Final Project Reflections

As I was putting the finishing touches to my web site I had a chance to reflect how far I have come. I didn’t grow up with having technology being so readily available and affordable as it is in today’s world. For example, hand-held digital calculators weren’t affordable until my senior year in high school. For me, personal computers and the internet weren’t even common place in the classroom until fairly recently. Yet, here I am now writing on my blog about my experiences in creating my website and having just realized how far I have progressed in using internet based technologies, in just a few short months. This transition has had its challenges. However, I have discovered with perseverance I can do it.

When I initially considered the design for my web site Mrs. Nowak’s Notes, I wanted to provide my special education students and their parent’s information relevant class information. I determined that for the Informal Algebra II class that a listing of the upcoming assignments, quizzes and tests was a must. Since the NovaNet class is a student paced program offered as a course for credit recovery, it has strict rules and guidelines for the students to follow to remain in or pass the class. Each student is using a computer for their specific course and working at their own pace. I am there to ensure the students are keeping on task, completing the necessary modules and assist with any questions they might have regarding their courses. Due to the wide variety of classes students may be taking during one class period and the individualized rate at which students' progress, syllabuses, lesson plans and class assignments are not a part of this class. However, I felt the participation rules and guidelines needed to be posted on my web site for the students and parents to have available, should any concerns be brought up regarding the course requirements. I decided to include links to web sites that could assist students, in the off hours with any problems that they may have with their homework assignments. I also saw an opportunity for the web site to provide additional information on career and college options. Knowing that parents would also visit my web site, I decided to include financial aid and scholarship information as well. It was important for me to create a web site that was organized, had a professional look and feel to it as well as being easy to navigate.

I used the Weebly.com to create my web site since it provides users free online hosting and web site development tools. Weebly’s website enables a user to develop their websites online without requiring any special software other than a web browser. Though the site has a predefined or “canned” set of templates and element layout options, it does provide enough of a variety to enable someone like me to create a unique web site.

I initially experimented with a variety of Weebly’s templates until I found one that had a look and feel I liked. Weebly provides the content element tools that I can best describe as a type of place holder for web page elements such as graphics, text, video, forms and columns. A user can place the content elements on the web page by simply dragging and dropping the element within the page and then can go back and add text or upload the graphics within each element later. I did learn that the web page has to be built from the top down and I had to consider the placement of the text and graphics before I added them. I did find that I could move content elements around the page after they had been placed and text or graphics added. Weebly’s web site builder uses a “What you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) interface, which I really liked since I could see how the site was coming together.

I did discover that when I published the site and viewed it outside of Weebly’s Site Builder that sometimes the element or information wasn’t being displayed as it had looked within the site builder. This did require return to the site builder to make adjustments so that the published site had the appearance I desired.

My greatest challenge was in creating and adding the weekly schedule for class assignments located on the Informal Algebra II page. I wanted to create a table to organize the information. I was familiar with creating a table in Microsoft Word and thought that I could just copy and paste it into the website. Unfortunately, it did not work as I had hoped. When copying the table from Word to the web site it lost its formatting and I could not correct it.

I decided to research how I could put a table into the web site. I found the following websites provided excellent information and instructions to create them:W3 School,HTML Code Tutorial
and DaveSite.com. Unfortunately, I discovered that I would have to write the actual HTML code to create a table but the sites provided excellent examples for me to follow and experiment with. They were also very helpful when I wanted to make changes within the tables such as font selection, sizing, bolding or changing text color. I was concerned that I would be required to use a special program to write html code in but I found the Thinkydink.com web site which explained how I could write the “HTML code” without any special software by just using a text editing program.

I decided to use the Windows Note Pad application. I would first write the html code and then changed the file extension from .txt to .html and the save it to my desktop. I could then click on the file from the desktop and it would open Internet Explorer and show me my table that I had created. This took a lot of trial and error for me, but the W3 School website really helped me fine-tune the table by providing me information about formatting and changing the color of the text in the table’s cells. Once I had completed the table and was satisfied with it (after many frustrating hours) I used the HTML Content Element tool in Weebly site builder to place the HTML element where I needed it to be on my web page and copied and pasted my code from notepad into the content element.

