For years, I have studied multiple programming languages including Visual Basic, Java, C++, Assembly Language, LUA, Objective C. I am now teaching programming classes at my high school. When I found out that I would be teaching Java I was thrilled. Later I found the other programming class would be an HTML class. I was far from excited because I never had the need to learn HTML, it is rather basic and I find little challenge in coding in it. I have now come to a point in teaching the class that I can appreciate the benefits of HTML.
My students will leave the class appreciating how well done a good website is. They can begin to appreciate and understand seeing the website, to how the website works. The other benefit is that most online blogs have an option to write in HTML instead of a rich style text. By writing in HTML, I can now import java script into my code and have things happen that normal bloggers can't...all because I took the time to learn some HTML. A simple language, but provides a nice foundation when entering other programming languages, especially if you incorporate javascript into your HTML coding. As an example, here is a button you can click on.
Learning HTML should be an essential tool that bloggers and anyone who manages or oversees a website consider investigating in.
Stay Effective!
Friday, November 8, 2013
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Google Forms
Google Forms is becoming a very powerful assistant in the classroom. Forms allows you to make all sorts of things such as fill in the blanks, rate from a range, multiple choice, etc. Currently google forms do not grade the problems, but you get a display on an excel sheet that you could set up some formulas that would self-grade if you have a multiple choice test. (I am hoping they will make it easier on us sometime soon). Anyways, I wanted to write about how we could use these forms and ways I use them in the classroom.
I teach some programming classes in which the entire class is differentiation at its best. Every single one of my students work at their own pace, experiment differently on the projects and reason out the projects different ways. My role as the teacher in this class is to simply guide struggling students along with support and encourage and get excited for students that are just excelling. I have several google forms available for my students to use. What is nice is that students that work in the library during study hall or at home can use these forms and request things. I have forms where students can request help on a packet. This way I can go in order and I have documentation of which packets have the biggest struggles. I can then go back to these packets at a later time and see if I need to touch them up or reexplain something. I have another form that students can request additional packets for enrichment, such as if they are working on drawing on a Frame, they can request how to incorporate other shapes, polygons, or colors. I then have a tally of most requested and can write additional packets to enrich my students to the best of my ability.
We did a class competition, I used a google form for students to rate each other projects privately. I can also make a course evaluation that students can answer anonymously so I can get some feedback on what I can do to better serve my students or to consider altering in the class. Google forms are extremely easy to work with and design.
You can use it for a quick assessment, you can keep the data up on your computer and watch as people submit their answers. Instant feedback, you can do a poll on your students on a lesson and get instant feedback. There is a lot of potential and with combining of google drive for sharing files, you could run a whole online class or provide a lot of supplemental information where you have a lot of data that is easy to crunch and use as you wish.
Stay Effective!
I teach some programming classes in which the entire class is differentiation at its best. Every single one of my students work at their own pace, experiment differently on the projects and reason out the projects different ways. My role as the teacher in this class is to simply guide struggling students along with support and encourage and get excited for students that are just excelling. I have several google forms available for my students to use. What is nice is that students that work in the library during study hall or at home can use these forms and request things. I have forms where students can request help on a packet. This way I can go in order and I have documentation of which packets have the biggest struggles. I can then go back to these packets at a later time and see if I need to touch them up or reexplain something. I have another form that students can request additional packets for enrichment, such as if they are working on drawing on a Frame, they can request how to incorporate other shapes, polygons, or colors. I then have a tally of most requested and can write additional packets to enrich my students to the best of my ability.
We did a class competition, I used a google form for students to rate each other projects privately. I can also make a course evaluation that students can answer anonymously so I can get some feedback on what I can do to better serve my students or to consider altering in the class. Google forms are extremely easy to work with and design.
You can use it for a quick assessment, you can keep the data up on your computer and watch as people submit their answers. Instant feedback, you can do a poll on your students on a lesson and get instant feedback. There is a lot of potential and with combining of google drive for sharing files, you could run a whole online class or provide a lot of supplemental information where you have a lot of data that is easy to crunch and use as you wish.
Stay Effective!
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Adapting from Paper to Paperless
This is just a quick note. Currently, I am assessing student growth through multiple measures. One of the measures is retention on vocabulary they haven't heard of before. The first two chapters, I gave each student a piece of paper with a pre and a post test on it. They did the pre-test first, then take the post-test later. I scan over the pre-test to see which words students knew already. Afterwards, I use this for my planning. After the chapter they take the post assessment that counts as a quiz grade. After an hour or two of grading I then need to input my data to make some calculations.
For chapter 3, I tried something differently. I made a google form that has a list of the vocabulary, when students answer the form, they get an immediate score...no more grading for me! Instead, I can focus that hour on analyzing the data, seeing common answers, mistakes, and recording growth. This is a prime example of how we can use technology to improve our lessons...
What if you don't have a class set of computers or tablets? Well you can have 4 or 5 devices and do station work and one of the stations could be to take the vocabulary assessment.
To make a google form, you go to your google drive and select to make a new form. After that the directions are very straight forward.
Stay Effective!
For chapter 3, I tried something differently. I made a google form that has a list of the vocabulary, when students answer the form, they get an immediate score...no more grading for me! Instead, I can focus that hour on analyzing the data, seeing common answers, mistakes, and recording growth. This is a prime example of how we can use technology to improve our lessons...
What if you don't have a class set of computers or tablets? Well you can have 4 or 5 devices and do station work and one of the stations could be to take the vocabulary assessment.
To make a google form, you go to your google drive and select to make a new form. After that the directions are very straight forward.
Stay Effective!
Monday, October 21, 2013
University of Delaware iPad Conference
This past Saturday I had the privilege to present at an iPads in Education conference. The conference started out with a keynote speaker, a former professor at Millersville University, and currently a top executive at Apple.
He shared a multitude of points and thoughts. First he showed how the ability to be connected was growing. There was a graph and somewhere in 2013, the amount of used using a non-mobile device for the internet will equal the amount of mobile devices (Note laptops count as non-mobile).
He continued to talk about the role of teachers. He stated that teachers were once important for their information, but now days the information is out in the world already and that teachers are no longer an essential step for content. Instead teachers need to build relationships with students and guide them through their own education. This is a really neat model, that I hope to develop into more as I progress in my teaching. He then talked about how technology is great, but it is not a replacement to education, but a tool that can be used. Lastly he added that schools should not have a 1 to 1 iPad initiative, but rather a 1 to 1 student initiative with technology. He feels education wants to brag about having the best technology without regards to what the students need to be successful.
After the keynote speaker, I held one of the few sessions available immediately afterwards. In my presentation we discussed using technology to facilitate a dynamic classroom that meets the needs of the students. We discussed various apps that can be used, including the several I have developed, "WileD Math". Along with that, teachers learned some neat tricks such as guided access and other things we can do on our iPads to make them usable and safe in the classroom.
I also attended other sessions, such as using the iPads to make claymations, using the website TodaysMeet, to facilitate a classroom discussion without talking, but typing. Other sessions shared apps they use in the classroom, as well as how to flip the classroom using the website Edmodo (which is a very neat website that I will blog about next!).
Back to Business
The current intentions of this blog is to post once a week a significant post on a technology we can use, a smaller post once a week sharing some simple strategies to try in the classroom, and an app review of an app that is under the education branch of the app store. If you have an app or want an app reviewed, feel free to let me know!
Stay Effective!
He shared a multitude of points and thoughts. First he showed how the ability to be connected was growing. There was a graph and somewhere in 2013, the amount of used using a non-mobile device for the internet will equal the amount of mobile devices (Note laptops count as non-mobile).
He continued to talk about the role of teachers. He stated that teachers were once important for their information, but now days the information is out in the world already and that teachers are no longer an essential step for content. Instead teachers need to build relationships with students and guide them through their own education. This is a really neat model, that I hope to develop into more as I progress in my teaching. He then talked about how technology is great, but it is not a replacement to education, but a tool that can be used. Lastly he added that schools should not have a 1 to 1 iPad initiative, but rather a 1 to 1 student initiative with technology. He feels education wants to brag about having the best technology without regards to what the students need to be successful.
After the keynote speaker, I held one of the few sessions available immediately afterwards. In my presentation we discussed using technology to facilitate a dynamic classroom that meets the needs of the students. We discussed various apps that can be used, including the several I have developed, "WileD Math". Along with that, teachers learned some neat tricks such as guided access and other things we can do on our iPads to make them usable and safe in the classroom.
I also attended other sessions, such as using the iPads to make claymations, using the website TodaysMeet, to facilitate a classroom discussion without talking, but typing. Other sessions shared apps they use in the classroom, as well as how to flip the classroom using the website Edmodo (which is a very neat website that I will blog about next!).
