As a Secondary Mathematics major I can relate on how it seems to be more socially acceptable to NOT know mathematics but NOT socially accepted to NOT know how to read. One is not better than the other; they are equally important. This really stuck out to me and I just had to elaborate on it. Technology can be incorporated in just about every subject taught at schools, including both reading and math. It takes a motivated educator to do what is necessary to learn the information and share it with his or her classroom. If the teachers do not know and the parents do know, then how can expect our children to know about technology?! Kids learn quickly. As soon as iPods, iPhones, cell phones, etc., became popular, they basically taught themselves and each other how to use them. I can recall, as a kid, having to put together and setup every electronic device in our house because my mom did not know what to do. I figured it out and showed her what I did. The same continues today; I have to show her how to do things on her laptop but she has made efforts to learn things on her own and she has pretty much mastered emailing:) Our world is becoming a technological pool and we have to keep up and produce future educators, engineers, architects, doctors, and lawyers who can also keep up. Something new is always readily available to replace the new gadget of yesterday, literally!
I took a similar class to this one at Auburn University and I enjoyed learning new things and reviewing what I already knew. Mathematics is everywhere but our students have not yet grasped that concept. I have learned how to make mathematics more enjoyable through the use of technology. Even something as simple as Microsoft Excel can be exciting to students who have had no exposure. Technology is not the answer to all of our problems as educators, but the rewards for our students to have exposure to it is exponential! As a product of the public school system, I can honestly say that there was a lack of technology in the classroom. We had a few computers in the classroom but they were more for recreational purposes than anything else. Had we explored software, such as Geometer's Sketchpad, I may have had a better understanding for geometry for example (I really missed out in Geometry because the educator became pregnant and left the beginning of the year and we were stuck with substitute after substitute). My senior math educator had been teaching for about 25-30 years which meant technology was unheard of to her. Educators must be held responsible and, as Mr. Fisch said, so should the schools, school systems, etc.
I took a similar class to this one at Auburn University and I enjoyed learning new things and reviewing what I already knew. Mathematics is everywhere but our students have not yet grasped that concept. I have learned how to make mathematics more enjoyable through the use of technology. Even something as simple as Microsoft Excel can be exciting to students who have had no exposure. Technology is not the answer to all of our problems as educators, but the rewards for our students to have exposure to it is exponential! As a product of the public school system, I can honestly say that there was a lack of technology in the classroom. We had a few computers in the classroom but they were more for recreational purposes than anything else. Had we explored software, such as Geometer's Sketchpad, I may have had a better understanding for geometry for example (I really missed out in Geometry because the educator became pregnant and left the beginning of the year and we were stuck with substitute after substitute). My senior math educator had been teaching for about 25-30 years which meant technology was unheard of to her. Educators must be held responsible and, as Mr. Fisch said, so should the schools, school systems, etc.
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