My work didn’t stop with just one table; I had to create separate tables for each week of assignments. I found that by using the original table I had created that I could save time by just changing the information within it and making a few minor changes for text color or the spanning of cell between two rows. As I added each table to the Informal Algebra II page, I found that the page grew very large and became cumbersome to find a previous week’s assignments. I then decided to add hyperlinks that would connect to the previous week’s page. Since the pages are identical, except for the table, it appears to a user that the table changes and the page stay the same. It does require me to have created identical Informal Algebra II pages for each week. Unfortunately, the Weebly web builder does not have a tool to duplicate a page. So I did have to create each page manually.

There were some issues that I did have with using Weebly. The most frustrating was the unpredictability of the web builder. It would tend to lock up unexpectedly and lose any changes in the content that I had made. Sometimes the site would revert back to the old data after publishing the web site or it would change the fonts or layouts. At times it was the web builder was extremely slow, particularly when switching between web pages to edit. I found that the Weebly uses predefined fonts for the template chosen and the web builder does not provide the ability to change it. However, I accidentally found a way around this when I was copying text from a Microsoft Word document using an Arial font, and when pasting the text to the web site the font style was kept. Since I liked Arial font, I decided to write all my text in Microsoft Word and the just copy and paste it into the content elements.

This was an excellent experience for me. It has expanded my understanding of the effort it takes to develop a web site. I came to realize that a web site needs to be planned out and a consideration given for how the information is to be conveyed, which can almost be as important as the information itself. It also provided a great learning opportunity for me, particularly with learning how make a table using HTML.

Final Project

I am planning on creating a website to be used a communication tool for both my students and their parents. I am going to create my website using weebly.com

Teacher Education Programs Are Changing

With the number of public school students choosing to take courses on line, Iowa State University is choosing to prepare its teachers for this new method of instruction. They have designed a webquest to alert online teachers of the problems they may face given this method of instruction. While the videos are helpful not all of them work. I found the resources section of the webquest helpful. Upon reflecting on this type of education I found myself wondering about what kind of a relationship a student might have with their teacher given impersonal nature computers?

Project Based Learning

Next year, the math curriculum in Georgia is changing to an integrated approach. We are transitioning to a high school curriculum that is very different from the traditional Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, and Algebra 3. The courses will be called Math 1, Math 2, Math 3 and Math 4. While these courses not only combine a variety of what was seen as traditional course (i.e. Math 1 will have Algebra 2 topics, Geometry, and Statistics) the teacher’s role is changing to become more of a facilitator. The students will also be involved in a more project based approach to learning. As a result of this transition, I have become interested in the topic of project based learning to not only increase my understanding of the topic but also to begin planning ways to use this model with my special education students. I recently came across an excerpt from a new book Reinventing Project-Based Learning Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age by Suzie Boss and Jane Krauss. This excerpt includes not only an introduction to the book but also an outline of the chapters. It approaches project based learning and the integration of technology as well. Today’s students are hungry for this type of approach to learning. As teachers we are long over due to change our approach to teaching and begin to reach our students in the technology based world in which they live. The types of technology addressed range from social bookmarking, wikis, screen casting, web 2.0 and podcasting to name a few. I am going to recommend this book to our Area Lead Teacher as a possible book study for a staff development course at our school.

Happy New Year!!

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. May this year bring health and happiness to all.

Smart Boards

The math department in my school has just recently received Smart Boards. We are in the process of getting them installed. Starting next semester we will be trained on how to use them. I am looking forward to using this new technology as a way to engage my special education students.

Website Evaluation

In selecting a website to evaluate for my mid-term project, I decided to search for websites in a subject matter that I was most familiar with and would be able to provide a unique learning opportunity for my students. Being a special education inclusion teacher working with high-school math students I have heard my students’ concerns over the years regarding the SAT test, particularly with the math section. I decided to focus on a website that I thought best used the technology of the internet in its approach to helping students prepare for this section of the exam.

I selected satmathpro.com a website that was developed by Colleen King, a high school math teacher, who designed it to help students prepare specifically for the math component of the SAT. SAT Math Pro contains more than 120 video lessons and 300 interactive practice problems that target key areas such as algebra, geometry, data analysis and number properties. I evaluated this website following Kathy’s Schrock’s, “ Critical Evaluation of a Web Site Secondary School Level” guidelines for this project.

To access and review the SAT Math Pro website, I used the Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 (IE 6.0) and connected to the internet using DSL.