Back to Business
The current intentions of this blog is to post once a week a significant post on a technology we can use, a smaller post once a week sharing some simple strategies to try in the classroom, and an app review of an app that is under the education branch of the app store. If you have an app or want an app reviewed, feel free to let me know!
Stay Effective!
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Designing Quality Apps
Let me start that I in no way claim to make quality apps with respect to famous games like Angry Birds. I do however consider my apps to be successful and growing in success.
Let's go into a little background story.
In September of 2012, I decided that I wanted to use my computer programming experience to make an app for my students to use that would both educate and engage. I proceeded to use an app called Codea, which allows the user to write apps from your iPad. I went through a general designing phase of about 3 months. At the end of December I thought I was ready to develop the app and put it out on the market. I learned very quickly that I had to do a lot more to make the app be successful, including testing nearly everything a person would try to do. The app was officially published near the end of January. By the end of the school year, my app had over 2000 downloads.
I spent the summer moving, working, and developing my next math app (still in production). I then decided that my main market for my app would be schools, so I spent a lot of time getting the app's name out in mainstream flow as best as I could. In August I was around 2,500 downloads. It is now October and I have doubled that number, surpassing an unexpected 5,000 downloads.
What changed?
1: Schools started looking for new apps to use, which would help in getting the app noticed.
2: I spent hours finding websites that review apps and requested that my app be reviewed. Since that time, I have had 2 new app reviews and was told of another that will be posted in November.
3: I worked on reimaging the app. Now I don't think this has had a big influence yet, but I am predicting this will help a lot. My apps, now have a classy looking logo brand, looks professional, so people will be more likely to take it seriously.
4: I will be attending a conference to promote the app in which I have new business cards to pass out that you can scan through a QR scanner and it will take you immediately to the apple store where my app is located.
5: An exciting portion was that New York City Department of Education listed my app as an app available for schools to use for math.
It is sort of funny to think about the fact that I spent so much time making this app for my students and for others to use. This app features a lot of things that students can practice and since it was designed by a teacher, it contains some features that teachers would appreciate having. Among the countless hours of the app, I thought that this app would naturally get found, noticed, and used, but it took many additional hours of time to market the app and get the name out there.
In short, if you are a one person team designing an app, be aware the production of the app doesn't stop at the publishing, you must also take a lot of time to market your app and get it noticed. When I first searched WileD Math, only my facebook page would show up. Now days, my app is referenced on the first 3 pages of google at least 10 different times, whether from reviews, facebook, twitter or other sites.
Stay Effective!
Let's go into a little background story.
In September of 2012, I decided that I wanted to use my computer programming experience to make an app for my students to use that would both educate and engage. I proceeded to use an app called Codea, which allows the user to write apps from your iPad. I went through a general designing phase of about 3 months. At the end of December I thought I was ready to develop the app and put it out on the market. I learned very quickly that I had to do a lot more to make the app be successful, including testing nearly everything a person would try to do. The app was officially published near the end of January. By the end of the school year, my app had over 2000 downloads.
I spent the summer moving, working, and developing my next math app (still in production). I then decided that my main market for my app would be schools, so I spent a lot of time getting the app's name out in mainstream flow as best as I could. In August I was around 2,500 downloads. It is now October and I have doubled that number, surpassing an unexpected 5,000 downloads.
What changed?
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| New Image |
2: I spent hours finding websites that review apps and requested that my app be reviewed. Since that time, I have had 2 new app reviews and was told of another that will be posted in November.
3: I worked on reimaging the app. Now I don't think this has had a big influence yet, but I am predicting this will help a lot. My apps, now have a classy looking logo brand, looks professional, so people will be more likely to take it seriously.
4: I will be attending a conference to promote the app in which I have new business cards to pass out that you can scan through a QR scanner and it will take you immediately to the apple store where my app is located.
 |
| Old Image |
5: An exciting portion was that New York City Department of Education listed my app as an app available for schools to use for math.
It is sort of funny to think about the fact that I spent so much time making this app for my students and for others to use. This app features a lot of things that students can practice and since it was designed by a teacher, it contains some features that teachers would appreciate having. Among the countless hours of the app, I thought that this app would naturally get found, noticed, and used, but it took many additional hours of time to market the app and get the name out there.
In short, if you are a one person team designing an app, be aware the production of the app doesn't stop at the publishing, you must also take a lot of time to market your app and get it noticed. When I first searched WileD Math, only my facebook page would show up. Now days, my app is referenced on the first 3 pages of google at least 10 different times, whether from reviews, facebook, twitter or other sites.
Stay Effective!
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Eno - A different type of "smart"board
Greetings folks!
I have switched classrooms, which also means different technology and different classes. I am currently teaching Geometry and two Programming courses, Java and HTML. Along side teaching, I am working diligently on marketing my WileD Math app and designing the High School Version of WileD Math.
Throughout the next set of times, I hope to share some things I have learned about my marketing experiences, what worked, what did work, as well as what I am experiencing in the classroom.
The biggest change in my classroom besides locations is that I no longer have a smartboard to utilize...Instead I have an Eno Board.
Now this board may look similar to a Smart Board, but the operating system is completely different. This board is not activated by anything touching the board. The Pros: No one can mess with your computer from the screen, no accidental bumping, and much harder to bring something up that you shouldn't, such as e-mails. The Cons: You are required to use a special Bluetooth device that syncs with your computer and calibrates to the board (the projector). If this is misplaced, you are out of luck. This can be a pro, because it limits who can use it, but if you like to move around a lot and misplace this marker, then you can't do anything with the board!
The problem with required syncing is that you can have a lot of battery issues, so a back-up battery is a must. You also have delay times that vary, sometimes it writes right away, other times it takes a little for things to show up.
The Best: The neatest thing about this board is that the board is just a whiteboard, nothing fancy to it. The thing that makes this different from a smartboard (and I mean really different) is the fact that you have this strip that your marker can touch that changes the color, the width, you can scroll onto blank pages (up to 99, plus your computer screen). So the features are rather limited, but with each update, more things are being presented, plus you can always get better strips that feature more things.
The Worst: Some teachers shared that if their board is closer to another teachers computer in another room, that the syncing can get messed up and the boards react to each teacher's marker in the other room instead. So if you have one, you need to ensure your computer is closer to the board or at least no other teachers are closer than yours.
Overall, if you can get this up and working it is a wonderful addition to the classroom, as long as you can have a good system of placing the bluetooth marker down. Do I miss my smartboard? Yes. Will I get better and more used to the Eno? Yes. Would I choose one over the other? Not really, I enjoy adapting to new technologies.
Stay Effective!
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I have switched classrooms, which also means different technology and different classes. I am currently teaching Geometry and two Programming courses, Java and HTML. Along side teaching, I am working diligently on marketing my WileD Math app and designing the High School Version of WileD Math.
Throughout the next set of times, I hope to share some things I have learned about my marketing experiences, what worked, what did work, as well as what I am experiencing in the classroom.
The biggest change in my classroom besides locations is that I no longer have a smartboard to utilize...Instead I have an Eno Board.
Now this board may look similar to a Smart Board, but the operating system is completely different. This board is not activated by anything touching the board. The Pros: No one can mess with your computer from the screen, no accidental bumping, and much harder to bring something up that you shouldn't, such as e-mails. The Cons: You are required to use a special Bluetooth device that syncs with your computer and calibrates to the board (the projector). If this is misplaced, you are out of luck. This can be a pro, because it limits who can use it, but if you like to move around a lot and misplace this marker, then you can't do anything with the board!
The problem with required syncing is that you can have a lot of battery issues, so a back-up battery is a must. You also have delay times that vary, sometimes it writes right away, other times it takes a little for things to show up.
The Best: The neatest thing about this board is that the board is just a whiteboard, nothing fancy to it. The thing that makes this different from a smartboard (and I mean really different) is the fact that you have this strip that your marker can touch that changes the color, the width, you can scroll onto blank pages (up to 99, plus your computer screen). So the features are rather limited, but with each update, more things are being presented, plus you can always get better strips that feature more things.The Worst: Some teachers shared that if their board is closer to another teachers computer in another room, that the syncing can get messed up and the boards react to each teacher's marker in the other room instead. So if you have one, you need to ensure your computer is closer to the board or at least no other teachers are closer than yours.
Overall, if you can get this up and working it is a wonderful addition to the classroom, as long as you can have a good system of placing the bluetooth marker down. Do I miss my smartboard? Yes. Will I get better and more used to the Eno? Yes. Would I choose one over the other? Not really, I enjoy adapting to new technologies.
Stay Effective!
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Kick-off...Again
Happy Wednesday everyone!
