says, "The ability to innovate and adapt to change is not a luxury: it is a necessity." So it follows a tech plan must be able to adapt to changes in society and economics, always looking towards to future.

In order to keep up with the rapid changes in the world, we need to tap in to our creativity, in all disciplines. "Science and mathematics can be just as creative as music and dance." (Robinson, 2011) This made me think of a Fringe episode I watched recently where the scientist converts a mathematical equation into musical notation claiming 'music is a mathematical language'. Really? Here's proof that this is somewhat true. Robinson suggests the culture of creativity has to involve EVERYBODY and all disciplines, of which science and math are no exception!

Huffington Post Tech. (October 24, 2013). The Future is Now: 9 Unbelievable (Real) Technologies That Exist Today. Retrieved from:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/09/gmc-the-future-is-now-_n_3843405.html

Robinson, Ken. (2011). Out of Our Minds: Learning To Be Creative. 

Schweitzer, Kate. (October 1, 2009). Fringe's Music to Math Connection Contains as Much Fast as Fiction. Retrieved from http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/4292462

Einstein image retrieved from http://lichs.wordpress.com

The Importance of Inquiry and Questioning

The importance of inquiry and questioning in my discipline is HUGE! Inquiry in math takes students from traditional explicit knowledge to multiple acceptable answers to the never ending question 'When will I ever use this?' I was delighted to find an incredible website, Inquiry Maths by Andrew Blair out of the UK, that provides prompts to get students asking questions, regulation choices for students to decide how they want to proceed with the inquiry, assessment for inquiry lessons, even online support. A priceless resource for getting started with math inquiry lessons. I found it interesting to note that Blair (2013) only orchestrated two full inquiry lessons per term, each taking approximately 5 hours in the classroom. He noted other smaller inquiries happened all the time but this wasn't an everyday occurrence. Knowing that made it real to me and achievable. 

Jacqui Murray in her blog, 11 Ways to Make an Inquiry-Based Classroom, discussed inquiry learning in this way "Learning isn't linear. It's a web that grows out from the central question. As such, your lesson plan may change dramatically based on student inquiry. If you teach three fifth grade classes, each will likely be different from the other. That's OK. Your challenge is to track what you did in each class and pick up from where you left off. That's OK, too. It's part of the job of teaching an inquiry-based class." Coupling that with Blair's non daily approach made meeting standards still seem achievable. Murray also advised to publish and share, inquiry based classrooms share knowledge which would help nurture the collective indwelling that Thomas and Brown discussed. 

A couple more math inquiry sites worth sharing:
Center for Inquiry-Based Learning has a list of math inquiry games and exercises. Not as thorough as the Inquiry Maths website but could be a good start and warm up to the bigger inquiry lessons. 
And wouldn't you know it, there's a Math Inquiry board on Pinterest. Most pins are smaller, hands-on discoveries, some have not much inquiry at all but still worth perusing. Found this little nugget on there to help stay on the inquiry path:

As far as nurturing students' passion in my classroom, I guess I need to start with knowing what their passions are. Once I know that, I can adjust the hooks and real life applications and inquiry prompts somewhat accordingly. Thomas & Brown suggest 'when the idea is to ask questions, diversity is a good thing.' I understood this to mean their diversity in both disposition and indwelling would deepen the peer to peer learning and that specific nurturing of each individual's passion was not necessary all the time. 

I needed the example of the basketball question addressed to the player for comparison. "At what angle and with what force must a person shoot a ball to make a basket 20 feet away?" An example of a poor attempt to nurture the student's passion with inquiry by masking a physics problem with a basketball theme, pretty transparent. I have guiltily been there! It was eye opening to see how asking the question differently would address the student's true interest in basketball and engage the student: "What is the best way to shoot a basketball?" Little changes, big results. 

