Teresa Weise's 20% Project

I realize now that I had a tough time focussing during my 20% project. The Internet lead me all over, and I just kept following. Throughout the course I explored YouTube, GeoGebra, Pinterest, BrainPOP, my math book's website, and many articles from suggestions on Twitter. While I started with 6 areas of interest, I only ended up working on two of those and the rest of the time I explored. I now have a huge list of favorites posted everywhere - on my webpage, in my favorites list, in my favorites bar, on my YouTube channel, written into lesson plans, shared in emails and even on scraps of paper. I probably could continue this 20% project for a year and not have time to really look through those sites enough to create lessons for each of them. However, I have also picked two favorites that I have and will use often - GeoGebra and YouTube. I even made some videos using GeoGebra and put them on my YouTube channel to use for next year's lessons on transformations.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL673DFF4905D298EC&feature=plcp

Teachers model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.
I spent most of my 20% project time engaged in meeting this standard.  Although I always felt like I was pretty much ahead of the majority in using technology, I had stalled out when I got my SmartBoard.  I love it, but so much that I stopped looking for new activities to use with my students.  Taking on the 20% project reminded me why I can't pick one technology and stagnate - I need to keep learning.  Our current curriculum lacks manipulative activities and I never had time to create new ones, but now that I have explored and found so many online interactive manipulatives I think that I can reintroduce hands-on learning in my classroom. 

Teacher evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.
Since every research source that I have ever read stresses the need for hands-on learning to introduce the topics of algebraic thinking, I think that I am back on course to improving my teaching.  The main focus of this year's MN Council of Teacher's of Mathematics conference was on using technology to improve student learning.  The methods of using technology differed from flipped classrooms to interactive manipulatives to using calculators to gather data to finding appropriate Ipod apps, but there wasn't anyone who would admit that technology doesn't belong in the mathematics classroom.  I read several articles that basically all said the same thing - today's students take technology for granted as a given in their lives, learning without using technology doesn't make sense to them.  It would be like taking away a textbook, paper and pencil from a student of the 1900's.