#MathPhotoADay Project
The #mathphotoaday project was started by a third grade teacher named Mrs. Bettes in Manitoba. She started out having her third graders take pictures of a math concept every day for the whole month of May. Each day, she would give them a prompt, such as to take a picture of a polygon. Then these were shared on Twitter. The students learned quite a bit from the project and it allowed them to be creative. It was also a great way to get the students to start seeing math concepts in their real life surroundings.
In a high school classroom, I would make the prompts a little more challenging. I could have students take pictures of different situations where using the Pythagorean Theorem would apply, for example. I would have students upload these to the classroom blog so that all of the students could see them and I could review them. I think it would be fun to see what students come up with, and I think students will enjoy looking for ways to use math in real life. It could be a fun way to end the school year by reviewing major concepts we covered.
I read about this project in two different articles by Richard Byrne in Free Technology for Teachers. These are titled Making Observations With "Photo a Day" Projects and Photograph Math - #mathphotoaday . Check these out and I hope you enjoy.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Feedly Article #2
Flipped Classrooms
The idea of flipped classrooms is relatively new to the education world and has been made possible by the many technologies we have today. A flipped classroom is exactly that, "flipped." Where a traditional classroom teacher lectures or has some other passive instructional content during class time and sends homework (the assessment) home with students, flipped classrooms take a more active role. Flipped classrooms focus on the more active assessments in class and the passive instruction at home. Two advantages of flipping a classroom are that there is more time for formative assessments and there is more time for individualized and differentiated instruction. Because students are watching the lecture or reading over material at home, the time in class can be spent on applying the material the students have learned. This leaves more opportunities for teachers to have one on one learning experiences with students.
I can see many ways I could use the flipped classroom design in a high school math classroom. I could have students watch my lecture videos at home or even have them read a section in their math book on the topic before coming to class the following day. Then, in class, we can work in stations. Students could get into groups and discuss what it is they learned from the video or reading assignment. After that, we would dive right into the assessment part of things by working in groups to solve a few problems and maybe do a few on the board. If some students are still having trouble, this would be a good time for me to work separately with them while others were working together on example equations or projects.
I learned more information about flipped classrooms through the article called Two Key Advantages of a Flipped Classroom in the online journal Educational Technology and Mobile Learning.
The idea of flipped classrooms is relatively new to the education world and has been made possible by the many technologies we have today. A flipped classroom is exactly that, "flipped." Where a traditional classroom teacher lectures or has some other passive instructional content during class time and sends homework (the assessment) home with students, flipped classrooms take a more active role. Flipped classrooms focus on the more active assessments in class and the passive instruction at home. Two advantages of flipping a classroom are that there is more time for formative assessments and there is more time for individualized and differentiated instruction. Because students are watching the lecture or reading over material at home, the time in class can be spent on applying the material the students have learned. This leaves more opportunities for teachers to have one on one learning experiences with students.
I can see many ways I could use the flipped classroom design in a high school math classroom. I could have students watch my lecture videos at home or even have them read a section in their math book on the topic before coming to class the following day. Then, in class, we can work in stations. Students could get into groups and discuss what it is they learned from the video or reading assignment. After that, we would dive right into the assessment part of things by working in groups to solve a few problems and maybe do a few on the board. If some students are still having trouble, this would be a good time for me to work separately with them while others were working together on example equations or projects.
I learned more information about flipped classrooms through the article called Two Key Advantages of a Flipped Classroom in the online journal Educational Technology and Mobile Learning.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
My YouTube Playlist about Classroom Management
I have added a YouTube playlist called Classroom Management focusing on the high school level. I have included three videos that I believe have really good information. One area that I do not think I am prepared for is managing the classroom. These videos have given me some incite on what I can do to gain respect and have a well behaved group of students.
A few pieces of advice I have picked up from this playlist are that I should not focus on classroom management and I should set high expectations at the beginning. Instead of focusing on the management and discipline part of teaching, I should be focusing on making the classroom environment a safe one that is made for learning purposes. I also should make sure my students know what is expected of them, and I should be fair with the consequences. If students know what will happen if they do not meet the expectations, and I follow through every time, the students will feel safe.
A few pieces of advice I have picked up from this playlist are that I should not focus on classroom management and I should set high expectations at the beginning. Instead of focusing on the management and discipline part of teaching, I should be focusing on making the classroom environment a safe one that is made for learning purposes. I also should make sure my students know what is expected of them, and I should be fair with the consequences. If students know what will happen if they do not meet the expectations, and I follow through every time, the students will feel safe.
SMART Board Videos
I reviewed two different videos on SMART Notebook that I think would be very useful in the classroom.
