LeeMcCall





Lee Ellen McCall EDET 650 Final Presentation

Overview
The National Educational Technology Standards require that every student in the United States demonstrate a specified level of technology proficiency by the completion of the eighth grade. Research has shown however, that in high school math classes across the United States, there is minimal use of technologies. Research also shows much of the resistance is due to a lack of training for teachers in how to use the technologies, and how to incorporate their using into the curriculum. The goal of my internship project is to provide a tutorial that will accomplish two things: train the teachers how to use the calculator and provide a lesson for the students on solving systems of linear equations and linear inequalities.


 * Annotated Bibliography ||= McCallAnnotatedBibliography ||
 * Final Reflection ||= @McCallFinalReflection ||
 * = Tutorial ||= McCallFinalProduct ||
 * TI-83 Plus Graphing Calculator Wiki ||= McCallInternshipWiki ||
 * Internship Blog ||= McCallGraphingCalculatorBlog ||
 * Final Time Sheet ||= McCallFinalTimeSheet ||
 * = Midterm Report ||= McCallMidtermReport ||
 * Final Report || @McCallFinalPresentation ||

Reflection 5 November 29, 2010  Since my last reflection , I changed the format for the tutorial a bit. I am still using PowerPoint, but decided to voice edit the slides and embed the Jing videos into the slides for the hands on instructional portions of the tutorial. I am almost embarrassed to admit it took me about three hours to figure out how to embed these videos into my PowerPoint presentation. Thank goodness for Google and people who are much more technology savvy than me and are willing to share their knowledge! I had to purchase the upgraded jing so that my files would save as swf files. Then, I had to then go to the slide that would contain the video, choose the Developer tab and then more controls. Once that window opened, I could choose the Shockwave Flash Object, which allowed me to define the size and section of the slide in which to embed the video. I then right clicked in this area, chose properties and copied the location address of the file into the movie section. When the window was closed, I then accessed the current slide from the slide show tab, and there it was! However, I soon hit another brick wall and am still struggling to find a solution. To post my tutorial to my wiki page as a widget, I uploaded the PowerPoint presentation to authorstream and saved it there. I thought that all was well until I played the video, and noticed that the embedded Jing videos are not showing up. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I do plan to see if Mr. Lee can help me tomorrow at school. I also created a survey on survey monkey for feedback from my peers. Since I could not email a link for the tutorial to the math teachers, I attached the PowerPoint file to the email and posted a link to the survey. I am no longer teaching mathematics on a daily basis, and am anxious to see what my peers think of this product and how useful it could be as an instructional tool. While I was working on this tutorial, I thought of how easy it was to put this lesson together once the planning was completed. Anyone could do this! This would be a great topic for our in-service tech fest day that is coming up in March. This would be a great way to plan for substitutes. So many times when we are absent, it is a lost day of instruction. This is a great alternative for sub plans.

