I spent last week with some really amazing math teachers in Muskegon, Michigan for the 2009 MCC Math and Technology Workshop. During some of the sessions, I found myself reflecting on how I learn, being aware of what works for me and what doesn't. For 8+ hours on each of 5 days, I was in the student role. I think all teachers need to be reminded of what it is like to be a student if they really want their students to have the best experience possible in class. Here are some of my thoughts from that week:

• If you just talk at me and don't answer my questions, I will ignore you and do something else, which may or may not be related to what you are trying to teach.
  
• I learn from doing, even if it means copying what you just did. If I never get a chance to try what you are teaching, I will not retain it. I will not see the possibilities, and I will problably not care to figure them out.
  
• Webinars can be interesting, but if I don't have a microphone or I am not required to communicate with the instructor/presenter, I will tend to float to the background and get easily distracted. Hold me accountable for speaking and participating, and I'll be forced to pay attention (this can be good or bad).
• I learned that I knew a lot more than I had previously given myself credit for. Since I was more advanced than many participants, it was fun to be helping them when I was finished with my work (that's the teacher in me). When I was sitting next to someone who didn't need help, I again found it too easy to float to the background and get distracted.
• I read the article "Teaching that Sticks," by the authors of "Made to Stick." I was struck by their idea of the Curse of Knowledge.
  

  "Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has “cursed” us. And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can’t readily re-create the state of mind of our listeners."
  

• Administrators who no longer teach, forget what it's like to teach. Just as teachers who haven't been students in a long time, forget what it's like to be students.

At the MCC Math and Technology Workshop this afternoon, I helped to introduce Wacom tablet and PC tablet users to Microsoft OneNote 2007. There was so much information to share that I just couldn't overwhelm everyone with everything. This made up my mind that I need to blog about my experiences using OneNote in my teaching. Keep an eye out for this series to start over the next few days. But now, I really need to get to sleep so I'll be rested for Day 3 of the workshop tomorrow.

:)

Maria at Teaching College Math just posted some examples of using W|A that are interesting and could be of concern. W|A gives you all sorts of information related to the search you enter. This can be great, but could also cause some issues with academic dishonesty, depending on how that information is used.

W|A could be a great place for students to get graphs that they could then post on a Discussion Board, or even to print out as part of an assignment ,not one that is focused on the student creating the graph, but one that is doing a more in-depth analysis of the graph. It is definitely a site that we, as instructors, need to be aware of. I will be interested to see how other instructors decide to use W|A in the classroom. If we are directing the use of the site, students will (hopefully) be using the resource honestly as a supplement in the learning process.

Walpha Wiki
This wiki will be tracking how Walpha might be used by students and as a tool in outside the classroom. As stated in the wiki:

A few of us interested in exploring the implications of Walpha on secondary and undergraduate mathematics education thought it might be useful to have a wiki where math educators could contribute documentation regarding Walpha's use in such teaching contexts. In particular, we're interested in documenting how Walpha can handle or help with handling common problems asked of students in these courses, as well as how Walpha might be used as an instructional tool when teaching students about related content.