7 March- Vidcast

Math Explorers! is a series of small math lessons that my 7^th grade class can watch at home if they need to review or need help on a homework assignment. Each podcast episode is designed to align with the 7^th grade core curriculum. This particular episode is designed to meet Standard 3: Students will develop fluency with the language and operations of algebra to analyze and represent relationships Objective 2: represent relationships using graphs, tables, and other models. This podcast reviews basic graphing knowledge that students need to know to represent real statistical data taught later in the course.

There are two reasons that I chose to make a podcast about graphing the first one is because when particular concepts are shown to me rather than simply lectured I remember them much better. Graphing is very visual and is a fundamental concept that is built upon with each math class in the future. If the students understand graphing inside and out they will have an easier time grasping particular concepts in the future. The second reason is because this semester in my curriculum class one of my classmates presented a lesson plan while teaching a lesson about graphing. To my surprise many of my peers were very confused about the basic concept of drawing a graph given an equation. Although they are not math majors graphing and analyzing relationships is useful in many real world situations.

One drawback of making a podcast series is that students will get used to relying on them for information to do the homework instead of learning the material in class. The ideal way I would want the podcast to be used is not as a replacement for taking notes and paying attention in class but rather a reminder or study aid before a test.

I plan on continuing to make Math Explorers! episodes. When I recognize that students are having a hard time grasping certain concepts I will make an episode about that topic. I believe that it would also be beneficial to record a study guide for the students for upcoming tests so they know the material that will be covered and how to prepare for it. These episodes are a great way to differentiate for visual and auditory learners because they can go home and watch or listen to it over and over again.