Math and Technology

Math and Technology

Brilliant! The video below is worth the watch. It is an oldie but a goodie. This video talks about different new methods we can use to teach math and many involving technologies to really engage our students.  

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html?source=email#.

This teacher reminds me of an amazing college professor that took the time to break down the Computer Math course which I thought I was going to fail. Math has never been an area of strength  for me because a part of my learning disability is in the processing and  understanding abstract concepts. With his help, I went from getting 50-60 in high school math to achieving  70% in her college Computer Math courses.

Video here:

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For many years in the world of assistive technology and educational technology  there wasn't a lot of technology other than a calculator and a few other programs to support struggling students . But now there are a lot of options!!

. Here are my top 10 t technologies available to support students that struggle with math. I'm going to go over a few different systems and devices but I will try to hit on ones that are available on all types of platforms:

1. OneNote:

OneNote is an amazing program that acts like a virtual notebook with so many amazing features. Students can record math notes through their typical typing but can also record audio and video. If you have a touchscreen device with OneNote, you can use the ink to text feature to write out your text with your finger or stylus and then convert it into typed text. It has many shortcuts, such asbeing able to type out math problems and hit the space key for answers (example: 1+1=). . OneNote is available on all platforms and devices, follow the link below to find out more information on the platform you are interested in:

https://www.onenote.com/

2. Your Math Teacher App:

This Is a great app that is full of lessons for various apects of math subjects. It is easy to use and available on iPads and Android devices. On Android devices, specific lessons cost Around $7-9.

iPad: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/math./id469234810?mt=8

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=YourTeacher.com&hl=en

3. Cool Math Games Website : A lot of educators know about this website but for those of you that don't please check it out. Cool math games website is an awesome site full of math games. Students love them and it's a great way for them to practice math. These can also be used as a brain break or reward.

http://www.coolmath-games.com/

4. Meteor Math (around $2.29 on iPad):

Meteor Math is an app available for iPads and iPhones. It is very engaging and great for Primary and Junior students that are learning about multiplication, addition,  subtraction and division. A math problem willll come up and then you have to explode the meteor with the right answer. Here is more info on Meteor Math for the iOS devices: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/meteor-math

For those of you that don’t have an iOS device, here is an online Meteor Math game for multiplication:

http://www.mathplayground.com/ASB_MeteorMultiplication.html

5. Prodigy Math Game:

Prodigy is a popular tool in Ontario.  It is an amazing math game with levels and different tasks to get kids practicing their math.  A majority of students I have worked with love Prodigy Math and some are even a little obsessed (haha!!). Prodigy Math is available on all platforms, for more info: https://www.prodigygame.com/

6. Math paper lite app (full version is $16.99 on iPad**):

The Math paper  app can be very helpful for students that rely fully on their iPad to do written output. Thare a many built-in features, even with the free version to help with your written output like fractions, formulas, chart paper, etc. https://goo.gl/Hc5fcv

7. Livescribe:

The Livescribe is an amazing device that allows students to use the Livescribe pen to write notes and also record audio along with your written work  so that you can have both played backibe player. Livescribe Initial setup needs to be done on a PC or Mac computer but then all the future notes that you take with the Livescribe pen can be synced on many Cloud systems (Example:  Evernote, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc).

More info here: http://www.livescribe.com/en-ca/smartpen/

8. Base Ten Blocks app:

Base Ten Is a great hands-on app using  manipulatives for figuring out math problems and learning how to count. It is only available on iPads, go to the link here to check it out:

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/base-ten-blocks-math/id878351349?mt=8

Here for non iPad user, a free online Ten Base website: http://www.abcya.com/base_ten_fun.htm

9. Show Me App (iPad):

Show me is a great Whiteboard app that allows you to draw and record what you are doing. Here is more info: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/showme-interactive-whiteboard/id445066279?mt=8

For Android users, Explain Anything is a very similar Whiteboard app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.explaineverything.explaineverything

