February 4, 2010

What have I learned?

I certainly had to scramble and dig into the depths of history to find out how to get back onto this site in order to respond to the reflective process we use. I have learned about an add-on to help with the math testing within Office, although I have not yet downloaded the plug-in. I have also learned that much of what we did today with GapMinder I had already tried as a motivational and exploratory tool with my lowest math students back in October after a re-exposure to it.

I am anticipating learning how to "mine" data through the tableau download we will work with tomorrow.

I appreciated the "tell the story" approach to engage thinking skills in students.

What do I still have questions about?

I am most curious how to proceed with the process of selecting data in Excel format, with headings on the columns and visualizing the format.

What can I apply in my classroom?

I can definitely work on the more "inspirational" approaches to exploring data, encouraging kids to ask more questions of data. I shared GapMinder with students last fall as an exploratory activity, but now they are ready to proceed on their own. I will be able to have them tell stories with what they find and adapt the process to their level.

BTW, I have introduced Prezi to my students who have very successfully used the free, downloadable version to make presentations in class. Apparently no one else in the building has used it yet, and the students are quite pleased with their first attempts.