My first post!

Hi! I'm Jessica and I'm new to blogging with Lesley, but not new to blogging. I've been keeping online blogs and journals for over 10 years.

I am currently taking 2 online classes, Geometry and Probability. I've already completed 4 others towards my M.Ed. in Mathematics Education. I am thrilled that when the Fall 1 term is over, I will be over the half-way mark towards earning my degree. Since I am in Iowa, I will be doing the entire program online. I've found that the majority of my classmates are from New England (a few even take classes at Lesley's physical location) but I've also had classmates from all around the country, and one who was international.

Doing two classes at a time, working a full-time job, and maintaining my regular life can be a challenge at times, but it is definitely doable. With two classes there is a lot more to keep track of! It becomes a difficult balancing act during Week 4 and Week 8, when the self-assessments are due (I find that these papers take me a lot of time to do well), but all the other weeks it is just an exercise in time management. I still get to do the fun things I enjoy, but I have pretty much sworn off television- there just isn't enough time. Right now we are in Week 3, so as long as I do a little work each night, I know I will have enough time to get it all done.

Last night, I focused on my Geometry class. This class has been working on constructions, and we have been using three different methods for each construction: compass and straightedge, paper folding, and Geometer's Sketchpad. I'm a traditionalist, so I really like my compass and straightedge, but I've been really impressed with the capabilities in Geometer's Sketchpad. It is an inexpensive piece of software that can do so much. I've found that it is really intuitive to use and since computer use is so ingrained in students' lives, I think it is very important that we learn about technologies that can be incorporated into classrooms to help support their learning.