My Head is Spinning

In my last post I talked about changing the focus of this blog and the site it supports, Future of Math. The focus should be on cutting edge technologies--technologies that very few teachers are using in their mathematics classrooms. So I started looking around at the myriad resources that now exist on the Internet; resources that have so much potential to revolutionize mathematics instruction.

I set up a wiki on Swiki.net and starting messing around with it, wheels turning the whole time. I haven't been able to think of an effective instructional use for this technology quite yet--one that doesn't seem contrived. It has helped me personally though. My family has currently taken up with my in-laws while we build a house. We've been here for about three weeks now, and during this timeI've uncovered at least a dozen sites through my research, all while at work. Normally, I would email myself the URL's for these sites and then bookmark them, but presently I must use my father-in-law's computer because I am without an Internet connection. His favorite's list is already overpopulated and he definitely doesn't need me adding more sites to it. So my solution to this problem was to simply post the links to my wiki and then use my FIL's computer to get a better look at them.

I've also been trying out a couple RSS sites, Feedster & blo.gs. I'm not overly impressed with either one, although I will say that I favor blo.gs over Feedster at the current time. The search function on blo.gs turns up far more relevant results than the one on Feedster. However, when I tried to search for Weblogg-ed, it didn't show up. Obviously, this is a problem, similar to searching for Dave Matthews Band on iTunes and no getting no results. This same search on Feedster yielded over a thousand results.

Finally, I looked into Furl. I haven't spent a whole lot of time on this site yet, but I do have to say that it has possibilities.

Be sure to check back soon, I guarantee I'll have a bundle of creative ways to use these technologies in your classroom. Until then, check out the Future of Math Web site in its present form, it will soon be undergoing a major overhaul.