10. Fun Brain:

Fun Brain is a great math website full of  fun arcade games. There are various math game topics from fractions, multiplication, counting, etc. Here is the site: http://www.funbrain.com/brain/MathBrain/MathBrain.html

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Written by: Casey Foote

http://www.learnstyle.com/team/casey-foote/

Engaging the Bored Learner and Students with Unique Learning Needs Prt 2

Engaging the Bored Learner and Students with Unique Learning Needs

Do some of your students seem bored or unengaged while you are teaching or going over lesson content? Are any of your students resistant to completing the assignment or doing the work that is assigned?  Maybe some of your students are falling asleep while you are teaching. here are some ideas on how to engage your students and especially meet some of their unique learning needs. This could bring you towards this success of bringing the students back into learning and mastering the skills they need.

In Part 1 of this blog I looked at what could be the cause of the behaviour for students being unengaged, different technology and assistive technology that could be implemented. In Part 2, I will focus on ways to use Social Media, gamification assessment and digital presentations.

• Social Media

So many students are on Social Media. Social Media can have very mixed reviews and I know some schools and school boards banned the use of Social Media. However,But when children understanding how to properly use Social Media, it can be empowering whileand ensuringe their safety online.

Some ideas on how to engage students with Social Media:

• You could find an education chat on Twitter related to a lesson you're teaching

• Create a forum group. Google, O365, and many more options. Creating a forum maybe a quicker way to engage with your students opposed to multiple emails.  

• Videos, images or content from Social Media. Use popular figures in Social Media or online content. Some examples are:

• Doug the Pug: Doug the pug is too cute and funny. As long as you vent through, he only has maybe 1 or 2 inappropriate posts. He has constant content going up, so you could easily find something to use. Doug the pug could be used as more of an attention grabber to get your students attention and then make it easier for them to dive into the lesson.
• Kid President: is very inspirationally with a dash of funny. There are some great inspirational and challenge videos on his youtube challenge.
• Memes and Giphys: Memes and Giphys are super popular. Check out Giphy site for searchable and 1000s of different gifs to choose from.

Famous Social Media Figures that Learn Differently:

• Jessica from How to ADHD: Jessica makes amazing content. Both inspirational and some great strategies to use for students with ADHD.
• Joey Graceffa: Joey Graceffa is a very famous youtuber. He even has a video where he talks about his journey through school and his learning disability. His DIY videos maybe great for art or hands-on activities in your class.

Here are some other lists of great educational Social Media pages to follow:

https://www.gaggle.net/speaks/top-10-facebook-pages-for-educators/

http://blog.whooosreading.org/10-must-follow-social-media-accounts-for-teachers/

http://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/33-education-twitter-accounts-you-should-be-following/

• Game Assessment

There are many ways that you can use games to assess knowledge of your class. You could also mold this in many ways and embed new lesson content within the assessment, . Oor even present a lesson through games.

Here are some awesome game assessment options:

-kahoot https://kahoot.com

-Plicker https://www.plickers.com/

-Smart Notebook interactive games http://exchange.smarttech.com/search.html?q=%22interactive%20games%22

-Edpuzzle https://edpuzzle.com/

• Digital presentations

Digital presentations can take your lessons to the next level. It can take great educational content and bring it into the 21st century. There are so many different features to engage students in a variety of ways.  

Prezi: is like a slide show on steroids! It is fun and super visual. For your own lesson and even students love making Prezis.

https://prezi.com/business/

Sway: takes all the great features of Powerpoint and reinvents them with visuals, flow of slides and so many other tools.

https://sway.com/

Video overview of Sway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcg6DGO9hpI&list=PLXPr7gfUMmKyE22-YpbgcDfr2SXEO7-qX&index=1

Powerpoint Office Mix: Office Mix is an add-on for Powerpoint that gives you the power to make amazing interactive video Powerpoints.

https://mix.office.com/en-us/Home  

Written by:

Casey Foote

http://www.learnstyle.com/team/casey-foote/