1. Gameboards for SMARTboards by aprissm
This video provided a step-by-step guide on how to create interactive game boards using SMART Notebook. After picking a background color, the game squares are chosen by clicking on the Gallery tab under Essentials for Educators. These game squares can be placed anywhere on the screen and hold the questions. If students want to check their answer, they simply have to click on the square. After all of the squares are put into place, a start and finish square can be made by finding the shapes section in the Gallery tab. All of these squares can be locked into place so that students cannot move them around by right clicking and finding where it says "lock into place." Tokens can also be made for students to move around the game board. Again, different shapes for making the tokens can be found in the shapes section of the Gallery tab. These tokens can be locked so that they can move but cannot be resized. Instead of clicking on "lock into place," "Allow Movement" needs to be clicked. There is also a section in the Gallery to place a die on the game board so that when students click on it, it gives them a random number of spaces they are supposed to move.
2. SMARTboard Recorder Tutorial by Baynard Bailey
This is a very short simple video, but there was a lot of information in it. Bailey shows how to use SMARTboard Recorder. He starts out by explaining that there is a Record button, a Pause button, and a Stop button. The most helpful thing he explained was the different types of recordings that can be done. There is a Record Desktop option which records the whole SMARTboard screen or there is the option to Record Area which allows the user to create a box on the screen that is recorded. This is for when you want to hide some things on your screen and drag things into the box that you would like to be in the recording. One thing I found interesting was that in the Record Area option, as soon as the box is created, it is automatically recorded. Also, once the recording is stopped, immediately a preview pops up for the user to view.
1. Gameboards for SMARTboards by aprissm
This video provided a step-by-step guide on how to create interactive game boards using SMART Notebook. After picking a background color, the game squares are chosen by clicking on the Gallery tab under Essentials for Educators. These game squares can be placed anywhere on the screen and hold the questions. If students want to check their answer, they simply have to click on the square. After all of the squares are put into place, a start and finish square can be made by finding the shapes section in the Gallery tab. All of these squares can be locked into place so that students cannot move them around by right clicking and finding where it says "lock into place." Tokens can also be made for students to move around the game board. Again, different shapes for making the tokens can be found in the shapes section of the Gallery tab. These tokens can be locked so that they can move but cannot be resized. Instead of clicking on "lock into place," "Allow Movement" needs to be clicked. There is also a section in the Gallery to place a die on the game board so that when students click on it, it gives them a random number of spaces they are supposed to move.
2. SMARTboard Recorder Tutorial by Baynard Bailey
This is a very short simple video, but there was a lot of information in it. Bailey shows how to use SMARTboard Recorder. He starts out by explaining that there is a Record button, a Pause button, and a Stop button. The most helpful thing he explained was the different types of recordings that can be done. There is a Record Desktop option which records the whole SMARTboard screen or there is the option to Record Area which allows the user to create a box on the screen that is recorded. This is for when you want to hide some things on your screen and drag things into the box that you would like to be in the recording. One thing I found interesting was that in the Record Area option, as soon as the box is created, it is automatically recorded. Also, once the recording is stopped, immediately a preview pops up for the user to view.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Feedly Article #1
Stoodle: Online Whiteboards
Stoodle is an online website that is free to use. It is an online whiteboard where anyone can draw, type, insert pictures and graphs, etc. Basically, it is everything you can do on a regular whiteboard and more that is online and interactive. This means that teachers and students can use it at the same time, no matter where they are. In order for the students to access the whiteboard, the teacher creates a "classroom" and provides the URL of that "classroom" to the students. There is also a chat option where the students and/or teacher can communicate back and forth. Stoodle also allows importing of files from many sources such as Google Drive and Dropbox and can also be used on iPads.
This site would be very beneficial to my math classroom. I could use it in a variety of ways from flipped classrooms to tutoring sessions. Flipped classrooms are where students get the lectures, notes, and materials outside of the classroom setting and the classroom is used for application of the learning. I can see how Stoodle could be used to create lecture videos for students to view or they could also be a part of the lesson in real time at home or wherever they have access to internet. Stoodle could also be a great way for peer tutoring, especially since it can be accessed on an iPad. With the iPad, Stoodle allows for free drawing which would help in tutoring sessions. I also think Stoodle could be used as a way for students to work on projects together and collaborate. One of the projects I would like to implement in my classroom is having students work in groups to create a tutorial that they can share on the classroom blog. Stoodle could be just the thing to help them accomplish that.
I found out information about Stoodle from How to Create Online Collaborative Whiteboards by Richard Byrne. I have also included a video below, also found on that website, that was helpful to me in understanding how Stoodle works.
Stoodle is an online website that is free to use. It is an online whiteboard where anyone can draw, type, insert pictures and graphs, etc. Basically, it is everything you can do on a regular whiteboard and more that is online and interactive. This means that teachers and students can use it at the same time, no matter where they are. In order for the students to access the whiteboard, the teacher creates a "classroom" and provides the URL of that "classroom" to the students. There is also a chat option where the students and/or teacher can communicate back and forth. Stoodle also allows importing of files from many sources such as Google Drive and Dropbox and can also be used on iPads.
