http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org Just another Edublogs.org weblog Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:29:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en href='http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org/files/2008/06/images3.jpg'>These technologies support learners on a number of fronts. They have the potential to engage students, if not overused, and take the tedious calculating and out of graphing by hand out of a lesson. As a consequence tuents don't get bogged down dong low order tasks and can concentrate ... http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org/2008/06/07/dynamic-geometry-and-excel/ Webquests have the potential to deliver learning outcomes in a way that engages students and encourages them to be active participants in their learning. The benefits of using them depend, like any lesson, on how well they are planned around the outcomes. There may be a temptation to try and ... http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org/2008/06/07/webquests/ Calculators in general are here to stay and have had an impact on the curriculum since being introduced into the classroom. Who remembers the joy of using log tables?!! I think as a tool graphics calculators have a place. To be able to see an instant representation of an expression ... http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org/2008/05/22/pedagogical-benefits-of-the-graphics-calculator/ The interactive whiteboard offers quite a few benefits to our teaching. There is the opportunity to engage students with an interesting presentation of the topic. The smartboard allows the teacher to concentrate on delivery of the lesson, minimising time with their back to the class. This helps with the flow ... http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org/2008/05/12/week-11-pedagogical-benefits-of-the-interactive-whiteboard/ The main features of a teachers e-portfolio would include information about your teaching qualifications, experience and strengths as a teacher. These are basic reqirements of any document you would present to a possible employer. In addition to this you may include your personal teaching philosophy, including the pedagogy you would ... http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org/2008/05/05/e-portfolio-and-social-bookmarking/ Mathematish, the use and understanding of mathematical symbols, involves the rules of using such symbols (or the grammar of mathematish as the authors put it) and how it conveys ideas by the way it is used. They point out that our own proficiency in mathematish may make us unaware of ... http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org/2008/04/16/week-8-mathematish/ This paper discusses the idea of a mathematical register that enables us to construct our mathematical knowledge through the interaction of oral and written language, symbolic notation and visual displays. The author also notes the grammatical features of the register as having patterns of technical vocabulary, dense noun phrases and ... http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org/2008/04/16/week-8-linguistic-challenges-of-mathematics-teaching-and-learning/ This second article by Gough dicusses the artificial symbolic nature of mathematics, with its reliance on many non verbal ways of representing information. He makes an interesting point when he suggests that we need to be able to describe what we are doing in non-mathematical language as well as mathematical ... http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org/2008/04/01/week-7-teaching-square-roots/ In this article, Gough discusses the nature of the technical language of mathematics and how the use of normal English in our instruction can lead to difficulties for students. He makes a good point when he describes how we all feel a sensory version of words, for example, to talk ... http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org/2008/03/30/week-7-conceptual-complexity-and-apparent-contradictions-john-gough/ This site was rated highly by our expert panel, for more details, read on. Efficiency The task is large, but gives a deep understanding of the uses of logarithmic scales. The process link ensures clear understanding and focus on the task. A weakness of the webquest is that there are many tasks ... http://geoffreyneilson.edublogs.org/2008/03/27/webquests-week-6-logarithmic-scales/