My goal is to use this Blog to help move technology forward specifically for the high school math classroom. I have found that some of my best lessons have incorporated a variety of technology tools. The main issue that I have run into is TIME. It takes so much TIME to create one 45 minute lesson, and while that went awesome, now what am I teaching tomorrow...? AHH! That is why I hope that we as teachers share the awesome things that we are creating and then we don't all have to start from scratch!
My go-to resource for utilizing Chromebooks in the math classroom is Desmos and more importantly Desmos Activity Builder. Link. You can search for premade content by Desmos or other teachers and either use their activities or edit what is already created. Students then work through slides at their own pace and use manipulates, discover, answer questions, and even card sort (matching). As a teacher, I can sit back, put my feet up(ha I wish), and watch exactly what slides my students are on and what they are answering. You can anonymize and pause the activity to instruct students further to draw their attention to questions or fix some errors. So if you aren't familar with the classroom activity builder I highly encourage you to check it out!
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteYou experience with Desmos sounds a lot like why I like using Pear Deck so much. It also gives you real time formative information and makes a substantial difference in the classroom. I'm not sure how useful it is for math applications though. Looking forward to more of your posts.
Tony
Hi Jen!
DeleteMy name is Ashley Smith, and I work in 204, as well! I am a self-contained speech-language pathologist at Owen Elementary. I feel so so fortunate to be back in the district that I attended 1st-12th grade in!
I completely agree with your statement in regards to how much time it takes to create neat technological activities and lessons to use with our students. I often use Boardmaker studio to create interactive games and books that connect with the current unit of study. My students love these interactive lessons, and I feel like they are more attentive and engaged throughout my group when I use technology in this fashion, as well. I also love being able to project what we are doing up onto the Smartboard so everyone can see! It is just so time-consuming to create these activities that I only get to use a couple times. Luckily, now I have made quite a few various Boardmaker activities, so I will use old ones as a template and change whatever need be (i.e. text, images, sound effects, etc.). This does make it easier, so I am not completely starting from scratch for every activity.
Activities and lessons we make with technology do cost us a good deal of time (I always underestimate how long creating something will take me), but it’s worth it seeing how engaged, attentive, and happy it makes my students! Plus, I think it makes learning and teaching more fun for us staff, too :)
Hello Jen!
ReplyDeleteIt's great that your school is going towards the 1:1 devices. My previous school had Chromebooks, and I LOVED them! I think they open up so many new opportunities for class instruction. I hope it becomes easier for you to plan those lessons surrounded in new technology. I know it can get frustrating. Happy learning!
Jen, welcome to 677. I am glad you are part of our learning community.
ReplyDeleteJen, I am excited to learn more from you about Chromebooks since our school is getting these in the fourth grade as 1:1 devices as well. We can check Chromebooks out from the library to use in the classroom but I have not since I am unfamiliar with them. Thanks for the resources link. I will also pass it along to the fourth grade team. Can't wait to learn more throughout this summer!
ReplyDeleteHi Jen!
ReplyDeleteI am super excited to get Chromebook next year and use all of what we have learned to make our classes better! I would agree with your that Desmos is going to be one of our best friends especially for our Algebra classes to help enhance our lessons. I can't want to get started!!
Alex
Hi Jen!
ReplyDeleteJust like everyone else, I'm also excited to use Chromebooks next year. I think that it will make it much easier to instruct, collaborate, and engage students. I've also struggled with knowing the time it will take students to complete assignments. I think that our timing will be easier once we are more comfortable :)
Hi Jen! I completely agree with you regarding time. I am hoping that as we create new activities over the next year, we will gain more time in the classroom. And yes, Desmos is awesome!
ReplyDeleteHi Jen, I'm so glad you mentioned Desmos. Such an awesome tool, especially when you leverage the teacher activities you talk about. TIME is such a critical piece, so I encourage you to use the assignments in engaging e-learning to develop things for your classroom!
ReplyDeleteJen,
ReplyDeleteI share the same excitement about Chromebooks and our concerns about TIME!!! The positive opportunity from creating the assigments is that they will always be easy to access! Sharing is also a must...sharing and learning from one another allows us to grow professionally. I also agree with your comment about your Master's being already outdated! I got mine about 18 years ago and feel like I need an update for 21st Century Teaching!
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteIt is nice meeting you. I am a high school special education teacher that works in district 230. I co-teach algebra 2, and I was recently at a curriculum meeting where someone introduced me to Desmos. It looks really cool and I like how it allows me to use a graphing calculator on the computer. I do not know all the resources capabilities but I would sure like to learn more about it. Just by reading your post it obviously has a lot more functions than I know.
I also agree that technology is moving fast and there are so many awesome tools out there to use. Look forward to working with you.
Hi Jen!
ReplyDeleteThis is so neat to me to hear that you utilize Chromebooks! It sounds like you have so much more opportunity to explore a whole new realm of engaging resources for the students to use. Do you find that the students use their Chromebooks responsibly and respectfully? As a school, do you have a set program or presentation to show the students how to use them respectfully?
Thank you for sharing! I can't wait to hear what else you do in having these resources available!
Jessica
Jen,
ReplyDeleteI cannot thank you enough for all the technology work you have done for our department. I learn so much from you and turn to you when I need help. You and I have talked about the TIME it takes for all of us. I agree, hopefully through us being a part of these classes we will build our catalog of resources and feel/see the TIME we are spending creating start to decrease. Again, thanks for being so motivated and willing to share!