Response #5 21st Century Learning and Math
As a new owner of a classroom set of Ipads in a math classroom, I feel that the opportunities with technology are endless and almost overwhelming at times. I chose this webinar to gather ideas of how I can integrate technology into my math classroom and to pick and choose ones that I really wanted to focus on in the next year. With standardized assessments now being taken on the computer, I know that it is very important that I start to allow my students to practice their math in the same format in which they will receive those assessments. I believe that exposing the students to technology throughout their learning is the primary way that I can prepare them and set them up for success on those assessments.
One of the tools mentioned in the webinar was called mathsnacks.com. This was one of my favorites because it is directed and focused towards middle schoolers. In exploring the site, I found fun interactive videos and games that students could explore to better understand the meaning behind some of the 7th grade standards. There were also lessons to accompany the videos.
Another site that I enjoyed learning about from this webinar was "Interactivate." This site has a ton of tools related to math and science concepts and gathering data. Some examples include graphs, spinners, clocks, stopwatches, etc., that are all interactive and great practice items for working through a computer adaptive test like the SBAC. This would be a good link to have on my own classroom website and I want to explore it further to find tools that I could infuse into my own lessons. Another similar tool to this would be PHET interactive simulations which particularly stood out to me in the webinar because of the demonstration of a slope intercept form graphing tool! This pertains exactly to what I am teaching now. Some of these great technology pieces, I know, would contribute to more effective teaching on my part and increased students success!
The most important information that I gathered from this webinar were some of the awesome Ipad apps that I can now start to allow my students to use to better their learning. A few in particular that I will focus on in setting up my Ipad station are math graph, myscriptcalc, and number line. All of these apps are amazing tools that can help students further conceptualize numbers and patterns and make their learning more fun and exciting overall.
Hey Bella, after reading your post I checked out Mathsnacks.com and Interactive.com in greater detail and you are right, those are great sites. Using I-pad, we could use those sites within stations in the math class and Directed Studies class. They are a fun and interactive way to get more authentic practice time with content being taught in math.
ReplyDeleteI really like math graph. I used some form of it last year when students were learning slope-intercept form. I plan on using more apps like that next year when teaching Math 8 in hopes that students will learn on their own instead of me just telling them how to do something.
ReplyDeleteI really like math graph. I used some form of it last year when students were learning slope-intercept form. I plan on using more apps like that next year when teaching Math 8 in hopes that students will learn on their own instead of me just telling them how to do something.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to explore the sites your mentioned for the math classroom. I love the number line app idea since the first set of standards for seventh grade surround number sense. I agree with you that the more we can expose the students to technology, the more prepared they will be for the SBAC exams and EoC exams in high school. I also believe this would lower students' stress levels during testing, like a home court advantage.
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