 There are still a few things that I need to edit. One problem that I have is the flow of the tutorial. The slides that have the voice recording only, flow nicely to the next slide. However, the demonstration slides that require accessing the Jing videos require the user to manually move to the next slide. I have spent a few minutes on this problem, but will further investigate and correct after I get feedback from my peers. I would like to sit down and do all of the editing at once. I looked at MyPaint and Freez Screen to see if they offered an easier way to work the problems. When compared to Microsoft Paint and Jing, they were no better, so I decided to stay with what I am most familiar. The quality of the videos showing how to manually work the problems is not that great because I have difficulty writing legibly with Paint and there is a time limit with Jing. The time limit was also something I had to work with when demonstrating the calculator steps with TI-Smart View. Also, as painful as it is to listen to my southern twang, the audio quality is just not that good and I am not sure how to make it any better. There are so many features of Smart View that can be used; I hope at the very least, I have introduced teachers to the wonders of SmartView. I have also finalized the handouts. I created them using Microsoft Publisher and that works great in the school district, but I need to save them in a more universally friendly format.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">The evaluation phase of the tutorial is now in full swing. As soon as I receive feedback from the surveys, I can make the necessary changes to improve the instruction. If I had a regular Algebra 2 class this year, I would also ask the students to assess this tutorial. They are, after all, the end users and the primary audience for this project.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: center;">Reflection 4 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">November 8, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Since my last reflection, I have decided to change the way the lessons are presented. Initially I planned to use PowerPoint and TI Smart View. Looking at the design of instruction and considering the intended audience, I feel that PowerPoint slides and handouts may be a bit too boring for the students. PowerPoint is a wonderful tool, but I feel that it is a bit over used and when students see yet another PowerPoint, they immediately become disinterested. I want something that feels interactive for the hand solved portion of the tutorial as well as the calculator demonstrations. I purchased TI Smart View software and love it! There are so many features that can be used for this tutorial. There is an option to script and record, which is what I am primarily interested in. There is also an option for a screen shot which I will use to embed the keystroke screen into the handout. There are several screen options that work simultaneously to show the user various views for graphing, which I will also use in the demonstration of solving systems of equations and inequalities, and my discussion of calculator limits when using these applications. I have been searching the web to find options for PowerPoint and looked to Kahn Academy on YouTube for inspiration. He (Sal Kahn) uses Microsoft Paint to illustrate solutions by hand. I have difficulty with readability using Microsoft Paint, and searched for other (better) options. I found a program called MyPaint which claims to be a much easier and smoother drawing program. I am also looking at the program Freez Screen to record the portions of the lessons presented with MyPaint and incorporate the video portions of TI Smart View. The problems and the handout will not drastically change, but will still offer a hardcopy of the concepts being presented and will give the students notes for reference when homework is assigned. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> The development phase of this instruction will include the following tools: Jing or Freez video to instruct solving linear equations, linear systems of equations, linear inequalities, and linear systems of inequalities by hand. A Jing or Freez video will be used, along with the TI Smart View, to illustrate solving the same (or similar) above problems using a graphing calculator and also to illustrate the limits of graphing with a calculator. PowerPoint slides will be used to list the state standards addressed by the tutorial as well as an introduction through a title page. Handouts will be available with the video and students will be asked to reference these throughout the lesson. The teaching strategy will be direct instruction. Practice problems from the handouts can be completed at pause points. When sufficient time has passed, I will then illustrate the correct answer with the image of the graphing calculator. The assignment of homework is left to the discretion of the teacher. I still need to determine a way to measure what they know from the beginning and what is minimal knowledge to successfully grasp the concepts being taught. I also need an attention grabber to captivate and hopefully retain their interest throughout the lesson. I am still playing around with the best way to illustrate and record the “by hand” portion.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: center;">Reflection 3 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">10/26/2010 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Since my last reflection, I have completed the annotated bibliography for using graphing calculators to teach mathematics. All articles, but one, were strongly in favor of using graphing calculators to teach mathematics. The one in opposition was written by an engineer who argues that the cost is not beneficial for students beyond high school and college. To me, $98 for at least eight years of use and the benefits of increased performance and conceptual understanding is definitely worth the money! Of the nineteen articles that were in favor, all identify the biggest roadblock to their usage as lack of training and comfort level of the teachers. Because these calculators have been around for so long, I guess administration and districts assume that mathematics teachers have relied heavily on them to get through their college courses and Praxis exams and are proficient and comfortable with using them to teach the standards required by the state. This is just not the case, and with so many administrative type responsibilities and lack of class time, many teachers are barely motivated to cover the minimum requirements. During the 2009-2010 school year, we experienced only six weeks of uninterrupted class time for all seven class periods. For this reason, I want my tutorial to be a lesson for both the teacher and the student. It will include handouts for the lessons and will be interactive, forcing the user to use the correct keys, but also the correct sequence of key strokes. If the teacher is proficient with the calculator, then he/she can use the tutorial as a lesson. If the teacher is not proficient, they can use the tutorial to learn for themselves.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> After researching several options, I have purchased Smart View from Texas Instruments. I requested a trial version that I never received. I ordered the software last week and the shipping time is seven business days. Until I get the product and can play around with it, I am at a hold point in the actual production of the tutorial. I have spent my time working on the handouts that will go with the tutorial and considering the design of the tutorial for my target audience. There are two audiences for which this tutorial is designed; high school mathematics teachers and algebra 2 students. This audience will be the focus of the design. The goal of the tutorial is to teach the users how to solve systems of equations and inequalities using a graphing calculator. The objectives and strategies are as follows: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">**The student will graph a system of linear equations using a graphing calculator**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The student will graph a single line using graph paper(in the handout) **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Put the equation into slope intercept form
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Plot the y-intercept and find the second point using the slope
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The student will graph a single line using a graphing calculator **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Put the equation into y-intercept form
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Put this in the calculator and graph
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The student will graph a system of linear equations using graph paper **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Put two equations into slope intercept form
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> For each equation, plot the y-intercept and find the second point using the slope
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Identify the solution for the system (where the lines intersect)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Solve the solution using the substitution method

