For one of my classes (two sections) I was given an 89 Gig Ipod Video. This class is (badly) called the Gateway class, and it is a quarter of Post Alg 2 mathematics in Finance, a quarter of Mathematics in Art, a quarter of Mathematics in Technology / Computers, and a quarter of Mathematics in Medicine/ the Human body.
It is a very different kind of math class, where only seniors can take it. It will be mathematically rigorous, but 100% focused on the mathematics in each of these areas.
So, back to the ipod. Part of the issue with this is I need, I mean really NEED to use it. After all, my district just paid $400 for me and five other teachers to each have these ipods. If we don’t use them in class, we are in some deep doo doo trouble.
So I have made a goal for myself of finding, in advance, two to three videos that are relevant to the course each day. I have watched a lot of YouTube crap, let me tell you. Of course there is also DNATube, TeacherTube, Teachers.tv, and Vimeo where you can find some good stuff. There is also TED.
I have been using these sites to find good video. Today I watched this one, and it blew me away. Who know fractals and Africa had such a rich history, and that that exact history influenced Western culture to such a high degree. I did not.
If the player doesn’t work (I had it work and not work) here is the link: Ted Talk – Ron Eglash
So, I’m a bit confused. Will your entire class being viewing the videos on the iPod?
What was the rationale for their use?
No, we all have projectors and the connector cables to connect the ipod to the projector.
The rationale is to bring in a more multimedia and rich environment into the math class. This is not a traditional math class. It contains exploratory units, many many spreadsheets in the finance section, connections between Spirographs and parametric equations of epicycloids, etc.
The goal is to construct a class for Seniors that keep them involved in rigorous math, but will not be a traditional lecture class. Since our district just changed to 4 years of required math, this is a middle level option for those seniors who would otherwise not take a 4th math class.
Thanks for the clarification. Do you have access to computers (or one computer to hook up to a projector)?
I actually have 5 computers in my classroom. Three are student computers, one is a teacher computer (at my desk) and one is slaved to a SmartPanel and projector.
The SmartPanel is awesome. It is essentially an electronic whiteboard. Everything I write / draw on the board is projected to the screen. Combine that with powerpoint (which I am going to use this upcoming year, last year I did all freehand) and I have something on which I can capture a slide and annotate the heck out of if needed.
Everything I do on the SmartPanel can be saved as a jpg and uploaded to Edline (our district uses Edline and EasyGradePro) so 100% of all classroom notes can be easily deposited for learner access.
Makes life easy for me when people are absent!
Sounds like a nice setup! With that, I’m not sure why you need an iPod! If I run across any videos that might meet your needs, I’ll leave a link here. Good luck!
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