Diigo Learning Reflection

I had never heard of Diigo before this assignment.  At first I thought it was just a site to bookmark my favorite websites.  It took a bit before I realized that I could actually search for websites.  I have always been a huge Google fan, but his is even better.   I love that I can narrow my search to math. In the past, I have been terrible about bookmarking pages and not remembering why I did, or knowing I bookmarked a page and not being able to find it.  This solves that problem.  I had bookmarked my 5 pages for my assignment before I downloaded the toolbar and figured out the highlight tool.  That is probably my favorite part.  It is especially good for articles found online.  This way I can highlight the important information instead of having to search for it later. 

This has been my favorite assignment thus far.  It is the easiest to incorporate into my classroom.  I had no frustration, only excitement.  This is a great resource to share with colleagues and parents.  I plan to create a group for the math department at my school.  With all of the constant changes with testing today, it is difficult to stay abreast of all the resource and practice material out there.  This is a great way to share these things as we find them. 

Prezi Learning Reflection

This was my first experience at creating a Prezi presentation.  I had never heard of Prezi before and was somewhat apprehensive.  The first step was to create an account, which was quick and simple.  Next, I had to choose a template, which as usual was the most difficult task for me because I am very indecisive.  There were quite a few templates to choose from.  The only major roadblock I came to was when trying to type mathematical text such as x squared.  When unsuccessful, I tried to type in MathType and copy and paste, but this too was a failure.  So I resigned to finding the formulas I wanted in Google images, using Snagit to copy into Paint and save as a jpeg file.  I was then able to upload to Prezi with no problem.  This process was the most time consuming part of my presentation.  Once I overcame this obstacle, the design process was relatively simple.  I learned how to fade in and out and how to add more slides to my template.  Overall the process was easy and fun.

I found the final product of the Prezi presentation to be a refreshing alternative to the typical powerpoint presentation.  The animation and movement is beneficial for keeping student attention.  The ability to fade information in adds to this effect.  While I wish it were more user friendly in terms of typing in mathematical symbols, the final product would be worth the extra time spent transferring data.  I found this to be an awesome way to incorporate technology in the classroom while providing information in a  new way.