My Favorites #MTBoS #MtbosBlogsplosion

Happy New Year!

This post is already late – whoops!  However, I can’t pass up an opportunity to share about a few of “My Favorites”.  If you haven’t heard, there’s a BlogSPLOSION happening in the Math-Twitter-Blog-O-Sphere (MTBoS) community, and you should join it!  More info here!

Two of my favorite tools for fostering student metacognition, dialogue, and error analysis are Nearpod and Desmos.  As with any tech tool, it’s not primarily about the tool, it’s HOW YOU USE IT.  Tools that help make student thinking visible, not just to ME but to my STUDENTS to analyze and discuss… are a win!

 

Favorite “New” Way I’ve Used NEARPOD 

Nearpod provides the opportunity to share static slides and interactive tools with students such that instruction and assessment become one and the same.  While I enjoy creating and implementing complete lessons using these tools, in more recent months I’ve found some fascinating, simple ways to use Nearpod (that I think you should try too)!

Using the “Draw It” feature on iPads, students have used student-paced Nearpod lessons to submit work to me.  I like doing this for homework, so that I have complete access to the Nearpod report before our next class.  A wonderful feature in the iOS version of Nearpod is the ability for students to submit a photo of the work they’ve done on paper.  This way, I have work samples from every student, and those who prefer to use paper can do so.

Before our next class, I like to take screenshots of students work samples from the “report” that are interesting (Note: Many times “interesting” means incorrect).  In a new Nearpod, I use these screenshots as background images for a set of new “Draw It” experiences.  To start our next class meeting, I launch a teacher-paced version this new Nearpod comprised of student work samples.  Students can draw on each problem and “grade” it.  Shocking moment: That moment when students “grade” an incorrect problem as being CORRECT!  To see this in action, read this post.

 

Favorite “New” Way I’ve Used Desmos CARD SORTS

Is it possible to love Desmos any more than we love it today?  In recent months, Team Desmos has added so many new features and improvements, it’s tough to keep up with them all!  I’m always so impressed with their willingness to listen to teachers regarding feature requests – Desmos is changing the course of history in the way mathematics can be explored and learned.  Period.

If you’ve seen a few of the Desmos creations I’ve been using with students, you’ll see that I love Card Sorts!  Rather than keep the feedback in the teacher dashboard to myself, I like to:

  1. Begin a card sort showing NO feedback on the teacher dashboard
  2. Project the teacher dashboard with student names anonymized initially
  3. Project the teacher dashboard WITH student names once a few “sorts” become entirely “green” (correct) so that these “experts” can provide peer help for those still aiming for “green”.

To see this in action, read this post.

I’d love to hear how you are using Nearpod, Desmos, and other tools to foster metacognition and error analysis with students!

Join the #MTBoS #MtbosBlogsplosion!

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