Blair, A. (2013). Inquiry Maths. Retrieved from http://www.inquirymaths.com/

Center for Inquiry-Based Learning (2001). Retrieved from http://www.ciblearning.org/resource.exercise.php

Math Inquiry board on Pinterest. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/join/?action=follow&next=%2Fkcbombard%2Fmath-inquiry%2F

Murray, J. (n.d.). 11 Ways to Make an Inquiry-based Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.teachhub.com/11-ways-make-inquiry-based-classroom

Math Inquiry board on Pinterest. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/join/?action=follow&next=%2Fkcbombard%2Fmath-inquiry%2F

Reflection Week 7

I began this week, wanting to embrace learning in the collective for my students. I struggled with the issue that my students are anything but passionate about the content they are learning, and if this is the case could a true learning collective form and be successful? On Tracie's post she talked about successful collectives she's participated in and that is was easy to do so because it was something she cared about, and it was fun. Which continued my thought process, can a collective work without the passion of it's contributors? Margot seconded my concerns. She was coming from the perspective of young students needing to learn the core subjects. But still addressing the same concerns, as well as having difficulty seeing the big picture. Thankfully, I continued on to the interactions between Ginger and Christine on Ginger's blog. Ginger had posed the question, can we provide a positive learning collective in the classroom? To which Christine responded, it depends. AHA! Yes, I was thinking of a learning collective as the end all and be all. But it does depend, on the students, the class, the topics. There are many variables that can effect a learning collective. She also mentioned it is not something you can create or plan rather you can just provide the opportunity. Yes! This is exactly the perspective I needed to wrap my head around a learning collective in my class. Barbra helped me in my search for an existing math learning collective. She suggested I teach students to form a collective and from that new collectives can grow. I likened that to planting a seed. If I teach them how to form one, I can guide them off the start with etiquette and what ideally it can be and what it needs to be successful, and it can bloom from there. From this I realized a new approach to introducing the blog to my students. Most are skeptical as they have never participated in a public forum for learning. If I can frame it with reference to blogs they follow and participate in for fun and personal use perhaps they will have a more relaxed experience. I have noticed in the past some classes totally embrace the support system provided with a blog, usually due to one or two students having personally blogging experience. In other cases, like this year, it takes them half a semester to figure it out. All the variables Christine mentioned. I can't force it, just provide it. Now I can provide a newer, expanded version with a better introduction and explanation.
This week, I was again the one doing the learning. Makes me ever so thankful for this learning collective I am a part of!

670 What is a technology plan?

What is a technology plan? I see it as a vision of things that will help students in the future, using community resources, students, and semantics to achieve that vision. The quality of a good technology plan that stuck with me the most is the mission/vision should be brief, 'like a bumper sticker', something that a child can understand (Anderson, 2005). Also that it should provide direction and 'helps users understand clearly where they are now and imagine where they want to be'. (Graduate Students at MSU)

Anderson & Jerry (March 1994) state the focus should be on major points. Later, after the "big picture" is conveyed and understood, a planner will be able better to address the minor, yet still important, elements.

I liked the brief template from Scientific Learning that included major points echoed by Anderson & Perry and Missouri Education. Those included:
Getting Started
Mission Statement
Current Technology
Goals
Action Plans including Professional Development
Implement and Evaluate
This image helped keep things succinct for my brain, when things get too lengthy I just shut down.

Anderson suggested that a child should be able to understand your mission statement which is such a relief to me. As mentioned my thoughts get lost in too many words. Something succinct and to the point to keep everyone on focus is the best bet. And that focus should be on the future and the students. Once that is established all the other details will fall in to place.
"The desired outcome of effective technology planning is that the most appropriate technologies are infused in the most natural manner into a maximally-effective instructional or administrative program so that all parties concerned have equitable access and achieve world-class benefits from routine use of the technologies." (Anderson & Perry, 1994)




Anderson, L. (August 26, 2005) Podcast: Larry Anderson shares thoughts about authentic technology planning. Retrieved from http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/0/3/3034d42e0adbb756/STP-LarryAnderson.mp3?c_id=3235606&expiration=1382162507&hwt=c5e910924574b3ba5dd4f92078dd106e

Anderson, L. & Perry, J. (March 1994). Technology Planning: A Recipe for Success. Retrieved from http://www.nctp.com/tp.recipe.html

Graduate Students at Mississippi State University. Guidebook for Developing an Effective Instructional Technology Planning V.2. Retrieved from http://www.nctp.com/downloads/guidebook.pdf.