I am writing a quick blog to say that I plan on updating this blog several times a week, filled with reviews, ideas to use technology, and experiences. I was quite busy as of late, switching up to the High School, preparing to teach Geometry and the computer programming! This blog will continue to serve you and share experiences, so stay tuned! First post will come tonight.
Stay Effective!
I am writing a quick blog to say that I plan on updating this blog several times a week, filled with reviews, ideas to use technology, and experiences. I was quite busy as of late, switching up to the High School, preparing to teach Geometry and the computer programming! This blog will continue to serve you and share experiences, so stay tuned! First post will come tonight.
Stay Effective!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Daily Presentations
As a teacher, I find myself presenting material multiple ways. In algebra, there are lots of different equations and although they use the same math properties, students need to many potential ways the property is used.
Well, this idea comes across in my teaching as well, I often find myself scaffolding and providing the same material multiple times throughout the year, sometimes I go over the material through notes, clickers, power point games, skits, songs, presentations. One great secret to share with you is that if you are in some sort of presenter (ex: power point), sometimes you have some distracting screens that require asking the students to look at you, not the screen, to easy solutions is to hit the B or W key.
By hitting the B, you will black out the screen.
By hitting W, you will white out the screen.
This would then force the students to not stare at the blank screen, but at you.
Stay Effective!
Well, this idea comes across in my teaching as well, I often find myself scaffolding and providing the same material multiple times throughout the year, sometimes I go over the material through notes, clickers, power point games, skits, songs, presentations. One great secret to share with you is that if you are in some sort of presenter (ex: power point), sometimes you have some distracting screens that require asking the students to look at you, not the screen, to easy solutions is to hit the B or W key.
By hitting the B, you will black out the screen.
By hitting W, you will white out the screen.
This would then force the students to not stare at the blank screen, but at you.
Stay Effective!
Monday, May 6, 2013
Tech Nite Part 2
Sorry for not posting in a couple of days. Things have been busy. Anyways last Wednesday I was nominated for an award in the Shenandoah Valley for innovation in K-12. The link to the founders as well as narratives of my nomination can be found: http://www.svtc-va.org/v.php?pg=3
I was selected as the winner in this category and it has been an exciting time since. My school district has won this category 3 times in 3 years, in which 1 teacher from each middle school has won.
Reflecting back on the event, the award was to recognize the hard work put into an app designed specifically for my students, but I also see it as a sign to continue to pursue my dreams in technology and education. I truly do feel that today's generation of students are so familiar with technology that as an educator, it is our job to teach to their medium. I intend to consistently update my app, WileD Math, as well as consider producing additional apps to be used in the school systems.
A special thanks to Verizon for being the sponsor of my award and a thanks to the technology council for their time and dedication to making this event.
I was selected as the winner in this category and it has been an exciting time since. My school district has won this category 3 times in 3 years, in which 1 teacher from each middle school has won.
Reflecting back on the event, the award was to recognize the hard work put into an app designed specifically for my students, but I also see it as a sign to continue to pursue my dreams in technology and education. I truly do feel that today's generation of students are so familiar with technology that as an educator, it is our job to teach to their medium. I intend to consistently update my app, WileD Math, as well as consider producing additional apps to be used in the school systems.
A special thanks to Verizon for being the sponsor of my award and a thanks to the technology council for their time and dedication to making this event.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Tech Nite
As some of my posts have mentioned, I created my own math app entitled "WileD Math". This app was designed with my students in mind to engage them in 8th grade mathematics. My app was in developed in September and was officially released in January. In February, my district nominated me for a tech award that is a part of many counties in the area. Out of however many candidates, I am in the top 5 for my category and will be finding out the results tonight!
Check It Out Here
Keep being effective!
Check It Out Here
Keep being effective!
Sunday, April 28, 2013
App Review - Solve the Outbreak
Your decisions determine how well you can evaluate the situation, which in return provides you with a badge and detective score worthy of how well you handled the situation.
Talking about germs? Diseases? Have a teachable moment? This app can help engage students and allow for some great discussions on the fields of science and health.
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App Review - MyScript Calculator
As a math teacher I find this very engaging and fun to use and as a programming I am amazed at the apps ability to convert handwriting to actual numeric numbers. I can't imagine the difficulties of handwriting recognition, but recognize it's impressive feat. Now, I don't in any way indulge in the fact that this should be used all the time, it is important students can handle the math on their own as well, but this is just a fun app you can play around with from time to time.Enjoy and get handwriting.
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Saturday, April 27, 2013
iPad Easel
Practically you would need an easel and an iPad for each students, but if your school is looking to consider a class set of iPads, this could be one subject area you can share with them to help convince investing in iPads. Besides using this as a drawing easel, I can see this being used for a lot of other things.
The easels also come with additional tools. Some are equipped with a whiteboard on the other side to allow students to sign-up for iPad time or to have a brain storm/diagram session before moving to the iPad. Technology provides a lot of wondrous things, imagine what creative things you could do in the classroom with a stand for the iPad. Perhaps story time with an e-book where you show it off of the easel.
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Friday, April 26, 2013
Effective Flipcams
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| Flip cams value can range anywhere from $80 to $500 depending on the quality. |
Many of my students are afraid to be in front of the class for a presentation and quite frankly in Middle School, some lack the maturity to handle a group project and presentation. An idea to help screen the presentation is by having the students record their presentation through the use of a flipcam. Flipcams are extremely nice because you record and then plug in via USB and your computer has a video ready to play. You can screen the videos ahead of time, have questions ready, make a post-test from them, whatever you would like. Plus students can enjoy feeling secluded when making the presentation, but still present to the class. They can do some neat special effects like hiding things off screen and have them float over the screen.
This is one tool that is extremely useful generically in classrooms. You only truly need one camera, because you can schedule when groups get the camera and they can be ready and start filming at the time and do this on a rotation.
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
App Review - Molecules
Students can create their own molecules and watch them in action through the simulators.
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App Review - DailyArt
The app also gives you background behind the artwork as well as any information about the artist who made the artwork. After exposing this information, you could then hold another discussion about why the painting was made again after know some of the artist's background.
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Monday, April 22, 2013
App Review - 3D Sun
I absolutely love everything that NASA provides, as math teacher, I use a lot of NASA's math work to challenge students in scientific notation and other mathematical properties. NASA provides a lot for education, if teachers are willing to use it.
This app can be used to promote science and how the sun changes over time and is more than just a stationary object that provides heat and light to this world.
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App Review - Leafsnap HD
Leaf Snap is an app best served for devices that have a wireless internet signal outdoors.The federal government is responsible for this app coming to be with the Smithsonian taking charge of the app with the assistance from two Universities.
This app provides a wonderful way to identify trees from the leaves. Simply take a leaf, put it behind a white background (take a piece of paper with out) and in moments, the app can determine the most probable type of tree it came from.
This field guide provides samples of the leaves, bark, seeds, flowers, and fruit from that plant. This can be an awesome activity that would surely engage students. Have the leaf samples around your room, have the students use their diagrams to predict the type of tree, then check yourself by scanning the leaf. You can even set it as a challenge to see if the app made a mistake or not.
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Sunday, April 21, 2013
App Review - Sentence Builder
The general idea is that you will be given a picture and from that picture you must put the words given to you in the correct order to make a sentence reflecting the picture. If there are three boys, some of the words choices would be two and three, which causes the student to think about the scenario and apply deeper thinking.
This can be great for students in elementary school to help students build sentences and interpret scenes. An additional idea could be for students that are just beginning to learn the language. (They have additional language apps that do the same ideas.) English Language Learners will enjoy the simplicity of the app, while using pictures to make sense of the words given to them. This app can provide a lot of problem solving strategies to help these students grow in their knowledge of the language. Take a look, save on a wish list and wait for a sale, but this app provides a lot more than the money it asks.
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| The difficulty can change to challenge students. |
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Saturday, April 20, 2013
App Review - Essential Skeleton
In middle school, you can talk about how the bones work together to cause a function. The app provides an easy way to tap on bones after rotating to see all the angles of it and then learn the names for each bone. Students can have fun exploring the body and begin to ask those important questions such as how does the human body work?
In high school, if you offer a biology/anatomy and physiology app then this would be an amazing way to investigate the human body. Students can zoom in and out of what they are looking at, draw pictures and diagrams and fill out notes without the teacher giving the students a slide or having to explain a lot, students will be involved and active in their own learning.Stay effective!
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Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Being Prepared...Technology Malfunctions
One of the biggest issues with technology is the risk factor of things not working. On multiple accounts, I have had a lot happen to me.
One day, my smartboard stopped working with my computer, I was forced to write on a side whiteboard, because I couldn't work on the board. Basically I had my class turn their desks to face the side of my room and I went with the flow.
