Bullock:

http://edtc620mathunit.weebly.com/

For so many years, working for my old school system, teachers were asked to create a
webpage for their class. I would use my Edmodo page as my
website to fulfill that requirement. It wasnt until I started taking
classes at University of Maryland University College that I realized
how important it is to have a website that not only my students can
use, but their parents and even my colleagues can rely on for information. For this project I
adapted my website that I had created for EDTC 600 using Google Sites and created a new
website using Weebly.

Analysis
My goal for this website was to share various information with my students, parents and
colleagues. For my students and parents, I want them to have access to the notes and homework
that we have in class, information about our homework texting group, an outline of what will be
taught in the course, a way to contact me, additional sites for tutoring help at home, and a way to
check grades. As an Algebra 1 teacher at my school, I have a very diverse population of learners.
It is important that all students feel successful not only in my classroom, but also at home when
they are practicing the math on their own. For a lot of students, math is a subject that they think
is very hard and they arent good at. With my website I hope to ease some of the anxiety they
may feel. The texting group allows both parents and students to always know what the
homework assignment is for the night. In case they are unable to receive
text messages, there is also a page on the website that will let them read
the daily texts. By putting up the homework and notes each day students

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can also keep up with their studies at home. This benefits students who may have been out sick
or missed class because of a field trip, or for students who get a copy of teacher notes.
In addition for parents and students there is a section on my website for copyright
information. While I dont often assign projects that require students to cite their sources, I want
them to be informed of the copyright laws for other classes they take in school as well. I also
added a page on Digital Citizenship. Unfortunately the rise of social media creates a new set of
issues for students and parents. It is not discussed enough in classes about the responsibility
students have for being safe while using technology not only in school but outside of school.
This tab on my site will help inform students and parents about what Digital Citizenship is and
offers some starter questions so that students and parents can talk about it at home.
My website is primarily geared towards my students and their parents, but I also included
resources for colleagues at my school and other math teachers who may find my page. By
linking my notes and homework to my page, other teachers can see the pace and resources I use
for my Common Core Algebra 1 class. I hope this year to even add videos to the page, for other
teachers to use in their classes as well. In the Tidbits for
Teachers page, I included old WebQuests that I had made for
previous classes. One lesson is an example of an interdisciplinary lesson; the other two are
WebQuests, one created for Algebra 1 and one created for Introduction to Chemistry and
Physics. Also on that page is a spot for Enrichment for Teachers. I listed technology
conferences and math conferences that my colleagues could attend. Howard County offers many
professional development opportunities, but being able to meet colleagues from across the state
or nation can further enhance our skills in the classroom. While not included on the Tidbits for

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Teachers page, other teachers could also use the Systems Unit page that I created for this project
in their class.
For my newly designed unit plan I chose to pick a topic from Unit 2 in the Common Core
Algebra 1 curriculum. Project-Based Learning, is when the inquiry process starts with a
guiding question and lends itself to collaborative projects that integrate various subjects within
the curriculum (Edutopia, 2007). I started my unit plan by having students explore the different
methods to solve system of equations. They used a variety of table partner brainstorming
activities, watched videos to answer questions, and completed independent work on required
practice problems to gain a firm understanding of the concept. This process is expected to take
about five days. The videos are in place to enhance students knowledge of what is being taught.
Some students work better with having visuals and this cartoon of solving systems should appeal
to most learners. On the sixth day, students will pick roles to help guide them in their
collaboration process of the project. During this time students will explore, make judgments,
interpret and synthesize information in meaningful ways (Edutopia, 2007). Students will be
introduced to how to start a business to prepare them for the seventh day and their problem-based
learning question. For days seven through nine students will work on creating a skateboarding
business to figure out how much money they should charge per skateboard in order to stay
competitive with other businesses in the classroom.
Students will create an advertisement for their business and will create a sales pitch to see
if they have created the best model. Since students have different learning styles, the groups will
determine how they want to present the information to the class. Students will be able to
demonstrate their knowledge in multiple ways - there is no one right answer (Edutopia, 2007).
From their advertisement, students will also create a Prezi presentation or a Google Slides