Missouri Department of Education. Six- Step Process in Creating a Technology Plan. Retrieved from http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/instrtech/techplan/gettingstarted.htm

Scientific Learning. District/School Template Technology Plan Template. Your Blueprint for Sucess. Retrieved from http://www.scilearn.com/alldocs/cp/school-district-technology-plan.pdf

University of Montana. IT Strategic Planning Process 2011-12. Retrieved from http://umt.edu/it/strategic/planningprocess/default.php

Learning in the Collective Thoughts

Thomas & Brown (2011) state in classrooms with teachers standing before the group, 'The goal is to transmit information in a public way to the private minds of the students. That's why a student panics when she is called on in class, even if she knows the answer to the question. It's because she is being asked to expose in public what had been until that moment a very private activity.' Aha! That opened the flood gates for me and explained my entire education experience! After reading that I was on a mission to revamp my course into a learning collective through and through. 

In realizing how much twitter has opened me up to learning collectives, I immediately turned there for input on changing my course. However, my first search on tweet deck for 'online math' automatically filled in to 'online math pay' which was a conversation of people looking for someone to do their online math homework for them, for PAY! I was completely discouraged as I was convinced my students will so benefit from an collective environment and that this was just what they needed to help them get over their fear of math. Only to be brought back to reality that some of them really don't care to learn and just want to get the pre-requisite out of the way. So how do you get students to engage in a collective? By the very nature of a learning collective participants must be willing and active. Can a true collective then be used within a syllabus constrained by standards? I concluded it would probably have to be used as a support system within the course rather than as the course itself. 

In my continued search I came across a Khan Academy lecture on Learning Collectives. I found it extremely difficult to listen to the entirety of the brief 13 minute lecture! I just wanted the info I needed so I could move on and do things myself. I realized this is exactly how my students approach my class, skimming for important bits but mainly navigating by trial and error. An obvious motivator to continue to create support for them between themselves and other learners rather than more instruction from me. 

A couple of other resources I found in my quest for improving my class included Sanjoy Mahanjan's overview of an alternative way to teach math that engages children.  It lined up well with my thoughts and plans for change. 

Also, Jesse Stommel's blog on building an ethical online class stated "Content-expertise does not equal good teaching. The internet already has lots of experts in all manner of things. A good pedagogue, rather, relies on a variable mixture of content-expertise and careful thinking about teaching practices." More proof that my students do not and should not need me solely for content.

The wheels are turning and even after a bump or two am still moving forward. I feel I am headed in the right direction.

Mahanjan, Sanjoy. (October 15, 2013). What's a Better Way to Teach Math. Retrieved from http://tvoparents.tvo.org/video/196129/whats-better-way-teach-math

Khan, Salman. (2013) Collective Learning. Retrieved from http://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/life-earth-universe/humanity-on-earth-tutorial/v/collective-learning

Stommel, Jesse. (October 1, 2013). How to Build an Ethical Online Course. Retrieved from http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/Journal/files/How_to_Build_an_Ethical_Online_Class.html

Thomas, D. & Brown, J. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change.

