My daughter went to senior orientation today, a sure sign summer is almost over. When I was in the classroom, I remember getting both sad and excited around this time. Sad because my holiday was coming to an end, but excited because I was revving up to start over and try some new things in the classroom. I usually spent my summers learning new tools, brushing up on skills, and reevaluating what I had done the previous year and deciding what to throw out or modify. I was, and still am, someone who does not like to do the same old thing, which was especially true when I was teaching in middle and high school. It was my summer challenge to try to come up with different ways to reach my students and bring new projects, games, hands-on tools, and of course, technology, into play in my classroom.
We at Key have been thinking about back-to-school these last couple of weeks and working on ways to help teachers who want to integrate technology get a good start for the year. Our line-up of free webinars, starting with August 28 and going through the end of September, is focused on how to start using Sketchpad and TinkerPlots with students at the beginning of the school year. We know there is a need for support and resources, especially with the current focus on the Common Core State Standards. As former math teachers, we are familiar with the struggles and stress the beginning of a school year brings. Our hope is to provide some ready-to-use resources and suggestions that focus on appropriate activities for the beginning of the year to help teachers bring something new and exciting into their math instruction through the use of technology.
Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Ball State University, Indiana. She’s done a variety of work for Key, including presenting webinars, moderating online courses, and delivering face-to-face professional development workshops.
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