Education
http://www.paec.org/teacher2teacher/math.asp
Teacher-to-Teacher Workshops are closed-captioned video footage from previously held workshops provided by the US Department of Education. The workshops "brought together some of the nation's most effective teachers and education experts to share with their colleagues research-based practices and proven methods of using data to inform instruction." The video courses can be viewed either online or on the Florida Education Channel. By completing the free enrollment process, teachers have access to the professional development courses and the electronic Professional System, or ePDC, which is a personal portfolio that will document a teachers' professional development. The courses cover English/Language Arts and Math/Science instruction as well as some topics broadly applicable to all educators, such as basics on No Child Left Behind, Building Teacher Leaders and Differentiated Instruction. [VF]
http://www.paec.org/teacher2teacher/math.asp
April 2005 is Mathematics Awareness Month, which is sponsored each year by the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics "to recognize the importance of mathematics through written materials and an accompanying poster that highlight mathematical developments and applications in a particular area." In addition to the free poster, which can be downloaded or requested by mail, the website also offers various "theme essays." This year's essays address topics such as the mathematical study of the cosmos, mathematical models, and celestial mechanics. A limited number of complimentary copies of a DVD in which astronaut Michael Foale provides his personal account of the experience on Mir and explains the mathematical methods involved in the rescue mission can also be ordered through this website. A section on Related Resources provides links to numerous other online articles addressing this year's theme: mathematics and the cosmos. Institutions are invited to submit information on their Mathematics Awareness events so they can be included in the listing of activities going on across the United States for Mathematics Awareness month. [VF]
http://www.microsoft.com/education/picenergy.aspx
Microsoft's Education website offers several instructional resources, such as lesson plans and tutorials. Not suprisingly, the lessons and tutorials make use of Microsoft software products. The objectives for this lesson on measuring energy costs are: to analyze the amount and cost of energy used for personal day-to-day activities; to explore methods for and effects of conserving personal energy; and to advocate for better energy conservation. Students use Excel to keep track and analyze data they collect from one week of energy tracking at home. Among the resources provided by Microsoft is a Personal Energy Meter spreadsheet that students can use for this project. The website includes a step by step description of the activity along with links to some related online resources. [VF]
http://www2.spsu.edu/math/Dillon/Peanutdocs/index.htm
The Peanut Software website is a data-sharing project through which teachers share material they wrote as they used Peanut Software to teach mathematics. A link from this website provides access to the free Peanut Software. The instructions and tutorials posted on this website were written by users of the Peanut programs, which were written by Rick Parris, of Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. Most of the investigations described by teachers focus on plotting and geometry. The programs are frequently updated. Some materials are also available in French and in Portuguese. [VF]
http://www.academiccolab.org/initiatives/accelerate.html
This website features presentations made at a conference sponsored by eInnovate and held on January 20, 2005, on "How Games are Reshaping Business and Learning." The conference presenters discussed the "gamer generation" and explored the "profound ways in which 'games' are forever reshaping teaching and learning in the business environment." Other questions addressed through the paper and video footage from the conference include: "Why are video games setting a new standard for learning?"; "How, and why, do modern video games reflect cutting-edge research on learning?"; and "What are the implications for the workplace and learning?" The paper, written by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Laboratory, describes "an approach to the design of learning environments that builds on the educational properties of games, but deeply grounds them within a theory of learning appropriate for an age marked by the power of new technologies." [VF]
http://www.mff.org/mmc/mmc.taf?page=greeting
Mike's Math Club, sponsored by the Milken Family Foundation, is "a curriculum enrichment program that shows elementary school students that math can be useful and entertaining." Visitors to the website are introduced to the Math Club Team through short personal descriptions and photos. The team of full-time teacher-mentors visit children in public schools in California and communicate via mail with students in Michigan. Through "secret codes" and an online decoding program, individual students in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the Caribbean islands of Grenada, Trinidad, and St. Vincent also join Mike's Math Club and and correspond with each other. Various math games and activities are available in the "Do The Math" section of the website. A key theme is to engage students in learning how to use logic and deductive reasoning to create strategies and solve problems. [VF]
http://www.esteme.org/index.html
The 2005 Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (ESTEME) Week, April 11-16, 2005, is an annual event sponsored by the US Department of Education (ED) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) along with other US government agencies and scientific societies. The activities during ESTEME Week provided "an opportunity for the nation's schools to focus on improving math and science education." The website lists activities and events held during this week and provides links to a variety of websites with educational resources. Engineering, which was a new basic topic area added this year, is highlighted as "a profession that can take you from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of space, from within the microscopic structures of the human cell to the top of the tallest skyscrapers." Most of the website resources are in the Website Gallery, but the Educator link also features selected Webquests. A section for parents lists a variety of games, activities, and articles that parents can use to help them support their children and help students explore career options. [VF]
This website features a variety of projects and products produced by the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching (CIMT) at the University of Exeter. For example, the Mathematics Enhancement Program is an ongoing project to develop and trial a new mathematics course with primary schools in the United Kingdom. Results from diagnostic tests are posted online along with the instructional units and related curriculum materials. The International Project on Mathematical Attainment is a longitudinal, international study of mathematical attainment, which follows students in several countries from their first year in school onwards. The tests used in the study and conference reports from 1999, 2002 and 2003 are posted online. Also available here is the International Journal for Mathematics Teaching & Learning, which is published only in electronic form and "aims to enhance mathematics teaching for all ages (and abilities) up to 18 years, through relevant articles, reviews and information from around the world." They invite anyone involved in the teaching of mathematics to contribute. The section called The Complete CIMT Index offers links to a variety of instructional resources and descriptions of other projects associated with the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching. [VF]