Technical and Visual Aspects

TheSAT Math Pro website is focused on helping students improve their abilities to solve the variety of math problems that they would face on the SAT exam. The layout and design of the website is kept simple and clean. I have found that the website relies on Adobe’s Shockwave Flash (a.k.a. Flash) for many of its display and navigation features. The one issue that I had with the website was that all the Flash elements, such as the navigation menu, always seemed to have a “Click Here to Activate” message when I would first click on them. It became a little annoying because I would sometimes have to click my selection twice.

The website navigation menu is a Flash element that displays a simple animation of a spinning CD next to each selection when the mouse cursor is over it. Flash is also used to generate random math problems on the home page, which a student can submit their answer and be provided immediate feedback and guidance on how to solve. But, I thought the best value and usage of Flash was in the Assess and Practice sections of the website.

The Assess and Practice pages use a similar design in how they interact with the student. Information about the sections and the links associated to a particular test or practice set are shown. By clicking on a link the student is then taken to the page, which then displays an interactive menu (Flash). The menu provides a description of the types of questions that will be given and any additional options or features that are available to the student. The menu also displays information on time limits, the total number of questions, and the types of questions (all were multiple-choice). The student can click on the “Instructions” button to see details on the tools available during their assessment or practice sets as well as any options the student will have after submitting their answer(s). If any additional information is available the student can click on the right facing arrow on the low right section of the menu. If no additional information is available, the arrow will not be displayed and the can click on the “circled x” and they will be taken to the menus main page.

During the assessment or practice sets a student has access to two tools from the interactive menu a calculator and formulas list at the “click of a mouse.” Students would also have these tools available during their actual SAT tests. The calculator is opened by clicking the “On” button next to the calculator graphic and is closed by clicking the “Off” button. The calculator when opened (On) can be moved anywhere within the Flash viewing window, by using the mouse to click-on and hold down the left mouse button while the mouse cursor is at the bottom of the calculator in the area labeled “Move.” The calculator can also be increased and decreased in size by clicking on the + and – signs in the same area of the calculator. The formulas list is opened by clicking on the bisected triangle graphic and is closed by clicking on the circled X. The formula window however is not movable and tends to cover a large section of the question and answers.

If during the assessment test the student guesses on an answer the system provides a check box, for “Guessing” whereas the practice sets questions do not offer this same option.

When the Assessment test is completed the student is presented with a review of their answers. At this point, the student can go back to any question to review and/or change their response, provided they still have time available. The results of the test are calculated when the student clicks on “Get Score,” which is located at the bottom of the results flash viewing window. The student is then presented with the question numbers, their response and a green check if answered correctly or red “x” if the question was answered incorrectly. Skipped questions are tallied as incorrect. The numbers of the questions that were skipped or guessed are highlighted in yellow or green respectively. The second part of the assessment is presented as evaluation of the student’s strengths and weaknesses. The student is presented a list of all mathematical areas, and a red check mark is placed next to each area they will need to focus on to improve their score.

In contrast, the Practice section, which focuses on a math topic area selected by the student, does provide immediate feedback when the student’s answer is submitted by clicking on the arrow next to the words “Submit Answer.” A check mark next to students answer with the word “Excellent!” is presented if their answer is correct and a red “x” is placed next to an incorrect answer and the correct answer will have the text “correct answer,” in green, next to it.

Once student’s answers are submitted in either the assessment or practice sections the student will be able to see and click on the TV set icon, located next to the question number (assessment) or with the question (practice set) . A Flash video presentation is started, which takes the student through a step by step lesson on how to solve the problem. This presentation can be paused, stopped, fast forwarded or rewound for repeated instruction. The use of both auditory and animation in this presentation gives a multi-sensory approach to the solution process.

The resources section provides the student a list of recommended SAT prep/practice workbooks as well as additional SAT education websites they can visit. The images and associate titles or descriptions are linked to allow the student visit an online retailer to purchase the workbooks or to the associated website. The website author did not map specific areas of an image to links but linked images to the appropriate websites. If the student has graphics disabled, images will not appear and the image place holders will be displayed. However, the provided text links and associated descriptions will still enable the student to get to the appropriate website. Because of SAT Math Pro’s integration of Flash, disabling the browsers ability to show pictures has only a minimal impact on the student website’s experience and usage.

All of the website’s associated pages used both tables and columns to keep the content organized. The navigation menu is available on all the website’s pages and enables the student to easily navigate to another section of the site at any time. The website did not use headers and sub-headers in the traditional sense; instead the author used tables to format a page’s text including the title and descriptions of the web page or supplemental information.

