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THE
FIELDS INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
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FIELDS
MATHED FORUM MEETING AGENDA
Theme: The
role of technology in assessment and evaluation of
mathematics learning
February
25, 2012 at 10AM - 2PM
Fields Institute, 222 College Street, Toronto
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MORNING PROGRAM:
10:00 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. Reports: OAME, OMCA, OCMA, CMESG, CMS,
OMO, and other.
10:10 a.m. - 10:40 a.m.
Donna Kotsopoulos, Eileen Wood, & Sandy
Hughes (WLU)
Policy and practice: A digital divide?
The National Post recently reported that "Ontario Catholic
teachers' union recommends pulling the plug on Wi-Fi in schools."
The Premier of Ontario has been quoted as saying, "Telephones
and BlackBerrys and the like are conduits for information today,
and one of the things we want our students to do is to be well-informed"
(The Globe and Mail, 2010). Currently, many school boards are
looking towards making policy statements that either encourage
or discourage technology use. Such policy will have important
ramifications for technology use in classrooms for learning mathematics
and for assessment. The purpose of this talk is to consider how
policy may, in fact, create a digital divide with practice.
BIO: Dr. Donna Kotsopoulos is an Associate Professor in
the Faculty of Education, Dr. Eileen Wood is a Professor in the
Faculty of Science, Department of Psychology, and Ms. Sandy Hughes
is the Director of Teaching Support Services, Wilfrid Laurier
University, Waterloo.
10 :45 a.m - 12:00 p.m. PANEL DISCUSSION
Panelists include:
Dennis Hitchmough (Great Grey Consulting)
What then are the key issues in using computers and/or tablets
for "evaluative" purposes?
Given that the fundamental issues - minimal access, faulty infrastructure,
level of teacher technology savvy - that deter the use of technology
in the classroom could be resolved, what then are the key issues
in using computers and/or tablets for "evaluative" purposes?
Does the breadth of information on the Internet, including sites
like Wolfram, where any problem that is input will be solved and
spewed back to the user in complete detail preclude students from
having to do their own creative thinking? What about plagiarism?
Perhaps the fundamental question is, "What do we want students
to be able to do, know, and understand and what should be deferred
to the Web?"
BIO: Dennis Hitchmough has over 34 years of teaching experience;
from elementary to secondary, as a teacher and board level Coordinator,
in public education and University Additional Qualification Courses.
Although his background is in Life Sciences, he spent most of
his career helping students, teachers and adults focus on the
benefits of computer technology. He retired as the Coordinator
of eLearning for the Toronto District School Board and now, through
his company Great Grey Consulting, works with the Information
and Communications Technology Council to help students understand
why a career in ICT could be a door to a powerful new experience.
Carol Carruthers (Seneca)
Assessment in an Online Workspace: Some insights
Students in foundational mathematics courses at Seneca College use
pen-input tablet pc's and software to interact in a synchronous
collaborative workspace in the classroom. Once in a student-centered
session, students work in online groups, share the teaching role,
analyze information from polls and submit work for immediate feedback.
Teaching methodology has evolved in this online environment and
has morphed into mixed-mode pedagogy to capitalize on the largely
untapped out-of classroom time available to first year college students.
Using the learning management system and infinite internet resources
available, a hybrid mode provides asynchronous online activities
to enhance student knowledge. Students are required to take greater
responsibility as co-partners in their learning.
Assessment strategy must reflect this embryonic teaching methodology.
Some directions we are investigating include:
1) Students designing their own assessments -the use of free online
worksheet generators
2) Students writing their own test questions (discussion board)
- by students for students
3) Immediate feedback - collaborative software capabilities/internet
4) Virtual office hours
5) Online textbook assignments - not just for less work
6) Some experienced pitfalls
BIO: Carol Carruthers is a professor and coordinator
for the School of Biological Sciences and Applied Chemistry at Seneca
College. As the recipient of a 2008 Higher Education HP Technology
for Teaching Grant, she is the principal investigator researching
the impact of tablet PC technology on student engagement and retention.
Her aim is to inform others of the infinite resource that the internet
provides to enhance the learning experience. She is the coordinator
for a common foundational math course taught in five schools across
three campuses within the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering
Technology. Carol uses her extensive teaching experience gained
from twenty years of tutoring high school math and science to provide
bridging alternatives for students entering college programs. Her
passion for innovative math teaching and her willingness to collaborate
within her faculty, college and between colleges, promotes her goal.
Victor Ralevich (PhD, CISSP, Sheridan Institute)
Use of Open-source Mathematics Software
in degree level courses at Sheridan College.
The author provides a brief overview of mathematics software, with
the emphasis on use of free and open-source software platform SAGE
in some of the advanced courses taught at the Sheridan College,
Ontario.
BIO: Victor Ralevich is a creator and program coordinator
of the Bachelor degree program in Applied Information Sciences (Information
Systems Security) at Sheridan College Institute of Technology and
Advanced Learning, the first such undergraduate program in Canada.
He has taught mathematics-related courses at the university and
college level in Europe, US and Canada for most of his career. His
primary interest in teaching and research lays for past nineteen
years in information systems security fields, such as applied cryptology,
computational complexity, algorithms theory, as well as issues of
privacy protection in cyberspace, legal issues related to cyber
conflicts, and PKI systems development and implementation.
Paul Alves (Peel DSB)
With the advent of handheld technology that is accessible
to most students, what will we teach and what questions will we
ask in the math classroom of the future?
Paul Alves is an advocate of the appropriate use of technology in
the classroom especially computer algebra systems. He is interested
in exploring the interaction between the conceptual understanding
of math and the use of technology to support that understanding.
Of particular interest is what will the math classroom look like
in the near future with the advent of handheld technology that is
accessible to most students: what will we teach and what questions
will we ask?
BIO: Paul Alves is the department head of math at Fletcher's
Meadow Secondary School in the Peel District School Board. He has
been involved in various provincial initiatives, is currently a
vice-president with OAME and a national instructor with Texas Instruments.
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. LUNCH BREAK
(Light refreshments provided)
AFTERNOON PROGRAM:
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
General discussion on the role of technology in assessment and evaluation
of mathematics learning
2:00 p.m.
Adjournment
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