As I think about this assignment in which I created a unit plan in geometry that utilized a lot of computer technology, I can't help to think that I am glad it is over! This was a very difficult assignment that I put a lot of effort into in order to make it cohesive. This only makes me think how hard my first couple years of teaching are going to be. I think that my class presented lesson went pretty well and I was prepared for it. It took quite a bit of preparation but it seemed to me that most of the class was pretty engaged in the lesson the whole time. I thought that it would fit in the time frame that I had for the lesson but it ended up taking most of the students quite a bit of time to complete the task of making the tangrams. One group did finish which was good because they won the prize at the end of the webquest, but possibly a full class period devoted to this lesson would have worked well. I think the more I teach, the better and more efficient I will become with time management.In consideration of the TPCK model of planning my unit, working the technology in with the math lessons wasn't as hard as I thought. It turns out that for most of the math lessons that middle schoolers learn can be taught using various manipulatives such as the various geometric shapes which fit into my geometry lesson. With the present boom in internet/computer technologies, there is a large amount of free web based tools available that mimic these manipulatives in a fun and engaging way. I think that my knowledge of this technology in combination of my knowledge of the geometry content helped me link the two together and gave me the idea to look for online math manipulatives to incorporate in my lessons. Most of what I came across were various learning games which to some might be viewed as tomfoolery, but to others an engaging way to keep children interested and learning at the same time. That is one big goal of teaching which brings the pedagogical part of the TPCK model into play. Thinking about how I was going to incorporate the content with the online technologies and present it to the students in a way they would understand was the hardest part of designing the unit plan. The process ended up naturally occurring backward to develop the pedagogy. I first found the content which I know from my schooling, then I found the technology I wanted to use, then I ironed a step by step lesson in my head that would tie it all together. I am hoping that the more I do this the faster I will become because it took some time to put it all together.
Reflecting upon the experience gained from this assignment, I think it was actually the most beneficial experience I have had toward actually teaching (besides field observation) than any assignment I have had in any of my other education courses so far.
