November Entry
My Cyber Exchange Lesson Plan format was created as a problem solving activity for middle school students.  The sixth grade students began writing their own word problems that used the order of operations to find the solutions.  The seventh grade students will be creating their word problems the week of  Nov. 15 – 19.   A power point presentation was created that can be used for middle schools that will create self- motivation.  The seventh graders will be using cooperative learning to create their word problems. 

The seventh grade students created two word problems using the order of operations to find the solutions.  The first one created was used with each class and students gave helpful criticism for improvement of the problems.  The gave each other helpful hints on adding information to their word problems, that would not be used in solving the problems and making the problems more interesting.  The second problem was used in cooperative learning groups and was used for an assignment.  Students then read their problem to the class and told how they solved the answers.  They really enjoyed doing this and felt like it helped them a lot. 

December Entry
PROJECT CENTER 
IS YOU SCHOOL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Our December class was based around picking a project that would spark interest in our students.  The project “ IS YOUR SCHOOL UNDER CONSTRUCTION?” seemed to be just the thing for my class.  The enrichment math class will be completing the project with the Gables School from Neptune, New Jersey. 
Project Objectives 
To utilize telecommunications to monitor the process of school building construction. 
To compile, classify, and analyze data to do a comparative study of schools under new construction using graphing skills. 
To keep a photo journal to monitor construction process experiences with Keypals. 
To share results with participating schools interactively. 
Dates 
 Septermber 1999-2000 
Current Status 
 The survey for the Gables School Gators was submitted to their school and completed about my students.  The class is writing a welcome letter to their students and pictures are being made to begin our photo journal.  T 

January  Entry
The seventh grade students at Maury Middle School have written letters about our construction to their project partners for “Schools Under Construction.”  They have also taken pictures all around out school so we have a progressive look at the work beginning done.  They are creating a photo album to send to Gable Schools at the end of the year.  Since our school is not on the Internet at this time, I have e-mailed for the students the correspondence that was necessary. 

I  updated my math links for the seventh grade on my web-page and linked them to   Maury Middle School’s Web-Page.  I have created the web-page from the laptop that was given to me by the technology center.  It has really saved me time being able to work on it at any time. 

I have also created Power-Point presentations with the laptop for my math lessons.  My students are also learning how to create PowerPoint presentations.  They really enjoy making them and learning what is important as far as math that the rest of the students need to learn.  It is a great learning experience for them. 

February Entry
The project I have worked on called TLG 2000 has increased my knowledge on finding lesson plans on the Internet.  I have used the Introduction to Probability from Mrs. Glosser’s – Math Goodies.  The lessons included definitions for vocabulary, examples for experimental, and theoretical probability.  They gave great activities for the students to do on line for reinforcement but at the moment out entire school is down do too construction.  So I have made copies of the activities for the students to do in class.  The students that have computers at home are working on the activities at home.  This has created a great connection between students and parents working together at home. 

The laptop has worked great in my classroom because students are working on making math power points for our math classes.  They are also making them at home and bring them in to use in class.  The laptop is connected to the T.V. which the students us to present their power point. 

Our school web page has a link for math and science were we have added math and science links for the students to go to for help in different areas.  We have also included a link on study skills for math and we have created a PowerPoint to go along with the lesson. 

The project that my enrichment group is doing with the Gables Schools has sparked their interest for construction.  We are reviewing the architecture planning for our new building and the students are viewing how they created the drawing and he is telling them what is needed in each area. 

March Entry
The seventh grade students are e-mailing the 4th graders at Gable Schools.  They have taken pictures of the progress at our school with the offices and cafeteria being completed.  Since our Internet is down do to construction the students have used their computers at home to correspond with the students. 

I have used sites on the Internet by saving the sites on a disk and then loading the material at school.  We have also run off work sheets for the students to use.  Until our construction is completed this is the only way to use the Internet at this time. 

I am trying to complete the TLG 2000, which has been very difficult because of the set-up of the form.  It is very time consuming just to complete one area.  The bugs in the program is unbelieveable. 

