When I Win the Lottery

This past week, I attended a three-day workshop in Colorado Springs put on by Texas Instruments. When a few of us attended one in 2005, we nick-named it "Calculator Camp". Our students (and coworkers and friends and family and, well, everyone) thought it was the nerdiest thing they had ever heard. Attending TI workshops is one of my favorite things to do. This year did not disappoint, as we were introduced to the brand new TI-Nspire CX:

Pretty darn amazing. Right?!

A little history:
(Bear with me. Your reward is at the end of this post.)

The TI-83's were introduced in 1996, the year I started college. I was using a TI-85 (introduced in 1993), and didn't even know about the TI-83's until I started teaching. Which meant I was learning how to use it just a few days before the students. In 2004, the TI-84 Plus was introduced, but it was pretty much the same as the 83. A few more bells and whistles but the two models are so interchangeable that I still have students using both types.

The original TI-Nspire came out in 2007:

I attended calculator camp the next summer and was amazed at all the neat things it could do. There were three of us from my department who attended the workshop. Unfortunately, there are about 15 teachers in my department. My excitement was quickly stomped on, as none of the other teachers wanted to make the leap to learn how to teach exclusively with the new calculator. We bought a classroom set for the department to share, and I've done my best to use them when I can, but until we have the students buy the new calculators, I'm stuck. And I have to tell you, it's been one of the most frustrating things for me to experience. I even told them (in a nice way) that they were keeping me from teaching the way I want to teach. Crickets chirping. (I put my campaign on hold the following year, because I knew I was pregnant. Last year was all about surviving the first year of mamahood, among other things.) I do understand where they are coming from. It's much easier to "stand and deliver" lectures. And not have to change your notes or handouts or worksheets. But the students get bored and would thrive in a more interactive environment. When you get a glimpse at the way you want to teach, it's so hard to swallow. But I have to tow the line, or my students won't learn what they need to learn about using our current calculators.

So, here's my plan.
I'm going to try to integrate the use of the classroom set of Npires that we do own as often as I can. Even just quick 10-15 minute activities. The students have always love using them, even when it's just for a short amount of time.

I'm searching high and low for grants to apply for. They're so hard to get right now, but I'm going to give it a shot. For about $2000, I can get a Navigator system which would allow me to network the classroom set of original, non-color TI-Nspires that we do own.

Then I could send files and activities to the students. Send quick polls, quizzes, take screen shots, transfer data back and forth. Without the system, I have to connect each calculator to my computer individually. Yesterday, when I went to school, I grabbed the calculators so I could update the operating system on each one. It took me 3.5 hours! With the Navigator system, it would take less than a minute. This is what's stopped me from using the Nspires more than I have. It just takes too long to download activities onto one calculator at a time. If I didn't have a family, I would seriously consider using my own money to buy this system. But that's not fair to Eric and the boys. (Maybe I'll just withdraw $20 a day to keep under the radar until I have enough money. Don't tell Eric.)

The next part of my plan is to try to convince my department that we need to update our technology. Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to try to find activities and programs that will demonstrate the TI-Nspire's use in all of their classes. Keep your fingers crossed for me. (I'll be posting one of those activities in my next post.)

For those of you who were disappointed to see pictures of calculators instead of the boys, here's your reward for making it through this post.

Aiden hanging out on the stairs. He likes to take those little stuffed tigers and throw them over the edge.

Reid blowing a kiss. The boys started doing this when we returned from our trip to Ohio. The funny thing is, I don't know where they learned how to do that. Maybe it was on the Baby Einstein DVD's? Always keeping us on our toes. (Post edit: I vaguely remember doing this when we were saying goodbye to Auntie Jennifer and Uncle Shane. Maybe that's where they remember it from.)

Thanks for letting me vent. I am extremely thankful for everything I do have and these two are good reminders. It could be much worse. A couple of the teachers in my workshop didn't even have SmartBoards!