Suzanne Alejandre ........   

October, 2003

I started this home page as my first assignment as a participant at the Math Forum's Summer Institute in 1995. Seven years later I joined the Math Forum Staff! Rather than completely change the page, I've decided to update the top but leave the lower half as an archive.

On June 26, 2000, I left my teaching position at Frisbie Middle School to become a full-time Math Forum employee.

My job title at the Math Forum @ Drexel is Educational Resource and Service Developer and I am currently working on the following projects:

Amazon.com

We have links to Amazon.com that generate some revenue for the Math Forum. I add links to Amazon for books listed on various pages on our site.

BEATCALC

Each week B. Lee Clay sends me email which I use to archive the newest post to the BEATCALC mailing list.

Dr. Math books

Melissa Running and I are the two people currently working on a project with John Wiley & Sons to publish four books generated from content in the Ask Dr. Math archives. Our first two books are:
    Dr. Math Gets You Ready for Algebra
    Dr. Math Explains Algebra

MacPoW

Each week Stan Wagon sends me email which I use to post the Macalester College Problem of the Week.

Math Forum Internet Newsletter

Each week I find three sites on the Web to feature in the newsletter as well as communicate with the authors of those sites.

Math Tools

I've helped get the topics lists drafted for the courses and have started the preliminary cataloging of resources.

Pre-Algebra Problem of the Week

I've been writing the PreAlgPoW since Fall of 2002.

PCMI

The Math Forum provides support to the Park City Mathematics Institute run by the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.

Problem of the Week Teacher Support Pages

I write a Teacher Support page to go with each of the Problems of the Week.

Teacher2Teacher

Regularly I respond to questions. I write the T2T FAQ pages.

Teacher Exchange

I respond to teachers who have lessons for us to host or who fill out the form on that area of the Math Forum site.

TRAILS

The TRAILS (Training and Resources for Assembling Interactive Learning Systems) project began in 2002-2003 and is a five year grant.

Varnelle Moore's Primary Math Activities

Varnelle and I continue to collaborate adding more units to her directory.

Virtual Math Teams project

This is a new project in which I'll be participating.

What's New

I regularly add items to our What's New page.

Workshops

Radnor School District - I provide Web page and resource support for this project and also help with the workshop presentations.

Southeast Delco School District - I provide Web page and resource support for this developing project and also help with the workshop presentations.

-- Suzanne

As a participant in the Constructing Geometry on the Internet project during July, 1995, I started learning html and my way around the Web. I am particularly interested in looking at ways that students can use technology as a tool as they learn mathematics (or anything else, for that matter).

To read an introduction of myself to the other participants at the Math Forum, please go to my introduction page.

I was fortunate to have participated in Constructing Mathematics on the Internet project during July, 1996 which you can read more about by going here.

During the '96-'97 school year I taught one mathematics class in my classroom which is a Macintosh computer lab. I taught eighth grade general mathematics. The first unit that I wrote from this experience is Polyhedra in the Classroom. I had planned to write other units. . . but . . . instead I made a Reference Table for Math 8. During the '97-'98 school year I taught two sections of seventh grade general mathematics and in preparation for that experience I made a Reference Table for Math 7. Because Frisbie Middle School is transitioning to include sixth grade during the '98-'99 school year I have started a Reference Table for Math 6.

As I taught Math 7, I wrote a variety of web pages for the students and myself. With time each activity will have a teacher lesson plan page with links to the NCTM Standards and the California Mathematics Standards along with an accompanying student page. My thinking has evolved to the point of wanting to write lessons that reflect

1. an introduction to the problem
2. a manipulative activity (perhaps more than 1)
3. a technological approach (perhaps more than 1)
4. formalizing the mathematics
5. practicing the mathematics (exercises)

I enjoyed participating in the Math Forum's Summer Institute in July, 1998. I used the time to develop more of my Math 7 ideas and also meet some innovative teachers with whom I am hoping to collaborate during the school year.

Using the experience gained as a participant at Math Forum Institutes I have been able to successfully lead workshops to teach others how to write html. My first experience at doing this was in Merced, California leading the SCORE workshop in June, 1997. Then I led the Fresno SCORE Institute in August, 1997. I co-led the Merced '98 Institute with fellow Math Forum Institute participant, Matt Gehrett.

In the spring of 1998 I was invited to participate in the recommendation of technology standards to the NCTM Standards 2000 Writing Group. My position paper can be read here.