Blogging in Algebra

Hi,

I am new to classroom 2.0 and have recently begun to structure a blogging component to my freshman Algebra class. I can honestly say that I am completely unsure of what to expect or how it will ultimately benefit my students. I am hoping to enhance there abilities to communicate mathematically and thereby deepen their knowledge of the course. I am looking for any recommendations on what might be best to make this an effective piece of my classroom.

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Permalink Reply by Colleen Young on August 21, 2010 at 12:27pm

What are you thinking of asking your students to write about Jacob?

I have been using various tools this year including wikis which I am very pleased with - particularly used as a Journal where students wrote about what they had been learning.

The trouble with Maths is the notation - so we managed an exercise adding simple like terms together on a wiki page easily enough but one soon gets bogged down by notation issues! That's why I like online whiteboard applications and a graphics tablet when I want to answer a question for a student online.

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Permalink Reply by Jacob Giblin on August 21, 2010 at 12:45pm

Thank you for your response. My intention was to have tham make six postings per week. 2 would require them to demonstrate a solution from a homework problem. 2 posts would involve questions they were having on the homework or from the class notes. The final 2 would involve them either answering one of their peers questions or critiquing one of their classmates posted solutions.
You have addressed one of my major concerns and that involved notation problems. I actually was hoping dealing with notation problems might allow us a deeper understanding of why math is written in the manner they see, but I did realize it might simply cause confusion and demoralization. I have considered using Google Docs which allows them to write with Math Type but I am not sure how to grade or critique it yet.

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Permalink Reply by Colleen Young on August 21, 2010 at 11:25pm

My concern with notation is it could really slow them down. It's getting the balance right I guess -you don't want them so bogged down with it that it simply becomes a chore!