Greenhaus Education and Other "Effects"

NCTM is coming up in April and is in San Francisco, which has me very excited because I get to have a Key Curriculum reunion (i.e. my colleagues from my years working for Key Curriculum mostly live in the SF area).  It's hard to describe the amazing connection those of us who worked with Key, (Keysters, as we fondly refer to ourselves) have, and I have yet to find another place or another group of people that I so deeply connect to on both a professional and personal level. With this math conference and potential to see so many of my former colleagues, I have been a bit nostalgic about some of the things I loved from Key - i.e. Sketchpad and TinkerPlots to name a couple.  Sketchpad , now owned by McGraw-Hill, is still around thank goodness, but without the support and push in math education it deserves.  Thankfully, some former Key folks are still out there making a difference with Sketchpad - check out Daniel Scher and Scott Steketee's most recent article in The M...

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted!  Lord - obviously my life is a lot busier than I thought, and I thought it was pretty busy. Alright, let's get to it. Last year I did an entire series on hybrid professional development centered around teaching mathematics with technology and the Common Core, with specific use of Sketchpad as the technology tool (series listed at the bottom of this post).  It was a really exciting experience for me, and one that I have to say has sort of become my mantra - long term, supportive PD that provides time, practice, support, and collaboration using both a face-to-face and online component. Time is a key factor here - long-term, slow integration of technology into instructional practice where the focus is on how knowledge of the technology, the content being taught, and teaching strategies work together to provide learning experiences that help students.  For those of you in the know, this is TPACK - Technological, Pedagog...

I found out on Wednesday that the math company I work for, Key Curriculum , had been acquired by McGraw-Hill Education . In the span of less than an hour I went from Key employee to McGraw-Hill employee.  Needless to say, it's been quite a week! In the world of math education and publishing, this acquisition is a big deal. Key Curriculum has long been seen as a maverick in math education, representing inquiry math with their Discovering Mathematics textbook series (now a part of Kendall Hunt Publishing), Integrated Math Program and of course, amazing dynamic mathematics software, Sketchpad , TinkerPlots and Fathom . Employees and authors of Key are known for their authenticity, with those working directly with textbooks, software and training being former classroom math teachers. However, this acquisition appears, to some, to represent Key selling out to "the man" or the big bad corporate world, as if somehow the quality and authentic mathematical content and teac...