Reflection Week 6

Play. I need to do more of it. I also need to reframe any research I do for my teaching as play. Just by using a different term I think I will be able to approach it with a better attitude and squeeze out more time for it.
This week in my discussions with Hallie, I was reminded how I've watched my own children use play to embrace huge changes in their lives. It was further validation of the value of play in learning either in education or life in general. Heather once again shared great websites for me to explore. She made me realize I should schedule play time into my day, as time is always a limiting factor. As well, she reminded me in cases where technology tools don't quite fit, a comfortable, open learning environment can go a long way.
Karen had a similar posting as mine in voicing the idea that not all games labeled educational are so. This is becoming a big pet peeve of mine especially with my time constraints. It also made me wonder  how many teachers have attempted to explore and incorporate technology in their classrooms only to stumble on these kinds of sites? How discouraging and what a bad impression they are getting of technology! A great reminder that with so much change making everything seem so new and shiny that there are still dinosaur websites and games out there floating around on the web.
Christine's explanation of her classroom management style when introducing new things was terrific. It brought to my attention that it really is human nature to explore and discover anything new that is in our grasp. And we need the freedom to do so without rules and limits, at least to start. There is nothing more discouraging than being given something new and shiny and then being told what to do and not do with it right off the get go. It's kinda like me finding a home for my kids' new toys soon after Christmas, funny how those things rarely get played with again. Guess I need to widen their window to fully explore them first.



Sites shared by Heather for me to play with:

NCTM illuminations
Ken-Ken 
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives 

What's Play Got To Do With It?

What does play have to do with embracing change and how does this impact me as a professional?
Thomas and Brown (2011) suggest play is a strategy for embracing change. I realized as a professional I need to carve out more time to play. Since I teach online technology can play a huge role in my students play routine. So after reading the chapter I was motivated to find some sort of play for my students. I found some disappointing sites that just used technology to replace pen and paper skills practice:

http://www.learningwave.com/abmath/
http://www.gamequarium.com/prealgebra.html

I found one online gaming site that seemed geared towards my students and their course content. It was a strategic game that I fiddled around with for about 15 minutes. 

http://lp.empire.goodgamestudios.com/

I quickly got discouraged as I didn't feel I was doing any thinking, but instead just following the suggestions on the game. There did not seem to be any learning and I felt as though I had totally wasted my time. This made me realize I really need more time to play in my day! That way if I spend fifteen minutes playing and the game isn't what I'm looking for it won't feel like such a sacrifice.

I did discover a site that would help my students with skills practice that had a little more focus on play and a game concept. 

http://www.math-play.com/Algebra-Math-Games.html

So I am struggling with the very challenge Thomas & Brown (2011) mention, "The challenge is to find a way to marry structure and freedom to create something new altogether now." Practicing math skills disguised somewhat within a game, may keep the students slightly more interested but they still are making that leap to understanding and learning within their world. 

I want to "stop thinking of learning as an isolated process of information absorption and start thinking of it as a cultural and social process of engaging with the constantly changing world around us" (Thomas & Brown, 2011) but just feel perhaps I haven't found the right tool for my students to play with so we can make that leap. 


Thomas, D. & Brown, J. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change.

Reflection Week 5

This find of Hallie's on twitter really gave me perspective on using technology as a tool to move away from teacher-based learning rather than just enhance it. I shared this link with Tracie as her blog discussed using technology not merely as a tool but as a means to construct knowledge. I hope this will give her the same perspective I needed as I  move to the new culture of learning within the world rather than about it. Akteacherlead brought to my attention the difficulty of implementing learning based teaching within the current standards. It seems using 21st century tools to teach the same standards is like fitting a square peg in a round whole. Barbra's blog and Ginger's comment on it extended this thought for me. We discussed textbooks being too generic that they do not take into consideration the specific cultures of students that will be using the book. I am guilty of thinking only in terms of my own students when discussing education, I need to remember there is a country full of students with different abilities, socio economic status, cultures, and support systems. How can we expect the same text to address them all. And to go further, how can we expect one education system fit everyone? There is so much diversity amongst students it doesn't seem there can be a blanket solution. So the idea of learning based instruction with 21st century tools seems the start of a solution. It allows for individualized learning within the students own world, making the learning applicable to their life. It seems to follow then that the standards need to be addressed to fit this new culture of learning. Something I need to pay more attention to as I admittedly tend to gloss over anything pertaining to standards. Finally, Tracie suggested an online multi-player math game with great potential for my older students. I am anxious to dive in to that world and see how and if it can apply to my class. Some learning definitely took place this week. 