April Entry
The TLG2000 Grants were an experience in it’s self.  It is a great opportunity for teachers to receive extra money for their classroom.  But the complexity of the program was unreal.  Most teachers do not have the background to complete most of these projects.  Teachers are improving their skills with the use of the computers, but some teachers are just receive computers know and their skills are limited.  I did complete the four lesson plans but it was very difficult because of the problems with the system.  My evaluator was wonderful.  I needed to make changes but she asked in such a in such a nice manner.  It is really helpful when you have someone with a wonderful attitude.  It also gives you a good attitude about doing the projects. 

The Internet Resources that I found doing these projects were wonderful.  I will have a math lab next year and they will be very helpful when setting up my new program.  I have the students going to the links at home on their computers to help them with math at home.  It is also a good family event that can be done together with parents and other family members. 

Integrating the Technology has been difficult this year because our whole school has been down because of construction of the building.  We will be back on line in another month.  I have received great feed back from the parents about students working on these sites at home.  This has given parents some peace of mind about their children and technology. 

May Entry
With using the computers in the year 1998-99 the students did projects with other schools in the county.  We used the Brain Teasers from the net as a weekly project with the students.  The different levels that are with this program works wonderful with the different level within the grade levels.  This year 1999-2000 we were unable to use the Internet do to construction in our school.  I would print off the lessons on my computer at home and bring them to school for the students to use.  Many of my students do have computers at home and would go to sites that I have given them to work on objectives that we were using in class.

We participated with a school in New Jersey on a project that was connected with school construction.  The teacher from Gable schools and I worked together on our computers at home to create projects for the students to do in their classroom on designing schools, classrooms, and what is needed for new rooms.  We also worked on PowerPoint Presentations that could be used for both schools.  The students that have computers at home started creating their own PowerPoint Presentations and would bring them to school.  I worked with the students on their communication skills by having them teach the lesson to the class and use their presentation.  This created great confidence in many of the students.  I downloaded the material from the Internet and used them with the students.  The on-line projects we also did together in class.

This year the students could not communicate through e-mail or ICQ because our school was not connected to the Internet.  So to solve this problem many of the students used their computers at home.  When e-mailing Gable Schools my students e-mailed from home when they received their pen pal.  The students that did not have access, Gable Schools would send them to me at home and I would print them off and bring them to the students.

I have used PowerPoint Presentation for the last few years.  I have created PowerPoint Presentations for our math book that covers the objectives for the seventh grade.  Many of my students also have created PowerPoint Presentations to also be used with our objectives.  Some students created Presentations for Study Guides and Tips for students.  This they really loved doing and it was a great learning experience.  The students have used Word when typing their Career Paper project.  They also use it for typing and making up word problems for math.

I have created the school web page.  The students can check on the events that are happening at our school.  I have also placed math and science links for students to use for additional work on their class objectives.  I also have the calendar for each month that the parents can receive information about school.  These classes have really helped in creating the web page for our school.  To create a unique web page you need to be able to use many sites from the web.  The web page takes many hours even if you have a good understanding of the process.  These classes have also helped me create innovative interactive power point presentations that have been very help for the students.  

The laptop has given us another computer for the students to use in the classroom.  It has also helped with doing the web page and creating PowerPoint Presentations.  It givens the students the experience of using a laptop. 

Through my participation in this project my students' technology skills have improved greatly.  It has created great enthusiasm for learning math in a different format.  The math lab that will be in place by next year will increase test scores.

The most beneficial aspect of participating in this projectis that it increased my knowledge in technology and made me aware of all the possibilities that can be done with your students and how they enjoy using the computer.  I feel that this has given us a lot of foresight into teaching toward the future.  Students need the computer knowledge along with their curriculum.  This is were everything is headed.

I have helped other teachers in our school learn how to create PowerPoint Presentations for their class instruction.  I’ve also helped teachers find curriculum sites that can improve on their technology and curriculum usage.  I also gave instructions on beginning the TLG2000 grant to the staff.