Another time my LCD projector's bulb burned out. It made the loudest pop possible and was out of commission for several days. I was lucky enough to have our tech person sign me out another projector in which I rigged it to a card table, but with cable restrictions, it was angled oddly at my board. Did it work...yes, was it the desirable...no...actually my eyes would hurt from the angle alone.
Sometimes my iPad is having issues syncing to my computer and it requires that I teach at the front of the room. Sometimes one of the clickers I use doesn't work and I have to give a student a paperclick to click in their answers.
Flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to technology. It is great to have, but you can't always count on it working. Ever need to make a copy and the copier was down? You managed to get through that day somehow.
I recommend some generic back-up plans in case you need something to fall back to. I respect my students enough to ensure that they are always engaged and learning from bell to bell. Often, I take old state tests and convert them to mini-station activities that students can participate in. I also make my own questions, print them on colored construction paper and call it the rainbow activity, where the students must collect one of each color and make a rainbow (done by answering questions)
Having a back-up is essential. To wrap-up, usign technology effectively is important, but also using your time effectively is just as important, being prepared with some back-up activities will make or break your use as an effective and innovative educator.
As always,
Stay Effective!
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One day, my smartboard stopped working with my computer, I was forced to write on a side whiteboard, because I couldn't work on the board. Basically I had my class turn their desks to face the side of my room and I went with the flow.
Another time my LCD projector's bulb burned out. It made the loudest pop possible and was out of commission for several days. I was lucky enough to have our tech person sign me out another projector in which I rigged it to a card table, but with cable restrictions, it was angled oddly at my board. Did it work...yes, was it the desirable...no...actually my eyes would hurt from the angle alone.
Sometimes my iPad is having issues syncing to my computer and it requires that I teach at the front of the room. Sometimes one of the clickers I use doesn't work and I have to give a student a paperclick to click in their answers.
Flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to technology. It is great to have, but you can't always count on it working. Ever need to make a copy and the copier was down? You managed to get through that day somehow.
 |
| Activities can be spiced up by creating an objective |
Having a back-up is essential. To wrap-up, usign technology effectively is important, but also using your time effectively is just as important, being prepared with some back-up activities will make or break your use as an effective and innovative educator.
As always,
Stay Effective!
Don't miss you, follow or subscribe via e-mail to stay up to date!
Appropriate times for calculators
As a math teacher I am constantly fighting with myself when is it appropriate to have the students use a calculator? On one hand, the state test for my students allows the students to use a calculator on the entire test, this is the first math test where that is the case. Is there an expectation that at this point the students should only do things through their calculator or is the state assuming that they have the basic skills to get by without a calculator when needed? I just feel with so much uncertainty, that there may not be a correct answer.
Personally my stance is that students need to learn how to do something the most in depth way, before they take any type of shortcut. For example, in graphing, my students learn to plot a graph through a table. Only after plotting from a table and practicing and learning about the idea of slope, do I present a new way to graph by putting a point on the y-intercept and then using the slope to count to the next spot on the graph. Students are then encouraged to do the problems the way they would prefer, most opt for the shortcut, but a few will still choose to use the table.
I will then transfer this idea to calculators. Students should be able to see by hand how to square something before they just do it on the calculator. Not for any other reason than learning and understanding the concept, rather than just memorizing what to push. I want my students to leave my room, not knowing how to push buttons, but how to problem solve. I want them to have a process learned in algebra, so that when an algebraic problem comes their way and it is different from the ones we did in class, that they will be able to apply the properties logically and achieve a correct answer.
How can we go deeper in mathematics, if we only provide a superficial learning to our students?
Effective technology is not just about sharing ideas on how to implement technology, but it is also about the technology used in the classroom.
When you allow the use of a calculator, ask yourself why you are doing it. Is it so the student can show they know what buttons to push or do you want to see them apply what they have learned?
As always,
Stay Effective!
Don't miss a post, follow us or sign-up for an e-mail subscription.
Personally my stance is that students need to learn how to do something the most in depth way, before they take any type of shortcut. For example, in graphing, my students learn to plot a graph through a table. Only after plotting from a table and practicing and learning about the idea of slope, do I present a new way to graph by putting a point on the y-intercept and then using the slope to count to the next spot on the graph. Students are then encouraged to do the problems the way they would prefer, most opt for the shortcut, but a few will still choose to use the table.
I will then transfer this idea to calculators. Students should be able to see by hand how to square something before they just do it on the calculator. Not for any other reason than learning and understanding the concept, rather than just memorizing what to push. I want my students to leave my room, not knowing how to push buttons, but how to problem solve. I want them to have a process learned in algebra, so that when an algebraic problem comes their way and it is different from the ones we did in class, that they will be able to apply the properties logically and achieve a correct answer.
How can we go deeper in mathematics, if we only provide a superficial learning to our students?
Effective technology is not just about sharing ideas on how to implement technology, but it is also about the technology used in the classroom.
When you allow the use of a calculator, ask yourself why you are doing it. Is it so the student can show they know what buttons to push or do you want to see them apply what they have learned?
As always,
Stay Effective!
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Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Writing Your Own Apps - Codea
Today we will be taking look at a general way to introduce yourself into programming for apple IOS.
In general, to make your own apps, you will need the IOS device you are writing for, a mac computer with operating system Mountain Lion, and an apple developer license for $99.
Today we will be looking specifically at a cheaper way to get a feel for app writing.
Ironically I am referring to an app that allows us to make apps. Codea is an app where if you have an idea, you can put it to code. Codea uses a language called Lua, an objective-c language that is easy to pick-up. When you download Codea you receive an app that allows you to type code and when you hit play, the code executes on your iPad only.
My first experience with Codea was really nice. In minute I had an object following my finger on a screen. In a week I had my first game made entitled "Square Wars". Within a month, I had my first version of my math app in place, in which I later transferred this to my new mac computer and produced the app WileD Math.
Codea has a lot of "tutorial"-like help where you can click on various categories and see how the code works and executes. Codea also has an amazing community. I have received a lot of help as well as given a lot of help when possible. If you have a situation you are stuck at, the forums are a great place to go to get help.
Codea Forums - Check it out
Codea of course has its downsides. There is a lot more work in transferring the code to the mac computer later on and the language provides limitations on what you can do from the iPad until you transfer to the mac and work on it via xCode. Still, I have never felt restricted on what I wanted to do for my app(s) and anything extra I wanted to add, I have been able to do eventually with some frustration and time.
Regardless, Codea provides an amazing opportunity to write some basic programs on your iPad. The makers of Codea have done an amazing job with updates and they are pushing to have Codea do more and more with every update.
Watch the power of Codea here
To all the schools out there:
Programming is a logical, mathematical process. From a personal experience, I have never actually applied half the math I have learned in high school except for in programming, such as using trig to determine the angle from a point, and using functions to determine whether or not two objects collide. Math is the key component to code and I really want to encourage schools to see that if you focus on a programming course that perhaps math abilities will improve do to the nature of programming, not to mention the problem solving and the ability to make truly make your own ideas come to life on a screen. If you already have an iPad cart, why not get Codea and have a little iPad programming course to get students interested in computer science.
In general, to make your own apps, you will need the IOS device you are writing for, a mac computer with operating system Mountain Lion, and an apple developer license for $99.
Today we will be looking specifically at a cheaper way to get a feel for app writing.
My first experience with Codea was really nice. In minute I had an object following my finger on a screen. In a week I had my first game made entitled "Square Wars". Within a month, I had my first version of my math app in place, in which I later transferred this to my new mac computer and produced the app WileD Math.
Codea Forums - Check it out
Codea of course has its downsides. There is a lot more work in transferring the code to the mac computer later on and the language provides limitations on what you can do from the iPad until you transfer to the mac and work on it via xCode. Still, I have never felt restricted on what I wanted to do for my app(s) and anything extra I wanted to add, I have been able to do eventually with some frustration and time.
Regardless, Codea provides an amazing opportunity to write some basic programs on your iPad. The makers of Codea have done an amazing job with updates and they are pushing to have Codea do more and more with every update.
Watch the power of Codea here
To all the schools out there:
| Have a cart? Download Codea and let your imagination go! |
Monday, April 15, 2013
Free yourself from the front of the room!
There is an iPad app far superior in the effectiveness category, Splashtop whiteboard.
Whiteboard allows the teacher to connect his or her iPad to a computer through the internet. By syncing your computer to the iPad, I am now able to write on my iPad, click on my iPad, and even print from my iPad and everything that happens on my iPad will then occur on my computer as well. Imagine, you are doing notes on a projected smartboard. Instead of needing the smartboard you can simply hit the splashtop app, login and all of a sudden your iPad is now your smartboard....
BUT...you are no longer limited to the front of the room. You are free to move about your room or building (provided your building has wifi). Besides teaching, I can take notes immediately onto my computer from a meeting in or out of the building. I can print a page I forgot to the copier across the school without having to walk back and forth. I forgot a file once from my home computer, logged into my computer through splashtop and dropped the file into dropbox, thenI was able to get the file on my dropbox at school.
This is an extremely powerful app that does cost $20.00, but the uses go beyond the money. This app is so beneficial in everything I do in and out of school, that it was an obvious purchase.
There are several splashtop apps, the whiteboard addition is the app that allows you to annotate over your documents, providing a cheap alternative to the smartboard if you already have an iPad.
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Whiteboard allows the teacher to connect his or her iPad to a computer through the internet. By syncing your computer to the iPad, I am now able to write on my iPad, click on my iPad, and even print from my iPad and everything that happens on my iPad will then occur on my computer as well. Imagine, you are doing notes on a projected smartboard. Instead of needing the smartboard you can simply hit the splashtop app, login and all of a sudden your iPad is now your smartboard....
BUT...you are no longer limited to the front of the room. You are free to move about your room or building (provided your building has wifi). Besides teaching, I can take notes immediately onto my computer from a meeting in or out of the building. I can print a page I forgot to the copier across the school without having to walk back and forth. I forgot a file once from my home computer, logged into my computer through splashtop and dropped the file into dropbox, thenI was able to get the file on my dropbox at school.
This is an extremely powerful app that does cost $20.00, but the uses go beyond the money. This app is so beneficial in everything I do in and out of school, that it was an obvious purchase.
There are several splashtop apps, the whiteboard addition is the app that allows you to annotate over your documents, providing a cheap alternative to the smartboard if you already have an iPad.
Stay Effective!
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iPad Apps - High School
Locating math apps for the high school can be rather difficult with such a variety of math classes and the fact that most of the high school math apps feature very little on the engaging game side, but rather focus strictly on practicing math problems on a topic. I have come across a couple math apps worthy of discussing and sharing.
Math Formulas - Reference Guide: This app provides a list of nearly 100 different formulas in 1 easy place that can be sorted and used in class on an as needed basis. I am mentioning this app as I feel that students being able to determine what formula they need to use is a key skill when trying to develop those problem solving and logical reasoning skills.
KineMath - This is an incredibly powerful app for graphing equations. Graphing can be quite a difficult journey for students when it comes to some of those more complex graphs or when trying to figure out what does what to an equation, such as when I have a quadratic equation, what does a number inside the parenthesis do versus outside of it? I see this app as such an amazing way to investigate properties of lines. Plus it is extremely touch interactive.
The last app is dedicated to those sophemores and juniors looking to take the SAT's.
The Easel series features SAT prep, algebra, and other topics that can help prepare students for their math tests coming up. These apps cost a little money, but if you were planning on buying an SAT review book, this could be an alternative solution that provides a lot of problems to work on.
Graphing Calculator - I just wanted to add this app so that you can consider if in a school with iPads already to save some money and simply get a graphing calculator app for $0.99 and perhaps use that money to buy a class set of iPads.
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Sunday, April 14, 2013
iPad Math Apps - Middle School
Searching for quality elementary school math apps are rather easy. It always appeared to me that finding quality apps for the middle school is better described like a black-hole, you know they could be out there, but no matter how hard you look, you can never find them. Today we will be taking a look at several math apps that can be used for multiple lessons or topics. I will go over what topics it can cover, nice perks to the app, as well as anything special such as why should you choose this app over that app.
WileD Math - I designed this app intentionally for teachers to use in the classroom to motivate students to learn to answer questions correctly. The app covers 36 topics including algebra, geometry, graphing, inequalities, algebraic properties, percent problems, fractions, and many other categories. As you answer questions you can earn credits to play little mini-games as a reward. Students love to compete against each other in the mini-games to see who can score the most points. A lot of the topics feature technology enhanced topics such as plotting the inequality, shading, and determining an open or closed point. Another technology enhanced topic involves picking two angles that meet a certain geometric definition. My students love using this app and enjoy the days we get on the iPad. Students are asked to complete so many questions correctly for credit for the day in class or take a "mini"-quiz on it then earn the credits. The app also features a variety of options, including a tag mode that allows the user to e-mail their tag score to a teacher or someone else. This app is currently free for download on the app store.
Numbler - This is a really neat app that works on the orders of
operations scrabble style. Working on number sense, this is an app to
try. Note there is still some orders of operation improvements needed for this app.
Math 7 and Math 8 -These games are made for that particular grade level in which your goal is to move a monkey as high as possible up the screen. As you move up the screen you earn more points. After so much time you must answer some math questions on some more basic middle school math, after answering correctly you are given more time to move your monkey higher up the screen. Simple, but effective!
My last App I am going to share tonight seems more like a fun app, but I am going to provide some uses with respect to geometry and mathematical observations.
LestTans Cls - This is a wonderful tangram app. Now tangrams in itself can help students recognize how perimeter can change even if the area doesn't. I challenge all of you teachers out there to do an activity where students investigate this concept by using the same shapes but build different objects. Afterwards students add up the perimeter (perhaps give measurements of all sides of each tile on the board). Afterwards you can have a discussion about their observations of area and perimeter!
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WileD Math - I designed this app intentionally for teachers to use in the classroom to motivate students to learn to answer questions correctly. The app covers 36 topics including algebra, geometry, graphing, inequalities, algebraic properties, percent problems, fractions, and many other categories. As you answer questions you can earn credits to play little mini-games as a reward. Students love to compete against each other in the mini-games to see who can score the most points. A lot of the topics feature technology enhanced topics such as plotting the inequality, shading, and determining an open or closed point. Another technology enhanced topic involves picking two angles that meet a certain geometric definition. My students love using this app and enjoy the days we get on the iPad. Students are asked to complete so many questions correctly for credit for the day in class or take a "mini"-quiz on it then earn the credits. The app also features a variety of options, including a tag mode that allows the user to e-mail their tag score to a teacher or someone else. This app is currently free for download on the app store.
Numbler - This is a really neat app that works on the orders of
operations scrabble style. Working on number sense, this is an app to
try. Note there is still some orders of operation improvements needed for this app.Math 7 and Math 8 -These games are made for that particular grade level in which your goal is to move a monkey as high as possible up the screen. As you move up the screen you earn more points. After so much time you must answer some math questions on some more basic middle school math, after answering correctly you are given more time to move your monkey higher up the screen. Simple, but effective!
My last App I am going to share tonight seems more like a fun app, but I am going to provide some uses with respect to geometry and mathematical observations.
LestTans Cls - This is a wonderful tangram app. Now tangrams in itself can help students recognize how perimeter can change even if the area doesn't. I challenge all of you teachers out there to do an activity where students investigate this concept by using the same shapes but build different objects. Afterwards students add up the perimeter (perhaps give measurements of all sides of each tile on the board). Afterwards you can have a discussion about their observations of area and perimeter!
 | ||
| With Tangrams, the objects you can make are endless! |
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Saturday, April 13, 2013
iPad Math Apps - Elementary
Looking for some top notch math apps for elementary schools? Today we will be taking a look at some apps that are free and some that are worth the money.
1) Math Grade 1-4: kids practice fun - trainer for elementary school. This app provides a lot of wonderful visuals when practicing your operations of multiple digits. There are a variety of math problems included in this app including money arithmetic, reading and interpreting time, as well as fun mini-games that you can play. The mini-games are earned after working out so many problems and are considered a fun reward. This app is free to download, but the in-app purchases allow you to buy what grade levels you would like to use, so if you are using it for only one grade level, you can pick and choose what math to buy.
2) Math Adventure with Fast Facts: This app is currently free (for a limited time) and provides some entertaining ways to practice your math operations. There are multiple levels to choose from and a parent mode that is to provide some wonderful bonding with your child as you can compete together. This app also has in-app purchases which opens up various levels of the math facts for $1.99 each.
3) The Motion Math Series: I absolutely love the motion math series. This series provides a free version and then a version you can pay for that unlocks everything.
Motion math has the following games available.
a) Hungry Fish - Feed the fish by putting number bubbles together to get to the number the fish wants to eat. As you feed the fish, it will get bigger until it is so big that the game is over and you move to the next level. If you don't feed it fast enough, the fish will shrink and shrivel out of existence.
b) Zoom - This is an extremely interactive way to use the number line. I love it for my students as well, because it really requires students to understand how numbers are lined up in order. As you zoom in and out, various animals are between the numbers, the more you zoom in the more the animals are naturally smaller to get you the idea you zoomed in. As you progress in levels you start with integers and can eventually move into more challenges such as decimals and negative numbers. Filling in the number line has never been so much fun!
c) Wings - Wings is an expansion on one main operation, multiplication. I abosultely enjoyed using this as it provides not just one way, but multiple visuals to multiply numbers together. I feel this app would have a lot of potential in showing students why we can multiple, how grouping works. As you answer questions you can earn feathers to customize your bird's wings. The different visuals of multiplication that this app provides are: rows of dots, clusters of dots, groups of dots, a grid, a labelled grid, and through the use of symbols.