The Culture of My Teaching Environment

Unfortunately the culture of my current teaching environment doesn't differ all that much from the learning environment I experienced as a student. At least as far as content goes. True, my math class was never orchestrated online (the internet wasn't even around), my homework and tests were handed in and graded by my teacher, not electronically submitted and immediately graded online. And I actually had to sit in the class and take notes rather than listen and watch my teacher's scribe of the lecture in a SMART notebook, which I can replay as much as needed. I never had access to online practice with immediate feedback, nor participate in online discussions with my classmates or perform google searches when I got stuck. So the delivery methods are different and adapted to this technological environment but the lectures and format bear an embarrassingly striking resemblance to the ones I sat through. My students watch lectures, practice related problems, discuss their findings and express their struggles, receive feedback to overcome obstacles, and then do a homework assignment. Very much like I did. This is where Teach Like a PIRATE and other previous EDET courses have come in to play. I have been compiling notes for semesters on how to revamp my class. Not the delivery but the content, as I feel the new content will demand it's own appropriate delivery. Currently my course focusses on facts and skills. I have big plans to reorganize the course into three units: First, understanding the relationship between numbers and their different notations; Second, understanding the operations that can be done with real numbers; And thirdly, to enter the world of Algebra and understand it's purpose. These revamping ideas started when I read Understanding by Design 
(Wiggins and McTighe, 2001) causing me to focus on what I want my students to learn
rather than the lesson plan for teaching it. I started envisioning hands-on experiments, 
manipulatives, and other activities for students to use to work their way to understanding key concepts. And I'm sure I am a google search away from finding great ways to implement those ideas. TLAP (Burgess, 2012) then added an extra layer to this revision. The holistic learning is great but let's make it fun and motivational! Hooks, real life applications, and interesting presentation will bring the content to life and help break the 'math is boring' stereotype. So I'm almost there, next obstacle, how to orchestrate this in an online course? I  feel online collaboration can sometimes be awkward, keeping motivation up could potentially be difficult, and getting participation from students to make the lessons worthwhile may be a struggle. Motivation will take work but Burgess offers plenty of ideas to get started and stay on that path. Hopefully, participation will willingly follow with proper motivation. As for collaboration, Thomas and Brown (2011) point out an online community of similarly minded people can teach each other "something really cool you could never know about yourself". So perhaps I need to look outside my group of registered students for collaboration, why restrict ourselves to such a small community of learners when we have access to a world full of similarly minded people? Aha! Sounds like I'm on my way. 
I found some multiplayer games that may be used to cultivate peer to peer teaching. One potential road block is the games are for elementary aged kids and I am teaching college students. I know Thomas and Brown suggest multiplayer games can bridge generations but wonder if in this circumstance pride may get in the way of learning for my students. Still worth a shot.
The last thing I can see that still stands in my way is that most of my students are from the pre or post PC culture. Technology is not familiar to them and can be extremely overwhelming, an interesting predicament for students taking an online class. I suppose this is something that will improve with time as more and more students become exposed to and gain experience in online courses. In the mean time, I will try to keep the technology to a minimum on my students' end, using it more for my advantage to hook, inspire, and assist my students.

Multiplayer online math games:
http://wellgames.com/free_online/numberz/
http://www.carrotsticks.com
http://www.arcademics.com
http://www.iknowthat.com/FT/index.html
http://www.mathplayground.com/ASB_Index.html

Burgess, 2012. Teach Like a PIRATE.

Thomas & Brown, 2011. A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change.

Wiggins & McTighe, 2001. Understanding by Design.