Geogebra to Solidifying Mathematical Terms and Concepts

The Geogebra app provides a great experience for students to visually see how all concepts connect with one another. 

Explain Everything Enhances and Clarifies AP Stats Project

Last year, Mr. Martinson had AP students complete a project that required students to use every piece of knowledge that they acquired throughout the year.  While the projects were acceptable, for the most part students just lectured to the audience about the step by step process that was completed to meet the requirements.

This year, we decided students needed to include a guest speaker.  They could choose any person or character they wanted to help explain the complete process.  In addition, students were asked to smash the PicCollage app with Explain Everything in any way they could.  While all students loved adding the "guest speaker" students struggled with including the PicCollage in an effective way.  Maybe the PicCollage app wasn't the correct app to smash.  Next year, I would like to include ChatterPix as so many students use M & M or Skittles as their subjects and ChatterPix could be a great way to enhance creativity.  We also encouraged students to limit their video to two to three minutes.

Overall, the final products this year WERE simply outstanding.  Even if you don't know much about stats, you will walk away from watching a more educated person.





Impact On Students:
Creativity:  Students incorporated a "guest speaker" of their choice to enhance the production.
Critical Thinking: Having students attempt to smash an app (PicCollage + Explain Everythin) required students to think how the two apps can enhance the final product.

CPM Tech Resource Training Day

Our teachers use CPM and time was granted to them to investigate the technology resources.  Our teachers were granted three hours of instruction and investigation time, along with food, to become more efficient with the tools to better meet the needs of students and parents.

There are three parts to the technology resources.
Teacher Resources
Student eBook Resources
Assessment Resources

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AP Stats Review Utilizing GetKahoot!

We believe that GetKahoot is a great tool for AP review due to the time element.

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Math Discussion With Explain Everything Part 2

About a week ago, I shared Mrs. Heck's work flow for math discussion using the Explain Everything app. We implemented this workflow yesterday.

View The Results

Soak Time

Mr. Mihalski, a high school math teacher, shared with me his plan for one class period during this week.

Soak Time.

Allowing students to process, engage in conversation and questions, and to confirm their knowledge needs to take place.  Hear how Mr. Milhalski provides this opportunity for students!

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Math Discussion With Explain Everything

Explain Everything continues to be a "go to" app for "Showing What Students Know".  One of our Math 1 teachers, Mrs. Heck, will be using the work flow below so students can have a different method for demonstrating their knowledge.

I know it may seem like we use Explain Everything for a number of learning opportunities, but it truly provides audio, video, and annotating options for students to demonstrate what they know.  

Impact On Students:

Critical Thinking: Students must not only write the solutions to problems found on the math problems, but must verbally express how the "step-by-step" process worked to find the answer.  Thinking through these steps and providing detailed information will force students to "know their stuff".

Middle School Math Apps (Chicken Coop, Thinking Blocks) Installed Today

The following FREE math apps were installed on our seventh grade iPads today.  Below are some reflections of each math app.

Chicken Coop Fraction Estimation Game

• Be aware of the music.  Fortunately, there is a button that can mute the music.
• Three easy, three hard levels
• Proper Fractions, Proper Fractions of Numbers, Improper Fractions, Improper Fractions of Numbers
• Middle school students may find it humorous that the chickens raise their backsides an "pop" an egg out
• Chickens will "fire" an egg toward the correct answer
• Get the answer wrong and things will get messy
• The "hard" problems are challenging
• No method for pausing and calculating while still looking at the problem
• If a student does pause to work on the problem, the answer is given immediately upon "continuing" of the game.
• Can adjust "time per question", can create a "no time" game
• Can adjust "accuracy"

Thinking Blocks Fractions, Addition, Multiplication, Ratios

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• Word problem based
• Diagrams & labeling first, numbers added to the model next
• Can't proceed to next step without "checking" first
• Built in calculator 
• Writing on iPad capabilities
• Instructions for students (should they choose to read them)
• Checks along the way provide "new" mathematical manipulatives
• CONFUSING: Number pad to enter answer, "Calculator On" button to obtain calculator for work

Google Docs Math Equation Editor

Video Link

Another Great Video Resource

Classroom Spaces Mr. Mihalski

Yesterday, I helped Mr. Mihaski, high school mathematics teacher, created a slightly different classroom space.  He is allowing students to be the resource for discussion of problems in his class.  To facilitate this, he created a "station" in the classroom that has a document camera.  Students will be asked to explain their work while students add constructive conversation to the class. Mr. Mihalski will focus on questioning of the student as to why they completed a step in a math problem.  This will also place the emphasis on explanation by the student which will help with Common Core skills.