As a middle school teacher, I really appreciate apps that help students understand what a fraction represents. To this day, I feel most students are afraid of fractions and try to put everything to a decimal. Well, when teaching various degrees of math such as slope, a decimal would be a lot harder to work with than a fraction, so I always look for apps to help students relate better with fractions.
4) Pizza Fractions: Beginning with Simple Fractions - is a wonderful way to start. The idea of the app is that you have only so much of a pizza left and you have to count how many slices are there out of how many slices were originally there. After completing a round you are given an overall score which is based off of how long it took to answer the questions as well as how accurate you were.
5) Fraction Math - is an app that allows students to practice each step of the problem until you get the correct answer. This is a wonderful idea, because it holds students accountable for showing all of the steps along the way for the problem.
6) Motion Math HD - Fractions!: This is another one of motion maths great apps that involve fractions. This app for $2.99 has students placing fractions on various parts of a number line...what an amazing application to fractions and have number sense. Students see shapes falling to the ground and need to put the shape in close proximity to where the fraction would belong. There are a variety of levels and difficulties to challenge even the top students. Some levels require you to determine if a fraction is less than, equal, or more than another fraction!
As always, we will continue to provide you more apps for math in the coming days, our next post will feature math apps for the middle school, then for the high school. Want some apps for your subject? Post a comment and perhaps your request will be the next series of posts!
Stay Effective!
1) Math Grade 1-4: kids practice fun - trainer for elementary school. This app provides a lot of wonderful visuals when practicing your operations of multiple digits. There are a variety of math problems included in this app including money arithmetic, reading and interpreting time, as well as fun mini-games that you can play. The mini-games are earned after working out so many problems and are considered a fun reward. This app is free to download, but the in-app purchases allow you to buy what grade levels you would like to use, so if you are using it for only one grade level, you can pick and choose what math to buy.
2) Math Adventure with Fast Facts: This app is currently free (for a limited time) and provides some entertaining ways to practice your math operations. There are multiple levels to choose from and a parent mode that is to provide some wonderful bonding with your child as you can compete together. This app also has in-app purchases which opens up various levels of the math facts for $1.99 each.
3) The Motion Math Series: I absolutely love the motion math series. This series provides a free version and then a version you can pay for that unlocks everything. Motion math has the following games available.
a) Hungry Fish - Feed the fish by putting number bubbles together to get to the number the fish wants to eat. As you feed the fish, it will get bigger until it is so big that the game is over and you move to the next level. If you don't feed it fast enough, the fish will shrink and shrivel out of existence.
b) Zoom - This is an extremely interactive way to use the number line. I love it for my students as well, because it really requires students to understand how numbers are lined up in order. As you zoom in and out, various animals are between the numbers, the more you zoom in the more the animals are naturally smaller to get you the idea you zoomed in. As you progress in levels you start with integers and can eventually move into more challenges such as decimals and negative numbers. Filling in the number line has never been so much fun!c) Wings - Wings is an expansion on one main operation, multiplication. I abosultely enjoyed using this as it provides not just one way, but multiple visuals to multiply numbers together. I feel this app would have a lot of potential in showing students why we can multiple, how grouping works. As you answer questions you can earn feathers to customize your bird's wings. The different visuals of multiplication that this app provides are: rows of dots, clusters of dots, groups of dots, a grid, a labelled grid, and through the use of symbols.
As a middle school teacher, I really appreciate apps that help students understand what a fraction represents. To this day, I feel most students are afraid of fractions and try to put everything to a decimal. Well, when teaching various degrees of math such as slope, a decimal would be a lot harder to work with than a fraction, so I always look for apps to help students relate better with fractions.
4) Pizza Fractions: Beginning with Simple Fractions - is a wonderful way to start. The idea of the app is that you have only so much of a pizza left and you have to count how many slices are there out of how many slices were originally there. After completing a round you are given an overall score which is based off of how long it took to answer the questions as well as how accurate you were.5) Fraction Math - is an app that allows students to practice each step of the problem until you get the correct answer. This is a wonderful idea, because it holds students accountable for showing all of the steps along the way for the problem.
As always, we will continue to provide you more apps for math in the coming days, our next post will feature math apps for the middle school, then for the high school. Want some apps for your subject? Post a comment and perhaps your request will be the next series of posts!
Stay Effective!
Friday, April 12, 2013
iPad Math Apps - Math Operations
I sometimes get overwhelmed when it comes to finding math apps, there are a lot of apps out there, but I can never find what I am looking for. What makes a math app usable? What are cheap options that students will enjoy?
Typically when it comes to looking for a math app, you either want an app that covers one topic extremely well or an app that covers multiple topics that students can practice and work on.
We will be spending the next few posts discussing various types of math apps that are available for all grade levels. If you want your subject to be next, post a comment below and I will be sure to include your subject next.
I have more math apps downloaded than anything else. Every time I see a math app that has gone free, I must download it! Here is a list of some of my most used apps, along with the specifics of each app.
Basic Operations
Hungry Fish - Basic operations math app that can challenge even the best of the adults. Combine number bubbles together and feed the fish the correct numbers, but be careful if you put bubbles together and the number is to big then you lose those bubbles. As you feed the fish it slowly gets bigger, but over time begins to shrink out of existence.
Math v Zombies - what is better than shooting zombies? Well shooting zombies and instead of killing them, they turn back into humans! In order to transform the zombies back into humans you must answer math questions before the zombies catch up to you.
WileD MathFacts - A simple idea of popping bubbles as they drop. The levels get progressively harder as students show mastery of the operations they are currently working on. Add negatives, remove the game timer, and compete for the high score. There is a lot you can do with this app.
Math Zoom - Great for number line practice. Zoom in and out of a number line and place the numbers in the correct spots, additional challenges are available as you unlock levels.
Card Clutter - An app designed to help students determine ordering in numbers. You are given 10 cards and tap them in the order from least to greatest. Simple and effective!
Stay tuned, follow this blog or sign-up to receive these posts via e-mail! The next series of posts will cover apps appropriate for elementary, middle, and high school as well as the topics they cover in mathematics!
Stay Effective!
Typically when it comes to looking for a math app, you either want an app that covers one topic extremely well or an app that covers multiple topics that students can practice and work on.
We will be spending the next few posts discussing various types of math apps that are available for all grade levels. If you want your subject to be next, post a comment below and I will be sure to include your subject next.
I have more math apps downloaded than anything else. Every time I see a math app that has gone free, I must download it! Here is a list of some of my most used apps, along with the specifics of each app.
Basic Operations
Hungry Fish - Basic operations math app that can challenge even the best of the adults. Combine number bubbles together and feed the fish the correct numbers, but be careful if you put bubbles together and the number is to big then you lose those bubbles. As you feed the fish it slowly gets bigger, but over time begins to shrink out of existence.
Math v Zombies - what is better than shooting zombies? Well shooting zombies and instead of killing them, they turn back into humans! In order to transform the zombies back into humans you must answer math questions before the zombies catch up to you.
Math Zoom - Great for number line practice. Zoom in and out of a number line and place the numbers in the correct spots, additional challenges are available as you unlock levels.
Card Clutter - An app designed to help students determine ordering in numbers. You are given 10 cards and tap them in the order from least to greatest. Simple and effective!
Stay tuned, follow this blog or sign-up to receive these posts via e-mail! The next series of posts will cover apps appropriate for elementary, middle, and high school as well as the topics they cover in mathematics!
Stay Effective!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
The Clicker Games
In our previous posts, we have discussed using clickers for the educational stand point of effective data and how to appropriately use our clickers to engage students through formal assessments.
Let's not take a look at some ideas of how we can incorporate clickers into lessons, reviews, and games.
For English/Writing
Ideas modified from games I enjoy. This one is similar to apples to apples, but somewhat in reverse. Have on the board the ability to select Option 1 through Option (however many groups you want) + 1.
Call out a word that the students do not know and each group is responsible for writing a definition for that word similar to how a dictionary would write it. The teacher at this time also writes on a card the correct definition. The teacher then reads all the definitions in an order and each individual student chooses which definition (based on the options) is the best one. Students choosing the correct one can score a point and to promote higher thinking, students that's option was selected most also earns a point.
Most Subjects
At the summer camp I work at during summers, we also introduced our staff using two truths and a lie, where you share two things that are true and one that is a lie and the group has to try to guess what the lie is. Clicker version means that you give each student a question and they are responsible for writing things about that topic or question where 2 of them are true and 1 is false. You can then read them out loud and students will choose 1, 2, or 3 as the lie. In math I can see this useful with properties of shapes such as angles, congruent sides and so on.