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">**The student will graph a linear inequality using graph paper (in the handout)**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Put these equations into slope intercept form
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Put these equations into the calculator and graph
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Use the trace function to identify the coordinates of the solution
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Use the table function to identify the coordinates of the solution
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Discuss the limits of the trace function

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">**The student will graph a linear inequality using the graphing calculator**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Find the similar equation
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Place in y-intercept form
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Determine whether the line will be dashed or solid
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Graph using the y-intercept and slope
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Determine which side to shade to indicate the solution set

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">**The student will graph a system of linear inequalities using graph paper**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Find the similar equation
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Place in y-intercept form
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Determine whether the line will be dashed or solid
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Put the equations into the calculator and graph
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Adjust the screen to shade either up or down to highlight the solution set

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">This is subject to change and is still a rough draft. There are many discussion points throughout the lesson. I may need to concentrate on either linear equations or linear inequalities and not both.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Find the similar equations
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Place in y-intercept form
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Determine whether the line will be solid or dashed
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Graph using the y-intercept and slope
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Determine which side contains the solution and shade
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Determine the common area for all inequalities to determine the solution set for the system
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The student will graph a system of linear inequalities using a graphing calculator **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Find the similar equations
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Place in y-intercept form
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Determine whether the line will be solid or dashed
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Put the equations into the calculator and graph
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Adjust the screen to shade above or below the line to indicate the solution for each inequality
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Determine the solution set by using the trace function to identify where the lines cross for the shaded area.

