UPDATE: Here’s my review of the Nexus 5 for MVNO’s. A couple of years ago, I did a post about teacher discounts on cell phone plans. Given the way most cell phone contracts work here in America, that means I’m almost up for renewal. Since I’m both a penny pincher and a gadget lover, I’ve spent way too much time over the last 6 months trying to decide how I could get the best device on the best plan at the best price.
Since I had responsibilities at the ICTM conference last week that I haven’t had at past conferences, I wasn’t able to cover it in the same level of depth that I have when I attend an NCTM or T3. That’s fine, because as a state level conference, there wasn’t as much too see as one of those national conferences anyway. However, I do have a few closing thoughts to share from ICTM.
Today’s the first chance I’ve really had to sit down and process all that I heard and saw at the ICTM annual meeting in Peoria. One of the most interesting talks I heard during my time at the conference was given my Zalman Usiskin of the University of Chicago. Usiskin was the closing keynote speaker, and he delivered a fairly tough critique of the Common Core State Standards, and probably even harsher review of the PARCC (Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) assessment that will be used to assess CCSS in about 20 states including Illinois.
The Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM) annual meeting kicks off tomorrow in my hometown of Peoria, Illinois. I’m actually the co-chairman of the meeting, so I’ll be there throughout, and I plan to do at least one post about the meeting. For the most dedicators math educators, there was actually a pre-conference today. I hadn’t planned on posting about that, but something came up this morning that I couldn’t pass up.
As I’ve mentioned a couple of times on Tech Powered Math, I’m leading the charge on our new statistics class at my school. It’s the culmination of several years of effort, including a feasibility study, search for textbooks, curriculum adoption, and now implementation. It’s very exciting and exhausting at the same time. The class is serving as a capstone course for students who have come through the “standard” sequence of courses, but it has also attracted a significant number of “honors students” who are looking forward to the opportunity to take the AP Statistics test to earn college credit at the end of the year.
I’ve been intrigued by FreedomPop, a provider of free 4G hotspot data, for some time now. I’ve wanted a mobile hotspot for a while, but most of the plans from the big providers I’ve looked at like Verizon and Sprint just seemed too pricey for what my needs. I simply need a bare bones plan in the 500 MB-1GB range for on the go data emergencies with my computer or tablet.
While I don’t recommend the Chromecast, I do love the Apple TV as a presentation device. Click here to get it on Amazon. It’ll arrive with FREE shipping. As promised in a post a few weeks back, I am delivering my Google Chromecast review, with an eye towards how it performs as a presentation device. The Chromecast was a device I was extremely excited about. It costs just $35 and offers Airplay like capabilities that we have seen in Apple’s line of products.
UPDATE: The contest is over. The winners are Carol of College Station, Texas, Melissa of Chillicothe, Ohio, and Donna of Evansville, Indiana. Thanks to everyone who participated! About a month ago, I did a review of Guerrilla Graphing Calculator Accessories. If you’re looking for the short version of that review, I think they’re going to be a hit this school this year. They fit Texas Instruments calculators perfectly, and they offer many cool, stylish designs.
Update: “If you are looking for the latest on the HP Prime, check out my HP Prime review. I mentioned about a week ago that if there was any HP Prime news that I’d be sure to update everyone. Today there was news. I heard from two different people regarding the HP Prime. One was an official source at HP, telling me that the HP Prime evaluation units have already shipped in Europe.
Texas Instruments launched their Hollywood STEM initiative with a TI-Nspire Zombie activity Yesterday, Texas Instruments revealed that it has been hard at work creating a series of supplementary curriculum STEM activities connected to movies. STEM Behind Hollywood is TI’s new program of TI-Nspire activities. The first of these activities is Zombie Apocalypse, an activity inspired by zombie movies. The activity works on the TI-Nspire handheld, iPad app, or computer software. In addition to an interactive file that allows students to learn mathematics and science using the TI-Nspire, Texas Instruments has also bundled printable pdf files that include a student handout and teacher lesson plan.
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