Review Game
Ever watch the show 1 vs 100? Basically, a question is asked, the crowd answers it and if the one person can't answer the question then the crowd wins the money. In this version you can have one lucky student answer the questions in the front of the room like a game show host, then the crowd could answer then the one person answers. Winners earn whatever prize you might have.
Every watch who wants to be a millionaire? Well you can do the same idea similar to 1 vs 100 except that the objective as a whole is to get to the million dollar question, so when asking the crowd the students want to help as much as possible.
In the end, there are a lot of options out there when it comes to clickers and activities you can do with them. Clickers are great for getting quick data on where your students are at or if a lesson worked the way it was planned. Clickers are naturally engaging and provide a sort of "reset" when changing the pace of the class. If you have not yet used these great devices, I encourage all to give them a try.
Yes, if requires a bit of work to set up and get the slides working properly, but if you make them well enough, making the slides could be a simple 1 time thing.
Stay Effective!
Let's not take a look at some ideas of how we can incorporate clickers into lessons, reviews, and games.
For English/Writing
Call out a word that the students do not know and each group is responsible for writing a definition for that word similar to how a dictionary would write it. The teacher at this time also writes on a card the correct definition. The teacher then reads all the definitions in an order and each individual student chooses which definition (based on the options) is the best one. Students choosing the correct one can score a point and to promote higher thinking, students that's option was selected most also earns a point.
Most Subjects
At the summer camp I work at during summers, we also introduced our staff using two truths and a lie, where you share two things that are true and one that is a lie and the group has to try to guess what the lie is. Clicker version means that you give each student a question and they are responsible for writing things about that topic or question where 2 of them are true and 1 is false. You can then read them out loud and students will choose 1, 2, or 3 as the lie. In math I can see this useful with properties of shapes such as angles, congruent sides and so on.
Review Game
Every watch who wants to be a millionaire? Well you can do the same idea similar to 1 vs 100 except that the objective as a whole is to get to the million dollar question, so when asking the crowd the students want to help as much as possible.
In the end, there are a lot of options out there when it comes to clickers and activities you can do with them. Clickers are great for getting quick data on where your students are at or if a lesson worked the way it was planned. Clickers are naturally engaging and provide a sort of "reset" when changing the pace of the class. If you have not yet used these great devices, I encourage all to give them a try.
Yes, if requires a bit of work to set up and get the slides working properly, but if you make them well enough, making the slides could be a simple 1 time thing.
Stay Effective!
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Using Clickers to Assess Performance
I'm not sure about everyone's school, but it seems to me that a lot of schools are pushing for data. Data to show you are an effective teacher, that your students are growing a minimum years growth. How in the world are you suppose to do that?
Well...clickers can be part of the solution. I use my clickers for a lot of different activities, but one thing use them for is to show student growth. Before every chapter I give a 9-12 question pre-test with multiple choice answers. After the chapter, I give the students the same test (answers are moved around), but as a post-test. I can then show growth through percent of change or the student growth index. To see how to calculate these things, please view the bottom of this post.
By asking the same questions, I can record loads of data, such as overall scores, where do my special ed, English language learners compare, as well as any other group breakdown that I want to take the time to do. Not only do I see the class growth as a whole as we go along the chapter, but I also see individual data after the clicker test. My students take the post-test with clickers a day before the chapter test. Afterwards, my students have an assignment to work on, such as a study guide, in which during this time, I call students up one at a time, go through their results and discuss what they should do this evening to prepare for the test. This provides an amazing differentiation opportunity, as well as gives me this really neat one on one time with my students.
By all means, I am not a data hog, I believe there is a thing as to much data, but gathering data from time to time that can truly improve instruction is key and clickers provide a fun way for the students and an easy way for the teacher to get that key data required.
The bottom of this post are the equations to calculate various types of growth.
Percent of Change - Calculates the percent of growth from pre to post
(Post Score - Pre Score)/Pre Score...then multiply by 100 to get the percent.
Student Growth Index - Calculates the students potential growth, instead of actual growth
preGrowth = Total Points on Test - Pre Score
postGrowth = Total Points on Test - Post Score
(Post Growth - PreGrowth)/Pre Growth...then multiply by 100 to get the percent.
Stay Effective!
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| The receiver in my room |
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| Types of clickers used in the classroom |
By all means, I am not a data hog, I believe there is a thing as to much data, but gathering data from time to time that can truly improve instruction is key and clickers provide a fun way for the students and an easy way for the teacher to get that key data required.
The bottom of this post are the equations to calculate various types of growth.
Percent of Change - Calculates the percent of growth from pre to post
(Post Score - Pre Score)/Pre Score...then multiply by 100 to get the percent.
Student Growth Index - Calculates the students potential growth, instead of actual growth
preGrowth = Total Points on Test - Pre Score
postGrowth = Total Points on Test - Post Score
(Post Growth - PreGrowth)/Pre Growth...then multiply by 100 to get the percent.
Stay Effective!
Clickers in the Classroom
Today we are going to be taking a closer look at clickers in the classroom. There are a lot of types of clickers out there and we will go into the details of types of clickers at a later time, but right now I want to focus on the effectiveness of these great devices.
First off, clickers are a simple idea that provides many wonderful opportunities in the classroom. Clickers are designed to give the teacher (and students) instant feedback on his or her understanding of the topic(s). It is an amazing tool because students love being able to point and click to the receiver in the room and love to see if they are doing the problems correctly or know the information.
Clickers can be used for a lot of different ideas. Here are a list of the few main concepts for clickers.
1) A pre and post test that can be done in 10-15 minutes of class to see what students may already know before starting a unit and then be able to see the students' growth from the post clicker test. A bonus is that students don't feel that it is a test and will relax and really show you what they know!
2) Teaching a new topic? Why not incorporate your notes onto a powerpoint or other slideshow that works with the clickers, teach a concept and then have the students use the clickers after a new topic was taught to see if they are understanding. Perhaps provide an award idea that if you maintain an 80% over so many checks that they can earn a ticket towards the iPad time (See the 1 iPad Classroom Series).
3) Use for a review game...how great could it be for ask the audience?
I started using clickers as a way to engage my students longer on math problems. I teach for 90 minutes, middle schoolers and 90 minutes is a long time! When we bring out the clickers, it is like an amazing reset on class, where the students are refreshed and ready to do more problems even though 2 minutes ago they were burnt out.
I run a Funday Friday idea, where we review a previous topic and students receiving above an 80% are considered proficient on that topic and earn some time in our technology room, which features iPads and computers. Students not at that proficient mark work on a mini-lesson with myself that reflects the topic used with the clickers. It is not seen as a punishment, just as a reward which is really neat to experience, plus some topics you can cut your class in half!
Our next blog will feature how to effectively use the data from clickers to assess your teaching abilities and student growth.
First off, clickers are a simple idea that provides many wonderful opportunities in the classroom. Clickers are designed to give the teacher (and students) instant feedback on his or her understanding of the topic(s). It is an amazing tool because students love being able to point and click to the receiver in the room and love to see if they are doing the problems correctly or know the information.
Clickers can be used for a lot of different ideas. Here are a list of the few main concepts for clickers.
1) A pre and post test that can be done in 10-15 minutes of class to see what students may already know before starting a unit and then be able to see the students' growth from the post clicker test. A bonus is that students don't feel that it is a test and will relax and really show you what they know!
2) Teaching a new topic? Why not incorporate your notes onto a powerpoint or other slideshow that works with the clickers, teach a concept and then have the students use the clickers after a new topic was taught to see if they are understanding. Perhaps provide an award idea that if you maintain an 80% over so many checks that they can earn a ticket towards the iPad time (See the 1 iPad Classroom Series).
3) Use for a review game...how great could it be for ask the audience?
I started using clickers as a way to engage my students longer on math problems. I teach for 90 minutes, middle schoolers and 90 minutes is a long time! When we bring out the clickers, it is like an amazing reset on class, where the students are refreshed and ready to do more problems even though 2 minutes ago they were burnt out.
I run a Funday Friday idea, where we review a previous topic and students receiving above an 80% are considered proficient on that topic and earn some time in our technology room, which features iPads and computers. Students not at that proficient mark work on a mini-lesson with myself that reflects the topic used with the clickers. It is not seen as a punishment, just as a reward which is really neat to experience, plus some topics you can cut your class in half!
Our next blog will feature how to effectively use the data from clickers to assess your teaching abilities and student growth.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The 1 iPad Classroom - Holding Students Accountable
My iPad is nearly used for everything now day. I order from Amazon, I check my e-mails, I connect to facebook. This is my convenience technology and I would hate having to enter in my login material every single time, because most importantly my iPad is an effective tool I use in the classroom.
