Nearpod App: First Experiences

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Cathy Yenca

Our principal introduced the Nearpod app to our staff in August at one of our first in-service days.  I loved the way the app made me feel like she was talking directly to me – like I had some sort of front-row seat to what she was saying.  Nevermind the fact that every other teacher was watching the exact same presentation on their respective iPads… this felt personal anyway.

I’d venture to say that’s the way my own students felt when I started using Nearpod in my classroom last week.  Nearpod is a presentation power-trip!  A teacher can convert a presentation like PowerPoint or Keynote to a PDF, upload it to Nearpod, then “show” the presentation, one slide at a time, to a class of students.  Each student’s iPad matches the teacher’s iPad throughout the experience, and only the teacher can control transitions from one slide to the next.  Currently, I am using the free version of Nearpod, which limits the size of presentations, but I look forward to using more of the interactive features a Nearpod upgrade offers, such as built-in “quiz” questions along the way… stay tuned!

I decided to use Nearpod since I had some topics coming up in both Algebra and Pre-Algebra where a presentation of some sort seemed to fit.  In Algebra, representations of relations using ordered pairs, tables of values, mapping diagrams and graphs were very visual topics – I thought a Nearpod experience would help students make connections, as well as give them the opportunity to take screenshots of all of those goodies during the presentation.  For Pre-Algebra, we were exploring arithmetic sequences.  Rather than start with a definition, I provided sample number patterns within the Nearpod presentation slides, and simply asked, “What’s next?” making the patterns progressively more challenging.  Students were guided to “discover” characteristics of arithmetic sequences, while being presented with key vocabulary.

Feedback was very positive!  Students liked the way the information was personally presented to them at their seats with their own iPads.  I wish the free version of Nearpod allowed for more memory – I had to split one simple presentation into two separate ones because the file was too large, even though it was only a few slides with text and had no interactive slides.  Another downside was that Nearpod worked with some class periods flawlessly!  Others… I got the spinning wheel of death on my iPad, which meant that none of my students had a chance of moving on if my iPad was “stuck”.  We all had to close the app, try logging in with a newly generated PIN, and cross our fingers… sometimes we were able to resume the presentation, and other times we had to lay it to rest, and I resorted back to my screen and projector for the remainder of the presentation. Nearpod?  Network?  Frustrating, but I see much potential with this tool, I still have a lot to learn about it, and in the end, the students really enjoyed this unique experience that only an iPad could allow to happen!

On a funny note, some students were a little bothered by their lack of control regarding slide transitions.  They had to do *something* to feel like they had a say-so in the slide they were viewing.  Some students incessantly pinched their screens, zooming in and out… others immediately inverted the colors, just to customize a bit… I think having an interactive piece in my next round with Nearpod will cure some of those behaviors!  😉

Posted in Algebra 1, Pre-Algebra | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

FactorMan Free App Makes an Impression

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Cathy Yenca

After my students finished an assessment today, I gave them a menu of math apps to explore on this fine Friday.  One app quickly rose to the top of the list – a freebie called FactorMan!  FactorMan encompasses all things that make gaming so appealing: an obtainable challenge that is just tough enough to keep one motivated to keep on playing.  I also think the sheer injustice of the game stirred up emotions in my students… and if I am being honest, I couldn’t stop playing FactorMan when I should have been grading those aforementioned assessments!

FactorMan is similar to “The Factor Game,” but with a twist.  If you’re not familiar with The Factor Game, here are the rules:

What separates FactorMan from The Factor Game is what happens at the end of the game… if the only numbers left on the board are “illegal moves” because they have no remaining factors in play, the player hits the “Done” button to end the game.  At this point, FactorMan gets to keep all of those unused points!  As students confidently pressed the “Done” button, about to claim victory, the tables turned very quickly!

“Is this game even possible to beat?”

“Is there a strategy or something?”

“Can I Google the factors of the numbers from 1 to 100 so I can make a plan?”

Ah… music to my ears.  🙂

 

Students were determined to beat this guy, and were willing to work for it.  I even tempted them further by saying that, if they could e-mail me a screenshot of a victorious game, TODAY, then I would give them a bonus point on their test.  I had two winners!  Here’s one of the screenshots e-mailed to me from a student who left school early, but could not stop playing FactorMan at home!  Green moves were hers, and red moves were FactorMan’s:

 

Another student defeated FactorMan by 10 points during class!  One of his classmates quickly grabbed the winning iPad in an attempt to duplicate the game… but hadn’t taken into consideration that the order the factors were chosen during the game mattered.  Here is the moment when he realized order might be important…

Determined, though defeated, he opted to “solve a simpler problem” and try playing the game with a board numbered 1-20 rather than 1-100.  His first victory pic is

shown below with a few other images from today’s class.  Finally, a strategy to defeat FactorMan can be viewed here.  Go ahead and play just once… I dare you!