Explain Everything AP Statistics

Mr. Martinson, AP  stated, "Every student in here can do the math, it's the explanation of the data collection and the process that's being assessed."

That's where Explain Everything enters the classroom!  Students in AP Statistics provided a perfect canvas for students to describe the process of data collection and analysis.

Listen to students explain how they are using Explain Everything...


*The video contains the Explain Everything app prior to update.  We updated the app after class and students prior work transitioned to the updated version with no glitches!

After two and a half days of creation time, students will share the created videos to the teacher through the Google Drive exporting option in the Explain Everything app.

Examples of Final Student Productions!

VINE Explains StatSilk - Interactive Maps of Open Data

StatSilk was learned about through @rmbryne Free Tech For Teachers.  I immediately sent this to our high school social studies and stats teachers.
I also used VINE to create a six second video clip of the features of StatSilk.

Microsoft Equation Editor QUICK ACCESS Shortcut

To create a quick access link for Equation Editor follow the video tutorial below or read about the process.

TI-NSpire Software Implemented in High School Calculus

Mr. Bentz is fortunate to have students who are taking Calculus 2 in high school.  Because of this, he was able to get seven TI-NSpire calculators.  Along with this, he has the software which can be implemented with the SMARTboard.

View how Mr. Bentz talks about how the SMARTboard allows for students to interact with the EXACT tool that students can use on the AP exam.  While I have the iPad version of the TI-NSpire, the app IS NOT allowed on the AP test.

Explain Everything and Google Forms For Analyzing Exponential Functions

Many tools could have been used for analyzing, but our students have successfully used Explain Everything prior to this class period.  Using the tech tool over again was helpful because it allowed for the learning curve to be minimal.  This allowed students to focus on the data and the mathematics summarizing.

Ace Multiplier and Equivalent Fractions

Ace Multiplier and Equivalent Fractions were recently used in a seventh grade math class.  See how the apps work by listening to the students describe the apps functions.

Angry Birds and Skitch Apps In PreCalculus

Students will be using the Skitch App (other example 1 2 3) and Angry Birds Lite to find the solution.  Obviously, students will get to play Angry Birds prior to completing the activity.

Explain Everything For Connections In Algebra I Lab

Combined with our paper and pencil graphing results from a "bouncy ball lab", Explain Everything became the best tool for comparing and contrasting the connections between two events.  As educators we really saw how the students were forced to explain the graphs and the results from it.  There was no "hiding in their notebook", and students really enjoyed creating their results.

See how the students explained the experiment.

Today, students will record voices on each slide and upload/share it to their Google Drive.  They will also share it with their instructor.

Geometry Apps For iPad

A teacher recently asked what Geometry apps are available on the iPads.  I replied with this...

I have used Geometry Pad (free version), but not sure it fits your specific classroom needs.  Please read the description which sheds light on the details.  

If the free version doesn't have everything, the PAID version might.  There is also MathGraph for iPad and Geoboard.  While MathGraph may be useful, Geoboard seems somewhat limited.

 

Three Act Math

Today, Mr. Mihalski and Mrs. Gulan provided the challenge of a Three Act math problem.  In preparation for this, I filmed the actual activity and used Camtasia to place the (Dan Meyer) timer and video together.  The students used iPads to review, investigate, and discuss the problem at their own pace.  The great thing about this was that it was messy.  Questioning and not giving was the theme by the teachers so that the students did the work!  It also begins to give students (even though they don't know it) the skill of explaining mathematical reasoning which will be an important skill when the Common Core State Standards SMARTER balanced assessment takes place in the future.

Once the video was created, I presented it to the teachers in the format of an email.
Below are the directions that the math teachers and I developed.  The questions are anticipated questions that we thought the students might come up with.  The math teachers determined the math that transpired from the footage, while the technology integration specialist delivered the video for classroom use.

Act 1: Show this video Students may need a slow version

Act 2: Allow students think time...take on questions.

  Questions that may be asked. 

     1.  How many steps are there?

      1a. How are the steps to be numbered?  Where is zero?

      2.  Do both teachers start on the same step?

      3.  Is Mr. Mihalski taking two steps at a time?

      4.  Do we want to know the step or the time that they will meet?

      5.   Is Mr. Mihalski really wearing two different shoes?

This will be messy.  Avoid telling the students the answers.  However, it may require some input from you.

Act 3: Watch the answer.

*I realize the time in the videos is inaccurate.  While it will be changed for next time, it gave students a great opportunity to use their BYOD and retime the action.  

For the students to view the video footage, I created a classroom blog with the teacher.  This gave the teacher a digital presence on the web.  See the students in action: