Maine Department of Education "Mathematics with Technology"

The first podcast that I listened to was "Mathematics with Technology-Episode 1." This podcast was recorded by Judy Chandler from the Maine Department of Education. Her podcast discussed the use of technology in the mathematics classroom. Ms. Chandler stresses to her listeners the importance of teachers incorporating technology in the mathematics classroom. According to Ms. Chandler, some teachers feel that they do not have time for technology in their classroom, and they do not feel that technology plays a significant role in their classroom. Their main concern is to finish the textbook and to help their students achieve well on the final exams. Although some teachers are very set in their teaching methods and do not feel they need to change, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics tells us that technology is essential when teaching mathematics because it enhances the lessons that are taught and makes learning more effective. They also say that technology is one of the six major principles in creating a high quality mathematics education classroom. Ms. Chandler says that there are many technology tools available for use in the mathematics classroom that will help to engage students in a multi-sensory, more productive learning environment.

The second podcast that I listened to was "Thinking Mathematically-Episode 2." This podcast was also recorded by Judy Chandler from the Maine Department of Education. She explained that traditionally mathematics lessons were taught by going from lesson to lesson in a mathematics textbook. She says that this causes some students to fall farther and farther behind because they become disengaged and frustrated with the math work. Other students achieve well with this traditional program, but this is only because they can memorize all of the meaningless procedures taught by their teachers. In order to help students to achieve well, Ms. Chandler says that teachers should work hard to help engage students in thinking mathematically. Technology has opened many doors to help teachers do just this. Technology tools available today help students by offering activities with "hands-on" experience, using visual models, providing differentiated instruction, and offering alternative ways to demonstrate learning. Teacher questioning also helps to engage students in the math lessons. Questioning focuses and guides student thinking and helps provide more effective learning opportunities. Teacher questioning guides the class discussion and helps engage students in critical thinking. Ms. Chandler reminds teachers that they should always use their resources and skills to help their students to "think mathematically."

As a future teacher, I am really excited that technology has advanced so much. Teachers now have so many tools available to them to help make their teaching styles and lessons much more effective. Students also have more tools available to them which helps to meet the learning styles and needs of all of the different students in the classroom. Through listening to these podcasts, I learned that not only are there technology tools that are useful in the computer class, but also for the many other subjects that the students study. Teachers have tools available for them to use in Math, Reading, Science, Social Studies, English, etc. According to Ms. Chandler, technology tools available today help students by providing "hands-on" activities, using visual models which helps grab students' attention, providing differentiated instruction to keep the students' interested, and offering alternative ways to demonstrate learning which helps students with all different learning styles.

Ms. Chandler's podcast really helped me to understand the importance of incorporating technology into my classroom when I become a teacher. It has been proven that using technology in the classroom helps to enhance lessons and make learning more effective. Ms. Chandler also states the importance of encouraging class discussion and critical thinking in the classroom. She says that teachers need to ask questions while teaching a lesson to keep their students engaged in the lesson and help them to actually think hard about the subject that they are studying. Podcasts like Ms. Chandlers are truly beneficial to teachers because they help motivate teachers to change their lessons to meet the learning needs of students in the classrooms today. As time progresses, teachers have to learn to adapt and change their learning styles to fit the needs of the new students coming in to their classroom. If this means learning a new computer program or learning how to work a new projector in the classroom, we should because it is our job as teachers to make sure we do everything we can to help benefit the students in our classroom.