 

 

 

Posted in Algebra 1, Pre-Algebra | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Unitag Custom QR Codes

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Cathy Yenca

How fun!  This QR code generator is going to add a whole new level of creativity and beauty to the QR codes I use, as well as those generated by my students.

 

 

 

Here is one I just made, which links to my school website.  I plan to print it out, laminate it, and hang it on the wall just outside of my classroom.  Neat-o!

 

 

 

Here is one my 7-year-old son generated to link to one of our most useful sites – spellingcity.com!  Unfortunately, we learned through this creation that not every beautiful QR code generated on this site actually works (in all fairness, Unitag states this on the site).  Maybe he got too fancy.  We’ll post a functional one later on.

 

Posted in Algebra 1, Pre-Algebra | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Augmented Reality: Aurasma Lite

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Cathy Yenca

“Ever wished you could bring the real world to virtual life?”

As a matter of fact, this is one wish I have never had.  However, tech guru Lisa Johnson (A.K.A. techchef4u) recently waltzed into my classroom, iPad in hand, to introduce me to “augmented reality”.  Before my very eyes, she made things appear through the “eyes” of her iPad… that simply weren’t there.

Confused?

“Augmented reality” reminds me of an experience I once had in a Lego store.  I remember picking up a huge box full of pieces to build a model of a merry-go-round and holding it up to a TV of sorts in the store… and in doing so, a 3-D virtual Lego merry-go-round, fully assembled, was visible on the screen.  It blew my mind!  I moved the box, and the merry-go-round moved too!  I did not think this kind of technology was so readily available, nor did I think I’d be using it in my own classroom.

Think of a QR code, but completely beefed up.  An image, photo, classroom wall – some visible location – serves as a “trigger” that the iPad can “see”.  When it sees the trigger, things happen.  An image can appear out of thin air.  A video can play.  It’s wild.

I know there are MUCH better uses for this type of technology than my first classroom attempt, but I figured something simple would be a good task to have my students download the (free) app, work out the kinks, and help them understand the idea of augmented reality.  With their help, I know we can do some amazing things, and I can’t wait to see what we come up with together!

This time, to review for a quiz, I took screenshots of some practice problems for students to try.  I then used specific images to serve as triggers to the problem sets, and posted the trigger images on the walls of my classroom.  For example, one set of problems dealt with graphing in the coordinate plane, so I used a picture of a coordinate plane as a trigger.  I sent my students an e-mail with links to install Aurasma Lite, as well as links, provided by Aurasma, to activate the trigger images (so their iPads could see what my iPad could see) and they went to work.  Their reactions were priceless as problems that weren’t there levitated on their screens.

I have to admit, I felt a little guilty using this amazing type of technology for something so… basic.  Yes, students were excited, engaged, moving about, and were honestly working through and talking through the mathematics… but that darn Dan Meyer showed  an image at NCTM last week that stuck with me today.  In education, according to Meyer, we often use technology with the content we are teaching the way folks use ranch dressing to dress up limp, tasteless broccoli.  I felt like I was slathering ranch dressing a bit through this app-tivity… but at least students are aware of the technology, and I trust we will do it justice next time.

 

 

Posted in Algebra 1, Pre-Algebra | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Disorder of Operations

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Cathy Yenca

I keep seeing this problem on Facebook, and others like it.  I can’t help it – every time it appears on my “wall” I have to glance at the comments and weigh in, taking the opportunity to teach a mini lesson in my own comment… now, I am not a statistician, but my eyeballs tell me at least 75% of folks that contribute an answer on Facebook are wrong.

I took a screenshot of this problem and put it on a recent math test for my 8th graders, and quite a few of them missed it too!  What is it that coerces adults who may be rusty on “Order of Operations” AND eighth graders who have very recently reviewed the concept to get this thing so wrong?  (Most popular wrong answer, according to my eyeballs, is 1)

Thoughts?  Is it the number choice?  The operations?  Do people have something against Aunt Sally?