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presentation to give the class an overview of why they picked the prices they did for their
skateboards. The group that can accurately demonstrate that their group will earn the most profit
will win the start up business competition.
Overall when I look at this unit I think that students will be able to apply their skills of
solving systems of equations to this problem-based learning task. Students will work on their
collaboration skills and their ability to present material to a group. One concern I have is if I
have allotted enough time for the unit. Creating their advertisement and presentations may take
longer than two days. As long as this is a worthwhile task, going over by a day will be fine.
Students will also have to work on managing their time.
When it came to the images on the website, I tried to make sure the pictures matched the
heading that was provided on the page. While I teach high school, I wanted my site to be
inviting with the images that I picked. Most main pages and subpages had the same feel to them.
A consistent approach to layout and navigation allows users to adapt quickly to your design and
to predict with confidence the location of information and navigation controls across the pages of
your site (Lynch & Horton, 2011). I want my site to be a place that students, parents, and my
colleagues want to go for information, so the page needs to be inviting and easy to navigate.

Reflection
Creating this webpage was time consuming when it came to the unit plan. I wanted to
make sure that I had enough information on the page so that students would be able to do the
work without much extra guidance from me. I know until I have students actually do the work it
wont be perfect, but I will be able to tweak the unit plan to make it better for the future. When I
created my unit plan I kept in mind the Probe Method. The Probe Method is an instructional

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model that contains basic elements of problem-based learning and self-directed learning
(Shepherd, 2010). This lesson was more teacher directed in the question being asked, but the
students had flexibility on how they solved the problem. It also helped to keep in mind that it
was okay to begin with a set of regular classroom assignments in order to promote interest and
motivation to my problem-based learning question. At first I felt like I had to make the whole
unit the problem-based question, but I was more confident making the lesson when the students
did more traditional learning first.
While working on the page, I did check to see how the site would look on mobile
devices. Since my school has a BYOD policy, I know that some of my students may be looking
at my site on their device. Your expectations about how people will
typically use your site should govern your page design decisions
(Lynch & Horton, 2011). I will need to continue to work on the
sizing of my pictures to make sure they are quick to load on mobile
devices. I also want to make sure the information doesnt require the user to have to scroll too
far down the page even on a mobile device.
The navigation caused a little problem while creating the site. I wanted to make sure that
I used clear navigation that any user could follow. While not necessary, I did include a home
button at the bottom of each page, according to Patrick Lynch and Sarah Horton, If you are not
using a logo or graphic in your header, at least put a home link near the upper left corner of the
page, where 99 percent of users will expect to find it (2011). I just wanted to keep the bottom
navigation buttons consistent so it is in both places for users to find. Another feature that I was
unable to use because I have the free version of Weebly was a search box. Lynch and Horton

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also state all sites with more than a few dozen pages should offer a local site search (2011).
That will be one feature that I add to future websites.
As I look to the future of using my website I need to decide if I will use the Weebly page
that I created for this assignment or use the Google Sites page that I created and used last school
year. I like the addition of the buttons on the page for the ease of
navigation with the Weebly page, but inserting the pictures and
moving it around the text was easier with Google Sites. I also
like that with Google Sites I can add a search box for my page
free of cost. I want to continue to work on the layout of my website. Since my school uses
Google Apps for Education I think I am more likely to use Google Sites since it is supported by
my school district.
Over the course of the past year I am impressed with how my skills in creating a website
went from thinking that using my Edmodo page was good enough, to really making a site that
my students, parents and colleagues can use. My website that I use for my classroom keeps an
open door of communication with my students and parents and allows them to use it at their own
pace. I had very positive feed back from parents with the ease of using my site. I hope to
continue to enhance my page with videos made be me to help my students at home. My students
are able to work at home with an ease of flexibility to learn the material for class through the
videos provided, the notes and homework pages and the tutoring websites.

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References
Edutopia. (2007, October 19). What is project-based learning about? Retrieved from
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-guide-importance
[Google]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/google-www-online-search-search-485611/
Lynch, P. and Horton, S. (2011). Web Style Guide: 3rd Edition. Retrieved
from http://www.webstyleguide.com/wsg3/index.html
[Office flowers, apples and computer]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/office-flowersapple-computer-605503/
Shepherd, G. (2010). The probe method: A Constructivist instructional strategy. Meridian
Middle School Computer Technologies Journal, 13(1).
[Untitled Mobile Phone]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/mobile-phone-iphone-music616012/