Information about the author and recognitions by organizations are located on the About Us page. The website does not display information regarding last update or modification; however, it does have an up-to-date calendar for the upcoming SAT test dates displayed on the home page, which lists the testing dates from December 2007 through March 2008.

I found the SAT Math Pro website to be an excellent free resource for students who may be looking to the internet to either sharpen or improve their math skills for the SAT exam. The website performed without issue and loaded each page quickly. The usage of Flash in the navigation menu and particularly in the Assessment and Practice sections I found to be creative and provided a unique learning experience for the student. I felt the usage of video to walk a student through the solution for each problem was like having a virtual math tutor. So overall, I am please with the interaction between the website and student.


Content

When accessing the SAT Math Pro website the student is greeting by a large logo that states “SAT Math Pro Video Lessons On Demand.” When reading the information provided on the home page the student will quickly realize that the website is a free resource developed for those students who are concerned about their math abilities and performance on the SAT. The SAT Math Pro home page also provides a brief description of the key features and tools that the site has to offer to help the student focus and improve their math problem solving skills.

Though the website does not provide information as to when it was last updated or modified, the approach to solving mathematical problems hasn’t changed. The site provides a variety of practice sets in all the key mathematical areas such as Algebra, Geometry, Probability, Ratios, and Word Problems. I found that the SAT Math Pro website is an excellent resource for student preparing for or honing their math skills for the SAT. In addition, I found that this website can be used to help math students improve their math problems solving skills in their current classes.

Although there are many SAT educational websites that provide similar math assessment exams and practice sets for a student, the learning experience of these websites are often laden with text, which I believe makes them one dimensional. Also, some of these websites require the student to register or pay for access. I found that the SAT Math Pro website is unique because it provides a multimedia experience for the student without requiring registration or charges. The SAT Math Pro website focuses on the students learning experience by using Flash to provide white-board animation with supporting audio to teach the approaches and the steps required to resolve the given math problems. This provides for a multi-sensory experience, which is more likely to be retained and applied by the student.

The SAT Math Pro site is founded on solid math problem solving principles. The site also provides links to supplemental books and websites that the student can order or access enabling users/students to further their preparation for the SAT math section.



Authority

Colleen King, the author and creator of SAT Math Pro website is a math teacher, SAT instructor, a co-director of Math Advantage, a test prep and math tutoring center in Wellesley, Massachusetts and educational consultant. Colleen has also created a math site for elementary students Math Playground and for middle school problem solving MathTV.org. The SAT Math Pro website has gained recognition from Blue Web'N, The California Learning Resource Network, Merlot, The Math Forum, ISTE, and the Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction.

The SAT Math Pro website has been linked to the Edvisors Foundation, a foundation that supports local and national educational charities and the Thinkport.org website, which is described as an educational super site for Maryland educators, families, and its communities. I found a number of school websites that link to SAT Math Pro such as Greenbrier High School in Evans, Georgia, , Middletown School District Middletown, New York and Home Instruction Schools in Bronx, New York. The SAT Math Pro website was also recognized as “the website of the day” byTechLearning.com , on November 6, 2007.

As a high school inclusion teacher working with students in Algebra II and III both the material and techniques used to solve math problems were accurate. I found the SAT Math Pro website provided an excellent resource for students who would be facing the math section of the SAT exam. I felt the usage of the Flash was an effective method to provide the students a virtual tutor online.

When searching on the internet and news groups for information about Colleen King, I was surprised how little there is about her and the SAT Math pro website. I did discover that much of the development of her website educational techniques has been done through her efforts and hours spent with her own students over the years.



Narrative

The website provides an opportunity for all students whether they are struggling or performing well in their math courses to be engaged in a learning experience. By using the internet and a multimedia oriented interface, the SAT Math Pro website provides a resource for a student to test and improve their math skills. By using Adobe’s Flash technology, the website provides a student the ability to view the steps required to solve each problem presented through an animated white board. The students are able to control their experience by pausing and repeating the instructions as many times as needed. The usage of Adobe’s Flash technology with the applied teaching experience and techniques of Colleen King provides student’s access to a virtual “on demand” math teacher. From my experiences as a teacher, I would recommend the SAT Math Pro website for any high school student interested in improving their understanding of the SAT math section of the SAT.