 

 

Posted in Algebra 1, Pre-Algebra | Tagged | Leave a comment

Socrative: Instant Feedback Homework Check

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Cathy Yenca

I decided to mix things up – homework had been building up and I wanted instant feedback on how my students were doing.  I used Socrative as a tool to instantly “spot check” student work.  I chose several problems from each of several assignments.  Using Socrative, students had to simply choose the answer (from my multiple choice format) that matched the solution they got on their homework.

The reactions of the students as they were held accountable in this way were, in one word… emotional!  They really felt a new level of pressure!

“This is not good for my health!”

“This is INTENSE!”

I stood at the back of my classroom, watching students’ iPad screens, hoping to see a recurring green stripe (you’re right!) rather than the dreaded red one (you’re wrong!)  Socrative gives feedback for each question immediately after students choose their response.  One young man nearly fell out of his desk in celebration as he chose the correct solution time and again… fists in the air, celebrating each small victory.

At the end of the quiz, I included two short-answer questions to the tune of… how do you think you did on this quiz?  And, do you have any questions?

After all students had finished, I directed Socrative to send me a report in an e-mail.  I projected the report to the class within minutes (student names omitted) and we analyzed student performance (nicely color-coded such that green means correct and the dreaded pink means incorrect).  We then compared our pinks and greens to the students’ responses about the quiz.

For my Algebra students, they nailed it.  Lots of green for content from lessons 3-1 and 3-2, but lesson 3-3 had some pink creeping in.  Student comments and questions acknowledged the weaknesses of this content, and I was proud of their reflection!  Several students knew what they didn’t know, and even asked appropriate questions!  For anyone reading this who has taught middle schoolers, you KNOW this is a big deal!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my Pre-Algebra classes, I felt a disconnect between student performance and questions/reflections.  On some problems, nearly the entire class was incorrect!  Yet, when asked if they had any questions they’d like to ask, they had none.  I was clear in pointing out this discrepancy to these students, and plan to sneak the “pinkest” problems into warm-ups to readdress the skills.  In their defense, several students did express that they thought they did poorly, but that was the end of it.  Perhaps it was the excitement of using the app that overtook the desire to reflect or ask questions… or maybe these folks don’t know what they don’t know… an ongoing dilemma I see and face as a middle school teacher.  (Note the title of all of the pink columns… you guessed it!  “Problem Solving”!)  All in all, there was no question about whether students were actively engaged, and I plan to do this again!  It was equally informative for my students as it was for me.

 

 

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Algebra FUSE App Part 2: I Spy

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Cathy Yenca

I spy with my little eye… something formative!  Shh… I am spying on my students from home, since I haven’t been in class for several days!  Don’t worry… they have been warned!   I am amazed, yet again, at the empowered feeling I have, thanks to this app and 1-to-1 iPads!

Last week, I missed several days of instruction with my students due to attending a very refreshing NCTM Regional Conference in Dallas, TX.  I seized this opportunity to rely very heavily on the HMH Fuse Algebra I Common Core app as a means to keep my students on track in my absence (knowing I had a different substitute coming in every day I was out).  I am feeling a huge sense of relief going into Monday morning – rather than that dreaded feeling of what-in-the-world-happened-while-I-was-away, I know what I am walking into (at least in terms of content!)

Before beginning the new material, students took a self-scoring pre-test in the app, reviewing key skills.  From the teacher side, I can see each student’s score, and even click on individuals to see a break-down of performance by concept.  Here are several sample reports for individuals – I can see that I’ll be needing to address some pre-requisite skills with these folks:

Next, using their iPads and the FUSE app, students worked through the first three lessons of a new unit on solving and graphing inequalities in one variable.  For each new concept, students watched Professor Burger explain an example through an embedded tutorial video, then tried some “Check It Out” problems as practice.  As students worked through these problems on their iPads, they utilized the built-in “Scratch Pad” feature to show their work.  What’s REALLY earth-shattering is that *I* can see their work from my login view!  Here are a few samples that are helping me analyze student thinking (and students will be viewing this as part of their lesson tomorrow, so my comments below are directed at my students too):

I’ll start with the positive – check out the “Scratch Pad” work shown by these students!

(Way to go – dividing both sides by a negative number reverses the sign!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some issues to address:

What did this student forget to do?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s happening here?  What operation was performed on each side of the inequality?  How about those negatives?  Check the solution – is it true?

 

 

Comments?

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you like about this problem?  What don’t you like about it?

 

 

 

After the three lessons, some students took a “Ready To Go On?” quiz within the app.  From my side, I can see the results of each class.  Here it goes!