Well there is an amazing solution to hold students accountable and keep them on the app you want them to be on, while leaving your personal apps safe. Apple has always made their products with features intended to be used in the classroom. One of the latest IOS updates in IOS 6 features a brand new teacher tool called "Guided Access".
We will first discuss what Guided Access is and then give you directions to set this tool up on your iPad. In short, guided access prevents a person from leaving whatever app is currently running. This means hitting home does nothing and multi-finger gestures are disabled. When you enable guided access, you simply have to triple click home and select guided access. You will already have a 4 digit code enter and only need to hit start, by hitting start the student is now restricted to that sole app. You can also disable touch capabilities and/or motion capabilities.
Now Apple has gone a step farther, suppose you have this great educational app, but not only does it have the material you want the student to go through now, but it also has very basic. In math, perhaps I want a student to work on algebra, but the app also has a choice on basic math facts such as 1+1. Well I can draw a circle over the area I do not want the students to use and a shield is drawn on top of that part of the app, thus preventing the student from doing anything other than what I want them to do. What an amazing feature to provide so much accountable and security for teachers that use their own iPad in the classroom.
To start using this feature follow these simple instructions:
1) Go to settings
2) General
3) Accessibility
4) Tap the Guided Access, enter a passcode and it is now enabled!
To use Guided Access follow these intructions:
1) Go to the app you want the student to use
2) Triple click home
3) Choose guided access
4) Circle anything on the app you also want to disable
5) Hit start
To exit Guided Access follow these instructions:
1) Triple click home
2) Enter your 4-digit passcode
3) Hit end.
More on Guided Access
Well there is an amazing solution to hold students accountable and keep them on the app you want them to be on, while leaving your personal apps safe. Apple has always made their products with features intended to be used in the classroom. One of the latest IOS updates in IOS 6 features a brand new teacher tool called "Guided Access".
We will first discuss what Guided Access is and then give you directions to set this tool up on your iPad. In short, guided access prevents a person from leaving whatever app is currently running. This means hitting home does nothing and multi-finger gestures are disabled. When you enable guided access, you simply have to triple click home and select guided access. You will already have a 4 digit code enter and only need to hit start, by hitting start the student is now restricted to that sole app. You can also disable touch capabilities and/or motion capabilities.
 |
| Using a calculator on the iPad, you can disable the extras |
To start using this feature follow these simple instructions:
1) Go to settings
2) General
3) Accessibility
4) Tap the Guided Access, enter a passcode and it is now enabled!
To use Guided Access follow these intructions:
1) Go to the app you want the student to use
2) Triple click home
3) Choose guided access
4) Circle anything on the app you also want to disable
5) Hit start
To exit Guided Access follow these instructions:
1) Triple click home
2) Enter your 4-digit passcode
3) Hit end.
More on Guided Access
Monday, April 8, 2013
The 1 iPad Classroom - Using in a full classroom
I currently teach about 20 - 23 students for each class. Everyday that I teach, I bring my iPad and always find ways to use it in the classroom.
My number 1 is the use of an app called SplashTop Whiteboard. Basically you can sync your iPad to your computer and then annotate on anything that your computer screen can show. This allows for some neat effects such as I can be anywhere in the building and get on my computer; for meetings, if I am making copies and forget to print something off, I can print without going back to my room, I can stand anywhere in my room and continue working on the board, students find it interesting to write on the iPad and have it show up on the board. I find that opportunities to write on the iPad is a strong motivator for students to want to perform objectives in class.
What about allowing students to use the iPads. Well there are several ways to go about this. Often in a class I will have one student surpass the others. A way to challenge those students more is by giving them my iPad and allowing them to figure things out on their own. As a math teacher, I have my students use the WileD Math app. The really neat part about this app is that it fits perfectly with 8th grade curriculum, as well as most middle school and high school math. As I am working with other students, my excelling student can continue to excel by trial and error with other topics we have not covered yet. I have a very particular student demonstrate high success in geometry, that when she finished her geometry work, she moved onto graphing on the WileD Math app. Although she struggled in the beginning, she has successfully taught herself how to graph using slope-intercept form. As she is an entire chapter ahead of the rest of my class, I view the opportunities I gave her as a perfect example of effective technology use. My students are entering the graphing portion of math now and I have some neat plans to have this student help other students be more successful.
"That is all fine and dandy, but I want to make sure all my students earn opportunities to work on the iPad."...I couldn't agree more!
a) Why not use the iPad as a positive reward system. See a student helping another student, have only a few students staying on task the entire time, give an assignment and only a few turn it in...why not make a little pass that students can use to earn some iPad time after an assignment is completed.
b) Group work can be an effective teaching strategy for projects and other concepts. Why not group the students into small groups and the end requirement is to record a video using the iPad. Give a few days to work on the project then on the last day, provide time slots for students to get the iPad and record their presentation. This way you can preview the videos ahead of time, edit them as needed (or even better teach the students how to), and then play them in class the same or following day.
c) Often in class I will reference a famous building and then at the end of the class we have a problem that connects it to the famous building (Such as the leaning tower of Pisa). What could be better than using Google maps to truly show the students the lean on the tower. Perhaps take a measuring devices and do a measuring problem. Pictures of real objects provide great opportunities for proportion problems.
d) Set-up stations around the room and have one of the stations be an exploring activity using the iPads. Give a website that shows a video, use Khan Academy to teach the topic over again, have students use a manipulative website to demonstrate a skill or topic previous or will be covered.
e) Lastly, ever hear of QR codes? Basically think of them as a better bar-code. Instead of being solely 1-dimensional, QR codes are 2-dimensional which opens the doors to a lot of use. QR codes can be scanned to take you to a website (ever want to use a website for students to use that had over 100 random letters and numbers in it?). QR codes can also be used to send a text message and nearly anything else where a device is connect to the internet. I always have a QR Code Webquest available for students who could use additional motivation to learn. When teaching Pythagorean theorem, I made a QR code that when scanned took you to the video of football players intercepting and tackling each other where at the end the players talked about the math behind intercepting a player and tied it to Pythagorean Theorem. There are a lot of QR Scanner apps out there, the one I primarily use is i-nigma.
Making your own QR code is easy, check out this user friendly site and get QR coding today!
Want to practice your new app, i-nigma? Scan this QR code now!
My number 1 is the use of an app called SplashTop Whiteboard. Basically you can sync your iPad to your computer and then annotate on anything that your computer screen can show. This allows for some neat effects such as I can be anywhere in the building and get on my computer; for meetings, if I am making copies and forget to print something off, I can print without going back to my room, I can stand anywhere in my room and continue working on the board, students find it interesting to write on the iPad and have it show up on the board. I find that opportunities to write on the iPad is a strong motivator for students to want to perform objectives in class.
"That is all fine and dandy, but I want to make sure all my students earn opportunities to work on the iPad."...I couldn't agree more!
To ensure all students have opportunities to use the iPad; here are 5 ideas that you can pick and choose to use when you deem appropriate.
a) Why not use the iPad as a positive reward system. See a student helping another student, have only a few students staying on task the entire time, give an assignment and only a few turn it in...why not make a little pass that students can use to earn some iPad time after an assignment is completed.
b) Group work can be an effective teaching strategy for projects and other concepts. Why not group the students into small groups and the end requirement is to record a video using the iPad. Give a few days to work on the project then on the last day, provide time slots for students to get the iPad and record their presentation. This way you can preview the videos ahead of time, edit them as needed (or even better teach the students how to), and then play them in class the same or following day.
d) Set-up stations around the room and have one of the stations be an exploring activity using the iPads. Give a website that shows a video, use Khan Academy to teach the topic over again, have students use a manipulative website to demonstrate a skill or topic previous or will be covered.
Making your own QR code is easy, check out this user friendly site and get QR coding today!
Want to practice your new app, i-nigma? Scan this QR code now!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
The 1 iPad Classroom (Introduction)
I use my iPad in and out of my classroom on a daily basis. Whether it is going over notes, engaging students, motivating students, or writing my own apps for students to use. Many teachers have asked for my help in using their iPad more effectively in the classroom.After sharing how I use my iPad, I usually end up showing teachers how to sync your iPad to your computer and teach from it. After helping multiple teachers in my district, I have found myself looking for more ways to effectively use a single iPad in the classroom. This first series of the blog will be covering the following questions.
1) How do I keep it fair when sharing with 20-30 students
2) Are there activities that partners or groups can use an iPad?
3) How do I know students will do what is expected (holding students accountable)?
4) How can I use the iPad to motivate student learning and growth?
4) How can I use the iPad to motivate student learning and growth?
5) I have my personal e-mail set-up on my iPad, how can I make sure the students don't get into my personal account?
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