MrHonner

Workshop — Professional Development Through Social Media

I recently ran a workshop through Math for America titled “Professional Development Through Social Media”. The goal of the workshop was to share some of the positive professional experiences I’ve had connecting, collaborating, and engaging online, and to provide teachers with an overview of what’s out there and how they can get involved.

I was impressed with how well-attended the session was, and how engaged the participants were in reading and discussing blog posts. exploring teacher websites, perusing Twitter feeds, and discussing the opportunities for professional growth through various online communities. At least in this self-selected group, it certainly seems like the word has gotten out!

Below are links to the documents we used to stimulate exploration and discussion, including some material we were not able to cover due to time constraints. In addition, a starter list of online biology teachers has been provided at the request of one participant. Its production is, itself, a testament to the power of connectedness!

A Few Blog Posts to Read and Discuss

A Few Websites to Explore

A Few Active Tweeters to Browse

A Few Active Google Plussers

Emerging Collaborative Resources

Biology Teachers on Twitter

And all participants were encouraged to check out Exploring the MTBoS, another amazing example of the power of these collaborative and forward-thinking communities!

By MrHonner, 13 yearsOctober 16, 2013 ago

Sunday Morning Tiling Problem

By MrHonner, 13 yearsOctober 13, 2013 ago

Challenge NYT

Math Quiz — NYT Learning Network

Through Math for America, I am part of an ongoing collaboration with the New York Times Learning Network. My latest contribution, a Test Yourself quiz-question, can be found here

Test Yourself Math — October 9th, 2013

This question pertains to a recent report showing that approximately 46.5 million Americans are currently living below the poverty line. What ratio of Americans are living in poverty?

By MrHonner, 13 yearsOctober 9, 2013 ago

Appreciation Art

Math Art: 3D Hurricane

This is “Hurricane Sandy” by Manuel Diaz Regueiro, which was exhibited at the 2013 Bridges Math and Art conference. You can find out more about the artist’s work here.

You can browse the entire 2013 Bridges Mathematical Art Gallery here.

By MrHonner, 13 yearsOctober 6, 2013 ago

NYT Teaching

Connected Educator Month

As part of Connected Educator Month, I contributed to the New York Times Learning Network’s “What Connected Education Looks Like”, a collection of viewpoints on what being connected means to teachers in this day and age.

Here’s my piece, which was inspired by two mathematicians on Google+ who inspired me to create a Linear Algebra course at my school this year.

I’m teaching Linear Algebra at my high school this year, and social media is to blame.

Two mathematicians I’m connected to on Google+, Theron Hitchman andVincent Knight, regularly post engaging pieces about mathematics, teaching and technology. Theron’s enthusiasm and insight and Vince’s cool applications to operations research rekindled my interest in Linear Algebra. So when discussing what electives to offer our mathematics majors at Brooklyn Tech, I volunteered to create a Linear Algebra course.

As usual, I’m in over my head, but Theron and Vince are there to help, sharing their views on the big ideas in Linear Algebra, using technology to docool things with matrices and pointing me to resources like free e-books and open-source mathematical software. I probably wouldn’t have taken on this challenge without my connections to these mathematicians, but being connected to them and others will help make it work for me and my students.

You can read the NYT LN piece here, and find out more about Connected Educator Month here.

By MrHonner, 13 yearsOctober 4, 2013 ago