Technology

**Department Vision or Purpose:** The Math Department views the use of technology as a tool to enhance a student’s understanding of the mathematics. We use technology to teach a concept, to deepen a student’s understanding of a concept, and to engage the student in the learning process. Although there are a few times when the student will be able to use the graphing calculator on a test, the use of technology takes place mostly in the classroom. Teachers use the Activeboard and document camera to help teach a lesson. In addition, powerpoint presentations, geometer’s sketchpad, projects using excel, and active votes are all used by the math teachers and the students. Although many of our students use hotmath to get help with their homework, our next step is to make more use of the online homework features that are parts of different textbooks. Providing students with a way to submit their assignments on line will help the math teacher save time in the class. Currently, most math teachers use the first two to five minutes of the class checking to see if the students have completed the assignment. We also need to explore the use of technology to record classes and then make these recordings available to students. Students miss class for a variety of reasons or would like the ability to review the class. If a student was able to see the lesson he missed or simply needed the lesson to be repeated, these recordings would provide that opportunity to the student. In turn this may help alleviate the amount of extra help the math teachers provide. We would need a way to make these recordings available online. We also need to explore the use of wikis, blogs, and any other types of collaboration tools.
 * Mathematics Department **
 * SIP Goal: Integration of Technology **

**Implementation:** · Equipped each math classroom with document cameras.  · Developed more PowerPoint presentations to present math concepts (e.g. jeopardy games in Algebra 2, Pre-calculus Honors, and A.P. Calculus 1, and new lessons in Pre-calculus Honors, and A.P. Calculus).  · Developed more lab activities for the Geometry, Pre-Calculus Honors, and A.P.Calculus (2009) students using Geometer’s Sketchpad.  · Used the discussion board through Edline, but found that the students did not particularly find this board helpful. (2009)  · Used the homework drop box through Edline, but found that this was too cumbersome for the students to use. (2009)  · Activeboards were introduced into the math classrooms in 2000 and have been used by teachers to introduce the students to a variety of mathematical concepts.  · Activevotes are used to help students prepare for tests and review material. (2008)  · In Pre-calculus Honors classes  o Revised the Finance Project to include the use of Excel spreadsheets. (2010)  o Used a wiki to link videos of themselves proving trigonometric identities. (2010)  · In Geometry Honors classes students designed a wiki for their class. Each student is expected to add a historical math piece to the wiki. (2010)  · The Middle School 7th Grade Computer Science curriculum includes programming Alice and Robotics. (2010)