After exploring Games, Simulations & Virtual Reality in class on 2/11/2008 and exploring GeoTechnologies (GPS, GIS, Google Earth & Maps, etc.) in class on 2/13/2008, followed by an indepth look at a specfic application that could relate to your content area and level, reflect specificially on how you might use an emerging technology in your future classroom.
I have decided as a math teacher, that the most useful tool to me would be the Google Earth application. My students would be able to calculate different trigonometric formulas by using different coordinates of other places. The games that we searched would be more useful in other content areas, though I am sure that if I looked hard enough I would be able to find games that would be geared towards math applications. But as the learning pyrmid suggests; drills are probably the least likely to help students understand content.
Hands on applications such as figuring out a flight plan from New York to Belgium would be a great exercise for students to see how trig could be used in the real world. We all have asked the question, "When am I going to use this outside of school?" I think that the exercise mentioned above would answer that question for just about every student, and I would not just be explaining to them, they would be able to use it themselves.
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Ben,
Although I am not a "math guy" believe me, I am able to see this FREE software has tremendous potential in the math classroom. Both of my sons are structural design engineer, and Google SketchUp is a favorite of theirs.
Your specific ideas of how you would use GE is impressive.
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