Musings from Mrs. Galvan

My algebra and geometry students have been creating digital portfolios (using blogger) for the last 4 school years. Summer 2013, spurred on by my school's upcoming 1:1 laptop program, I attended CUE Rockstar conference. While there, I had time to think about how I might have my students use their laptops in class. I wanted them to be able to look at virtual manipulatives , graph things quickly and interactively using desmos, create constructions using geogebra, use online formative assessment tools like socrative and generally be able to use the internet as a tool to enrich their learning. All of these enhance learning, but I was also looking for a way to build in reflection and creativity into class also. After all, as Dewey said  “we do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.” My theory was that blogger would be the house for my students' reflections.  Via the blog they have... ... Reflected on in class problem based learning tasks ...

I accomplished most of my to do list for the day: Acquire ID Card and magic sticker for free museums Print paper for Ethics Class Find classroom Read more for Ethics Buy coffee Avoid cheese I did not workout at the gym write the paper due July 1 read enough for Ethics Orientation consisted mainly of introductions and clarifications. It was helpful to have the day just to get the lay of the land. Once home, I settled in with Dewey and Montaigne. Here are a few quotes that spoke to me: "With respect to sympathetic curiosity, unbiased responsiveness and openness of mind, we may say that the adult should be growing in childlikeness." - Dewey "Growth is regarded as having as end, instead of being an end." - Dewey "Education means the enterprise of supplying the conditions which insure growth." - Dewey "Spewing up food exactly as you have swallowed it is evidence of failure to digest." -  Montaigne So far the reading is bot...