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Reaching Your Students More Reaching Your Students More Effectively Through the WebEffectively Through the Web
presented by Bob Mathewspresented by Bob MathewsDesign Science, Inc.Design Science, Inc.
What I’ll cover…
• Top 10 reasons every math teacher needs a web page
• Available tools & services• Best & worst practices
Where do I start?
• It helps to have a blueprint.• What’s the purpose of the web page?
• Find out what others are doing.• Ask around.• Look at other web pages.
• How do I get there from here?
• Why do I need a web page anyway?• Here is my Top 10 List of reasons, in no
particular order…
1. Communicate
• Number one reason.• Specific things to communicate…
• Personal information• Course/class information• School information
• Examples:http://www.soamath.net/psmyth/apcalculus/apcalculus.htmhttp://www.algebrawizard.com/faqs.html
Communicate more: calendar
• Such a simple item, but it can include a wealth of information.• List homework assignments• Test schedule• Special school events (“Career Day”,
etc.)• Holidays & in-service days
• Example:http://www.soamath.net/Calendars/eventspage.htm
2. Web-based learning
• What are your learning goals?• Why online anyway?http://www.edtech.neu.edu/workshops/materials/course/materials/goals
• Example:http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/models/mathematical/examples/XLstats.html
3. Rules & Expectations
• Important to publish, whether to hand out or put on your web site (or both!).
• Putting them on the web lets you change them easily.• Also makes it easy for you to send out a
mass e-mail with a link to the rules and an explanation of the changes.
• Post a date at the top.
4. Class notes
• This may be something you post for every lesson.
• It may be something you post only when your explanation is better than the book’s explanation.
• Excellent source of info for the homebound student.
• Example:www.s-cool.co.uk (GCSE & AS/A2 content)
5. Tutorials
• More detailed than class notes.• Good for leading students step-by-step
through a solution.• Good for presenting alternate
methods.• Example:
http://www.mathsnet.netGreat source for lessons & tutorials for all levels.
6. Practice problems• Homework problems, practice problems, & practice
quizzes.• Post homework problems that are either your
own or from a source other than the text.• Post practice problems either for extra credit or
extra practice.• Practice quizzes & tests so students will know
what areas need more study before an in-class quiz or test.
• Example:http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/mth251/cq/Stage4/Practice/classify.html
7. Explain common errors
• Several ways to do this (not mutually exclusive)• Before a test• After a test• Generic
• Could also do a bit of this with each lesson.
• Example:http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/AllBrowsers/CommonErrors/CommonMathErrors.asp
8. Links
• Links to:• Sources of help• Math dictionary• Exam & exam help sites
• http://www.gcseguide.co.uk• http://www.gcse.com
• College web sites
• Example:http://www.eevl.ac.uk/mathematics/math-learningandteaching.htm
9. Share resources
• Everyone has something to contribute!• Lesson plans• Activities• Problem sets
• Don’t put anything in this section that you wouldn’t want your students to see.
• Example:http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Algebra/rentacar.html
10. Fun stuff!
• Fun stuff falls into 2 categories:• Just plain fun
• Music sites• Movie sites• Sports & recreation sites• …
• Math stuff• Show them math can be fun!• www.funbrain.com is one example
Available tools and services
• yourhomework.com• “yourhomework.com makes it easy for
any teacher to post assignments online for students and parents, enhancing communication between school and home!”
• Free for teachers, students, & parents• There is also a “premium” service that’s
free for teachers, but $29.95/year for students/parents.
Available tools and services
• TeacherWeb.com• www.teacherweb.com• $2.50/month or $25.00 per year• Post assignments, class calendar,
syllabus, rules, teacher info, etc.• A TeacherWeb.com address allows 99
web pages (?) plus 7.5 MB of disk space for additional files.
Available tools and services
• Other web sites to consider:• FunBrain
• www.funbrain.com• Mostly ages 6-14, but there’s a cool “Quiz
Lab” for any level.• Either click the Quiz Lab link or use the
separate URL: www.quizlab.com• Quiz Lab is $32.95/year, but you can get a
30-day free trial.• Special features for team teaching and
sharing among teachers.
• Other web sites to consider:• FunBrain• QuizStar
• http://quizstar.4teachers.org• “With this web-based utility, you will be able
to create a custom quiz that others can take online!”
• FREE!
Available tools and services
• Other web sites to consider:• FunBrain• QuizStar
• Tools to use:• The first assumption is that you have
some place to put your page.• school server• personal ISP• yourhomework.com, etc.
Available tools and services
• Other web sites to consider:• FunBrain• QuizStar
• Tools to use:• The first assumption is that you have
some place to put your page.• For creating pages from scratch – use
FrontPage 2003 and MathType 5.• For simple, quick pages – use Word 2000
or later and MathType 5.
Available tools and services
Some suggestions• Keep it simple!
• It’s easy to get carried away with graphics & sounds, but that can easily become more distracting and annoying than helpful.
• Don’t…• …use a patterned background or animations.• …use MIDIs or WAVs.• …try to give too much information on any one page.
Remember – keep it simple!• …use Tripod, Geocities, Angelfire, or any other page
that uses pop-up advertisements!
Wrapping it up…• Top 10• Easy ways to go:
• yourhomework.com• TeacherWeb• (Windows) Word + MathType = MathPage• (Mac or Windows) FrontPage + MathType
Sites referenced
• School of the Arts Math (SOA Math)http://www.soamath.net/homepage.htm
• MathsNethttp://www.mathsnet.net
• Common Math Errorshttp://tutorial.math.lamar.edu
• Math Resources (links)http://www.eevl.ac.uk/mathematics/math-learningandteaching.htm
• S-Cool: www.s-cool.co.uk
Sites referenced (cont.)
• Math Lessons (lesson plans)http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Lessons/
• NCTM Illuminationshttp://illuminations.nctm.org
• Journal of Online Math & its Applicationshttp://www.joma.orghttp://www.joma.org/mathDL/4/?pa=content&sa=browseNode&categoryId=18
(for Mathlets)
• Algebra FAQs for Parentshttp://www.algebrawizard.com/faqs.html