EPORTFOLIO

PRESENTATION
IT 7360 SPRING 2014
By Cameron Jade Yarbrough Valdosta State University

OVERALL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Basic Information

Technology

6th Grade Mathematics Russell Middle School Winder, Georgia Inside the city limits, located about an hour outside of Atlanta Class sizes up to 31 Title I School School recognizes and successfully implements PBIS system. National recognition for anti-bullying campaign

One teacher computer located in classroom

Still running Windows XP Teacher cannot install anything and must wait for IT, who rotates between schools every three days If something breaks, it can be a long time before it gets fixed due to limited IT support and finances

Promethean Board School has one computer lab available for academic teachers School has one class set of iPads

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT CONTINUED

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT CONTINUED

Most students identify with middle to lower class, working families Very low parental involvement Very high mentor program and community support Offers 20 segments of gifted courses on a daily basis Limited supplies

Each teacher is given one ream of paper a month

UNIT OF STUDY AREA & VOLUME

This unit was chosen because our school has historically low scores in the area of geometry. Main Learning Objective

By the end of the unit, students will be able to connect, prove, and apply the area formulas for regular and irregular polygons to find the area and surface area of the given figure. Students will also be able to apply the formula V=lwh.

Standards
CCGPS.M.6.G.1 - Find the area of right triangles, other triangles, special quadrilaterals, and polygons CCGPS.M.6.G.2 - Find the volume of a right rectangular prism with fractional edge lengths CCGPS.M.6.G.4 - Represent three-dimensional figures using nets made up of rectangles and triangles, and use the nets to find the surface area of these figures

LESSON ONE AREA AND VOLUME CONCEPT MAP

Lesson Framework

Example

The student will be able to connect concepts, identify critical foundational information, and design a concept map given a specific rubric while omitting no more than three of the required items. Students will be challenged to recall information from the unit to further explore and prove their understanding of concepts. Students will be asked to make connections between topics in order to show important ideas, similarities, differences and details.

LESSON TWO AREA AND VOLUME REVIEW GAME

Lesson Framework

Example

The student will be able to select significant information from throughout the unit in order to create an interactive PowerPoint game given a specific rubric while achieving a score of 70% or better on the associated rubric. Students will be asked to differentiate between information in order to determine the most important concepts and to construct accurate and fair questions. Students will be expected to explain their understanding of material by selecting and/or writing good quality questions

LESSON THREE AREA AND SURFACE AREA WEBQUEST

Lesson Framework

Example

The student will be able to select significant information from throughout the unit/modules in order to create a better understanding of area and surface area in addition to completing the assignments, which will be graded given a specific rubric while achieving a score of 70% or better. Students will be required to make connections and distinctions between 2-D and 3-D shapes and how some formulas apply to multiple concepts. Students will be expected to explain and summarize different concepts.

LESSON FOUR AREA PODCAST

Lesson Framework

Example

The student will be able to select important information based on their personal knowledge in order to create a review podcast given a specific rubric while achieving a score of 70% or better when taking assessments of others. Students will further explore their own learning by teaching other students about their topic. Students will be expected to provide definitions, example problems, and key vocabulary in order to help communicate their topic.

EPORTFOLIO/WEBSITE
Link to ePortfolio http://yarbroughportfolio.weebly.com/ Organization of Website

Resources and Links

The website is divided into several major categories:

Professional Unit Lessons Resources Learning Environment Mrs. Yarbroughs Classroom

The website includes many student-centered resources. Links to additional practice and explanations are provided.

IXL, Adapted Mind, Khan Academy, Soft Schools, and math play

Other links beneficial to parents and students included

Standards, school homepage, Edmodo, Symbaloo, teacher email

WHAT I LEARNED
I have learned to not make excuses. Lack of resources is not an excuse. I need to be more creative in my activities in order to accommodate my students with the technological resources we do have available to us. I have learned that technology can be incorporated into a mathematics classroom. Incorporating technology can really help students make realworld connections with classroom concepts. I have learned that technology can benefit students in the physical classroom in addition to the virtual classroom. Podcasts and websites are two great examples of how learning can be extended beyond the school day.

ADVICE TO SHARE

It is okay to take little steps. Full technology integration into the classroom does not have to happen overnight. It takes time and experience. Start small and work your way to larger and more advanced activities. There is nothing wrong with taking risks and making mistakes. It is perfectly acceptable to make mistakes and learn from them. Some of the best lessons are the results of mistakes made in previous lessons. Be confident and do not be afraid to learn/experience technology for yourself. A lot of teachers are hesitant with technology in the classroom due to personal lack of knowledge. Take the time to explore and get comfortable with devices that can really benefit the learning environment.