Nature’s fractals: Romanescco Broccoli
For the final class project, I am working on math with a third grade home schooled young man. He is striving to discern patterns, understand the composition of complex structures, and checking answers for reasonableness. He is a fantastic artist: pencils are his media of choice. Hopefully, he will choose some form of technology to create his project and show case his talents. He has a laptop, not sure about connectivity. I have a couple options for him as well: ipad, computer, or iphone, to name a few devices. He will be given some choices of apps as well. He might want to take photos, do a voice recording, or make a movie. The young man is one of six children, so a challenge might be whether it will be his project or that of the whole family! He has three older sisters who love to “help”, and two younger brothers who are very creative as well (four of the kids go to public school and two are home schooled). Time will tell what kind of support he will receive from others. I envision a lot of one on one instruction while he learns the apps.
As the MOOC comes into the final lap, it feels like I have hit a wall and cannot overcome the obstacle. Anne Kurland gracefully overcame the project stumbling block of not being a classroom teacher, while I am creating and then tripping over lots of hurdles. No broken bones, just no motivation. Being disconnected during my absence created a bigger challenge than expected. Somehow, the wind left my sails and am still in the doldrums. That said, it is the fault of no one but me for not being as successful as hoped in the long run.
Do not misunderstand, much has been learned and learning is still occurring. Today I mustered the courage to learn Prezi and I investigated Screencast-o-matic. I was pretty sure I would not be able to manage these programs. Prezi is not exactly clear to me, but I did manage, with great difficulty, to produce some semblance of a presentation which is posted HERE. Hopefully, I will find the Screencast-o-matic easier to use.
This class has definitely made me think about teaching and learning in a new perspective. In turn, I have grown a lot in the techno arena. Geez, I now have a gmail account, know how to tweet AND blog! Not to mention all the other cool things I have learned to do with the tools at my fingertips.
grannynannycook 