Moodling Away

It is now the half way point for the fifth six weeks and I've now seriously moodled my stat class through 3 cycles. So what do I think of moodle?

I don't like:
1. The work of getting questions into moodle form. This would be so much easier if it would just pick up copy and paste from word and not have to upload graphics separately.
2. Worrying that my kids aren't learning thinking skills - the world does not give us multiple choice problems - although they are easier to grade
3. Worrying my kids aren't learning the organizational skills for math. Problems have to be laid out in an organized manner - the method is as important as the answer - that's why I won't use moodle for PreCal.

I like:
1. Almost instanteous grading
2. Not having to read handwriting for essay or free response questions
3. Having material available to kids all the time (nice when we don't have a book)
4. Not having tons of paper to handle.
5. Having reviews that self-correct and point to the right answer

Things I want to do next year:
1. Figure out how to do "lessons" to guide kids through concepts.
2. Use moodle for class management in precal (but I can't see how to do the class on moodle - you have to see the homework there).

Things I worry about:
1. Kids who don't have computers at home
2. Kids who really need a book (ok, we wouldn't have books for stat anyway)
3. Kids with vision problems such as dyslexia - I could sure use some help on this one.

On balence, I'll do moodle again next year with stat - and I may add some of the class management for precal. I like the program, it's easy to use and usually I can find what I need for help. And I must admit, I wish I could do my precal final online.

Janet

Goodbye to Jinx

One of the mainstays of my school died last month and it has taken me awhile to think it through and have something to say.

We lost our crisis counselor,Jinx,- the one person we all went to - teachers and students alike. A wise woman who always knew the right words, a true Texas original. I miss her wisdom and her good cheer. When we loose some one like her the world becomes a bit more vanilla, a bit less lively -just a bit more gray.

I'm glad I had a chance to work with her and to know her.

Moodle and Finals

I've just given my first final in moodle and I think it went ok. Grades were comparable to normal test grades. I did have one girl who is dyslexic ask for a paper copy to look at (even though she knew the answers would be in a different order.

Some of the kids loved it, some hated it, most didn't care except that it meant they got their grades earlier, i.e. as soon as the test closed.

Looking towards next semester, I am going to moodle for tests and quizes. I'm still worried about the inability to do drawings and show work, but I can live with that for stat - or I'll come up with some sort of hybrid test.

I also want to look into Lessons and turning in assignments online.

Every day is an adventure.

Mrs. Rice

Moodle, Tests, and Luddites

After a week of letting my stat kids have the computers out during class, I'm more or less satisfied with the experiment. Goodness knows one can goof off in class without technology. I've rearranged my room to give me space to walk behind the kids when I need to. And I've done a test on moodle. And it worked. It was easy to grade (would be easier if I figured out how to use the group feature) and easy to manage. I suspect cheating was not worse than any other time. And my kids did no worse than on pencil and paper. My little Luddite's comment was "none of my other teachers make me do this" - but he and I have done a class before, so he should have known that "no one else does this" isn't a good argument with Mrs. Rice - whose attitude is "wow, let's give this a try".

So we are at the Christmas break. I have one more section of precal test to grade (and a unit to do for stat), but we are half way home. The finals are done and ready, the solstice is past and we've got a whole new year coming up.

Janet Rice

More Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom

Today was a more or less successful day using the computers in stat class. I've learned that I niceeed to have things organized and prepped before hand - and make sure there is time for things to happen (like finding the line right below HW for Lesson 35 that says Quiz for Lesson 35) so the kids can actually do something. I've learned that the timer feature on moodle is amazingly nice - and I willu se it again.

For the first time I let the kidlets have the machines out during class - I've decided that if they are going to goof off they will do that anyway (I certainly did). And I had a couple of my kids say that having the computer on is helpful because they take notes - and they actually did, which is amazing.

So this is a learning experience. Let's see what we learn tomorrow.

Janet Rice

Student Centered Teaching

Since my district has let me have $50K worth of technology to work with, I've been trying to really use it for my statistics class. That means migrating my assessments to moodle. Yesterday I had a kid refuse to take a quiz on the computer. My real worry was that he had vision problems and that this is something we need to be aware of and consider modifications. But actually, according to his mom, it is just that he doesn't like the computer and doesn't see why he has to do it that way.

So - how do I square this student's disklike of computers with the need to get him prepared for a college environment which will be anything but focused on his needs? What does student centered actually mean? Does it mean we cater to their wishes, or does it mean that we work to what we know they need (and that does mean putting the time in to finding out what they need)?

On a plus side for technology - how can we use technology to modify lessons and modify presentation of material for kids with vision problems? More things to consider.

Janet Rice

Teaching Math - Practice, Practice, Practice

My stat kids are working through the normal distribution and there is a fair amount of calculation involved with that work - even if we are using the Starnes Statistics Through Applications, which is much less computationally intensive that the Brace and Brace book we used last year. Our first quiz over the material was, in short, horrible. Thinking about this, I think the reason is that we simply haven't done enough practice. In theory the kids should have worked the problems on moodle and checked their answers - but in reality I suspect they just did random answers until they got the right one. (ok, not all the kids, but at least some number). So today we did worksheets.

Some things I noticed (and how they are relative to TAKS for my few juniors)

1. Reading a problem like "what % of spiders in the colony weigh more than 13 grams" takes some work to translate into a minimum of 13 and a maximum of (some really big number). The decoding part of these problems takes some work. I observed this last year, but thought it might be due to the way the Brase and Brase book words problems.

2. Everyone knows how to find a percent - or how to find a the count of something when they have a % of a whole - Algebra 1 TEKS (or 8th grade) - but actually doing it when confronted with a wordy problem takes some prodding.

3. The hardest thing for some of the kids seems to be figuring out what formula to use or what technique to use - getting from reading the problem, to deciphering the question, to finding the known quantities, and using the correct equation or approach. I wonder if that is the problem for some of the kiddos with TAKS trouble - making that jump problem after problem? In algebra 1 we really stressed this sort of "what technique?" skill - and I realize now that I need to more of that in statistics. This is one where I could see using turning point in class - put a problem up on the viewer and let the kids pick the technique first - and then, in the next slide, solve the problem. (OK, so sooner or later I'll have turning point - and at least I'll have ideas what to do with it when I do get it).

4. Multipart problems - the idea of having one description and then a number of sub-problems that use the same specific information gave some of my kids problems. I suspect the answer to that is to use more (not less) of that type of problem so that they get used to it. Moodle let's me do "descriptions" and then sub problems - so it would help to make good use of that feature.

5. Different words for the same concept - broadening vocabulary. My kids had problems when I gave them a problem that talked about an average instead of the mean. Again, I think the answer is to do this more often - and very consciously use multiple words for the same concept in the lecture portion of class - so they hear the different words and connect the. Again thinking turning point - maybe a matching word exercise might be helpful.

What I saw that was neat:
1. The kids will help each other - I let them work together - and they actually do help each other - or if nothing else they get confused together and then I can work with them and get them back on track as a group.

2. Some of the kids actually like worksheets - now that I don't understand - but I think it is the idea of having a well-defined task that is comforting. On the other hand, next year they will be in college and they won't have that kind of comfort there.

So, my challenge this year is to see how to integrate the technology with "the old time skills". I don't think the computer work can replace doing practice - but I think the trick is to use the features of moodle that let you walk some one through a problem to help them in doing the practice. So next year maybe what I need is the powerpoint lecture notes, a moodle lesson, and then the homework.