This site would be very beneficial to my math classroom. I could use it in a variety of ways from flipped classrooms to tutoring sessions. Flipped classrooms are where students get the lectures, notes, and materials outside of the classroom setting and the classroom is used for application of the learning. I can see how Stoodle could be used to create lecture videos for students to view or they could also be a part of the lesson in real time at home or wherever they have access to internet. Stoodle could also be a great way for peer tutoring, especially since it can be accessed on an iPad. With the iPad, Stoodle allows for free drawing which would help in tutoring sessions. I also think Stoodle could be used as a way for students to work on projects together and collaborate. One of the projects I would like to implement in my classroom is having students work in groups to create a tutorial that they can share on the classroom blog. Stoodle could be just the thing to help them accomplish that.
I found out information about Stoodle from How to Create Online Collaborative Whiteboards by Richard Byrne. I have also included a video below, also found on that website, that was helpful to me in understanding how Stoodle works.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Using Blogs in the Classroom
Blogs might not be the first thing you think of doing in a math class. But, being a soon-to-be math teacher, I can see a few ways that blogs can be useful in a high school mathematics class. I think that new technologies can really aid students in the fostering of learning. However, those technologies have to be used properly and appropriately.
The first way I can think of to use a blog in my classroom is to use it as a way for students to communicate. We could have a classroom blog where students can reply and discuss questions they have about homework and assignments, as well as getting help to study for quizzes and tests. It could also be a great place for students to communicate when they do group projects in my class. I, as the teacher, could also join in by posting links that students might find useful and entertaining.
A classroom blog could also be useful to have students keep a journal. My plan is to have students keep a journal where they answer daily discussion questions or solve a daily math question. A blog could create an online version of this where students can respond to prompts that I give them. Because it would be an outside of class activity, I would issue a question weekly instead of daily. Students could also discuss what they think, comment on others posts, and compare different skills as well. It would work almost like an online discussion board.
Blogs could also be used to create online study guides. After each week of assignments and different mathematical concepts, students could work in groups to take these different concepts and write blog posts summarizing what it is and how to approach it. They can include helpful links, examples, and possible test questions from each. By the time a unit test approaches, students will have completed a whole study guide full of information that can be accessed by all students.
The first way I can think of to use a blog in my classroom is to use it as a way for students to communicate. We could have a classroom blog where students can reply and discuss questions they have about homework and assignments, as well as getting help to study for quizzes and tests. It could also be a great place for students to communicate when they do group projects in my class. I, as the teacher, could also join in by posting links that students might find useful and entertaining.
A classroom blog could also be useful to have students keep a journal. My plan is to have students keep a journal where they answer daily discussion questions or solve a daily math question. A blog could create an online version of this where students can respond to prompts that I give them. Because it would be an outside of class activity, I would issue a question weekly instead of daily. Students could also discuss what they think, comment on others posts, and compare different skills as well. It would work almost like an online discussion board.
Blogs could also be used to create online study guides. After each week of assignments and different mathematical concepts, students could work in groups to take these different concepts and write blog posts summarizing what it is and how to approach it. They can include helpful links, examples, and possible test questions from each. By the time a unit test approaches, students will have completed a whole study guide full of information that can be accessed by all students.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
PLN #1 - My Educational Toolkit
I am currently seeking a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics Education. I have created a LiveBinder to keep track of all the websites and other tools that I could use in my classroom someday. The focus of my LiveBinder is 9-12 grade Mathematics. The name of my LiveBinder is My Mathematical Toolkit.
I am finding LiveBinders to be very helpful. It is a way that I can store all of the websites that I find interesting and that I can incorporate in my lessons as a teacher. It is also really simple to use. I found a Binder that I thought was useful. It looks to me like the teacher of a high school Algebra II class set this up for his students to view. http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?present=true&id=43055 It includes YouTube videos on certain math topics and also a Final Exam Prep tab for students looking for ways to study for the final exam. I think that giving the students access to a LiveBinder is a great idea and a great way to share information and extra links that could be helpful to the students.
I am finding LiveBinders to be very helpful. It is a way that I can store all of the websites that I find interesting and that I can incorporate in my lessons as a teacher. It is also really simple to use. I found a Binder that I thought was useful. It looks to me like the teacher of a high school Algebra II class set this up for his students to view. http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?present=true&id=43055 It includes YouTube videos on certain math topics and also a Final Exam Prep tab for students looking for ways to study for the final exam. I think that giving the students access to a LiveBinder is a great idea and a great way to share information and extra links that could be helpful to the students.
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