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<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: center;">Reflection 2 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">September 27, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Since my last reflection, I have read and evaluated thirteen articles that pertain to the use of graphing calculators to teach mathematics. It amazes me that in the twenty-four years since the introduction of hand held technologies in the classroom, graphing calculators are still on the outer fringes of most math curriculums. Most of these studies found an increase, not only in performance on tests, but also a significant increase in conceptual understanding, collaboration with peers, and an increase in variation of problem solving strategies. The resistance comes from the mathematics teachers. Many reasons were discussed. One that I can identify with is fear that the students know more about the technology than you! I experienced this my first year teaching high school math. We were graphing linear functions and one of the students very politely asked me if I knew that the table function would five the values for which I was looking. Surprisingly, I was not mortified (probably because he was so polite) but took the opportunity to thank him and then allowed this student to share and demonstrate this information with the class. This could have been an awkward situation given a student with a bad attitude. Another problem that teachers have with using graphing calculators pertains to the curriculum standards and how they are to be tested. The formats do not match. The skills acquired through collaboration and problem solving may not easily translate into a testable objective. An immediate argument for this is that standardized testing allows students to use graphing calculators; therefore we should make sure that students know how to use the various applications to increase their scores.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> My initial plan was to produce a video tutorial about using graphing calculators (TI -83 Plus) to solve systems of equations and systems of inequalities graphically, incorporating green screen video into the production. Now, I am worried about the file being so large that I can’t upload it to the server. However, Dr. Smyth did suggest purchasing a domain name and going that route. I am meeting with Mr. Lee next week to discuss other options available through the school. I would still like to product something that would involve the students gaining experience in video production. Another obstacle for me has been finding an interactive calculator on which to demonstrate the key strokes, or even an alternative to this idea. I could also use Jing and do screen shots and colored arrows. This will be the next area of concentration for the project. I have been working on the dialogue that I want for the tutorial and have made PowerPoint slides for many of those. I have the examples that I want to demonstrate and I have also picked out examples for the organizer that students can use to practice. As I developed the dialogue slides I noticed several places that would be appropriate for the use to pause the video, have the students work the problems and re-start the video for the correct answer. I may even work through those problems as well. There is so much to do in the planning phase of this production. I know the video will not last more than seven or eight minutes, and I am constantly tying up loose ends.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: center;">Reflection 1 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">September 13, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> Initially, my first idea for the internship was the development of an on-the-job training video that could be used in industry. Because of a background in the laboratory, a laboratory analysis type training video was what I envisioned. I had also considered some form of safety training video because elements of safety are important to all positions in all industries. However, since I am in the field of education and will complete my internship where I work, I was asked to focus on an internship within education.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> I am currently employed as a teacher in Aiken County at the Career and Technology Center. I am certified to teach mathematics grades 5-12, so I wanted to concentrate on the subject of math. My position at the Career and Technology Center is not that of a regular teacher, but is the non-traditional role of an interventionist. I prefer high school level math and my favorite of these is Algebra 2. Taking into consideration all of these factors, I narrowed my focus to Algebra 2 college prep 2 level. I also decided to produce a video tutorial on using graphing calculators to learn specific standards within the unit of linear equations. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The venue of the instruction was the next hurdle. Currently at the Career and Technology Center, we have a well staffed computer networking classroom and support staff of teachers and students. The instructor, Mr. Lee was happy to help and he offered the aid of his second and third year students. He told me that they have recently acquired equipment to produce various video productions and his advanced students need experience producing video using equipment such as a green screen. We talked about several options available for producing the video. I prefer an interactive calculator keyboard to demonstrate as I instruct. Mr. Lee assured me that there are several options to explore when I am ready to plan that portion of the project. I also spoke with my director to get permission and just let him know what was going on, and he is all for it! I furthered narrowed my topic to creating a video tutorial on using the TI-83 plus graphing calculator to solve systems of equations and systems of inequalities.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> I began my research on the ERIC database using the key words graphing calculators and mathematics. I found numerous journal articles and studies. I narrowed the results to peer reviewed articles and to those available fully on ERIC. I was really impressed with the results of the research until I realized that most of the positive research was funded by Texas Instruments. So, I decided to look research conducted by individuals or firms other than Texas Instruments and the findings were mostly positive, but not without limitations. To date, all of the research that I have analyzed has indicated a positive correlation between the amount of time spent using the graphing calculators in math class and an improved ability in problem solving. However, as most researchers have pointed out, the graphing calculators can do nothing that a personal computer can not do. Their usefulness after high school is minimal and after college is almost nonexistent. Graphing calculators are required by many high school teachers and at $100 each, this represents a substantial amount of money for a tool whose primary use is through high school only! <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">I began developing the lesson plans for the tutorial using the McGraw/Hill Algebra 2 text. As I searched the book for illustrations and possible practice problems, I noticed that throughout each section much space is occupied by instructions on how to use a graphing calculator to work the problems in the section. Oh, and the instructions are not generic but are for Texas Instruments graphing calculators. I am a bit suspicious of a conspiracy going on between the text book publishers and Texas Instruments! However; my love for the graphing calculator and its usefulness on all standardized tests solidifies my resolve to product an instructional video on using them to learn Algebra 2.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> When teaching Algebra 2, one of the most difficult concepts to teach is that of linear inequalities. Students typically have problems with graphing just one inequality. These problems are amplified when required to graph a system, find the solution and visually represent that same system and solution in a graph. This can be easily accomplished through the use of a graphing calculator. I agree that students should be able to quickly sketch the graph of a line and a single inequality. However, graphing a system of linear equations or linear inequalities is a much more complicated task. At the very least, I want to offer the students a way to check/verify their work. I also feel that since all standardized testing allows the use of most graphing calculators, I need to prepare the students by teaching them how to use the calculator.