Tablet PC's and You

Tablet PC's are an amazing tool for students and teachers alike.  Basically, they are laptops with a touchscreen you can use to write on or maneuver around your programs.  Also, the monitor flips around and lays down, so that you can write on it easier.  Typically they are very expensive, but cheaper models are being developed.  You can get a tablet PC for as low as $100 now which is ridiculously cheap.  As a math major, I plan on getting myself a tablet over Christmas break because they are so useful.  There are nice programs for math you can get such as MS Math 3 as shown at the bottom.  A tablet PC can be used for note taking, internet access, writing, and pretty much anything else you can think of that a normal laptop can do.  The touch screen could be valuable for anyone working in and out of class.  If you have never even thought about it before, I would recommend to anyone to do further research on buying a tablet.

~Tigh~

Some rights reserved by Michael Kwan (Freelancer) and kuwaitvista

Geometer's Sketchpad for free?? Try Geogebra!

A great tool for any mathematics classroom is the program Geogebra.  It acts almost identical to Geometer's Sketchpad, but there is a huge upside; it's free!  For a tutorial on Geogebra click here.  For those of you that have no idea what either program does, they are tools to help students create shapes and graphs of their choosing without using graph paper.  Many options are available, such as creating line segments, various shapes, calculating angle measures and side measures, etc.  Pretty much anything involving geometry is possible after you understand how the program works.  Personally, I used Geogebra for about a week for a class, and I fell in love with it.  Unlike Geometer's Sketchpad, the layout is a lot more user friendly, with options available right on the top with pictures given so you know what each option does.  I recommend this program for any mathematics classrooms where shapes are involved...so pretty much every class!  Try it out, I mean it is free isn't it?  :)

~Tigh~

Some rights reserved by Fergus Jones

TI-Nspire: The Future of Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments has been the leader in the calculator community for many years.  Most students have used calculators such as the TI-83, TI-84, or TI-86.  The new TI-Nspire is a completely new format when compared to its past counterparts.  It functions more like a handheld computer than a simple calculator.  New formats for writing functions, running spreadsheets, and graphing equations are introduced to further our mathematical education.  The one big downfall of the TI-Nspire is that using it is much different than what everyone is used to. Years have been spent integrating the old TI series calculators into classrooms, and this new product throws a wrench into the curve.  Not to mention they cost significantly more than any other calculator.  The upside, however, is the depth at which the TI-Nspire can be used.  I believe that given a few more years, this calculator will be the one to get for all students in the world.

~Tigh~

Some rights reserved by zbowling

The Wonder of the Promethean Board

Promethean boards are a fantastic tool to use in the classroom.  I was lucky enough to be able to use one in my level II field experience earlier this fall.  The board itself is expensive, but the use you can get out of it is great.  Basically, it is a projector that runs through your computer, and has a touch screen.  With your Promethean board, you are able to write just like a white board, load in applications on your computer to view to the whole class, show Power Points, and many other things of your choosing.  The pointer you use acts as the mouse, so you can run anything you want the class to view.  You can also stream real time video through the board if you need to talk to someone outside of the classroom which is a very handy tool at your disposal.  Hopefully, someday all classrooms will be equipped with a Promethean board, so that all students in America will have the same advantage of one of the best new tools available for learning.  To read the full article discussed, click here.

~Tigh~

 Some rights reserved by Virtual Learning Center

My First Blog Post

This is my first blog, I am excited to be here :) this is a place for me to demonstrate that I can seek out opportunities to grow professionally as a future teacher.  I am a fourth year at the University of Northern Iowa, but I will have to stay a fifth year as well.  I know, I'm getting old...scary!  More to come in the future, keep reading!

~Tigh~