Looks like we have some work to do, but at least I know that now, before seeing the explosion that is my desk tomorrow morning.

And now… for the “Scratch Pad” outtakes!  I mean, my students *know* I can see what they are doing!  I adore middle schoolers so much:

When I saw this doodle, I was instantly taken back to my childhood, craving some good old Ore Ida Potato Smiles:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Someone trying to be patient:

 

 

 

 

 

And my personal favorite:

 

Posted in Algebra 1, Pre-Algebra | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

NCTM Highlights

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Cathy Yenca

It is always so refreshing to get together and share ideas with like-minded people – passionate folks who genuinely want to see students learning and loving mathematics in a 21st-century way.  Here are some highlights from the 2012 NCTM Regional Conference in Dallas, TX:

1.  Scott Flansburg was the keynote speaker Wednesday night.  He IS the “Human Calculator”!  A section of his brain is 5 times the size of the average human’s.  He feels he has learned to tap into his gift of being able to do cumbersome mental calculations using this massive section of his brain, and uses this amazing ability to try to turn kids on to math.  His stories of losing everything and even being homeless for awhile, all in the name of pursing his passion of generating excitement about math with kids, left me inspired (while simultaneously questioning his sanity!)  Clearly, hearing him speak and seeing his gift in action, this guy’s tale has a happy ending!

2.  Dr. Eric Milou gave a presentation on teaching the iGeneration that made me want to stand up, numerous times, and say, “Yes!  You have it!”  He reminded us that our students come from a time in history where things like cell phones and the internet were already in place.  Our kids don’t know a time without these things, and their brains are literally developing differently because of it.  If we, as educators, don’t try to reach students in the “now” with “now” tools, we may miss a grand opportunity.

His suggestions for the classroom included embracing online gaming where students play other students in real-time for math skill practice.  He suggested using videos from YouTube and Dan-Meyer-like problem solving – playing into students’ curiosity to hook them with a simple 20-second video that gives just enough information to allow the students to generate the questions, and seek needed information to solve the problem.

He also shared these tidbits:

Arcademic Skill Builders (online gaming)

mathsnacks.com  (Check out the video about three bad dates for an amusing way to help students understand ratios.)

Brian Regan (Just plain funny)

3.  Nadine Bezuk presented a model for comparing and ordering rational numbers that was so simple, every teacher I was sitting with couldn’t believe he or she hadn’t thought of it.  Nadine used a piece of string stretched across the room to provide a “clothesline model” to compare and order fractions.  Using her arms to estimate measurement, she talked us through accurately placing values on the number line.  Starting simply with benchmarks like 0, 1/2 and 1, she talked us through a mathematically-rich exercise leading to correctly placing fractions such as x/2, x/x, (x+1)/x, (x-1)/x and implications for placing such fractions if x were positive, negative, and so on.  A simple start ended with many a-ha moments for me, and I think my classroom will soon have a long, piece of string hanging somewhere (in compliance with our fire code of course!)  Here is a link to her resources and the Powerpoint she showed.

4. Dr. Timothy Kanold really got us all thinking about our assessments.  He also provided us with a tool to evaluate our own assessments which can be found at go.solution-tree.com/commoncore.  His blog can be found at tkanold.blogspot.com.

5. Dr. Mark Ellis shared this video of teacher Marlo Warburton demonstrating her neat-o strategy for teaching mixture problems.  At first, I thought it was a spoof, because the way the teacher introduces the lesson is quite humorous… yet, the lesson unfolds with these adorably expressive students and proves to be quite successful after all!  I would love to connect with Marlo – she seems like a kindred spirit.

6.  Carolyn Williamson was my dose of brain research for this conference – oh how I love this stuff!  I was reminded about the “prime times” students remember what is taught when Carolyn referenced David Sousa and showed this graph (which I will use in my lesson on interpreting graphs with my 8th graders next week!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

To summarize, we remember best what is first, and we remember second best what comes last… and during that middle area right there?  Our audience of adolescents is what Williamson referred to as a “hot mess”!  I want to make a poster of this idea she also shared:

You can only keep 7 things in your working memory.  What are you going to do about it?

Williamson also discussed what rigor looks like, and shared this resource to further ponder the idea of rigor in our lessons.

7.  I am quickly becoming a James Popham fan as I strive to effectively use technology for formative assessment.  I learned about a FREE resource online that may be a HUGE help in “mining” the data of formative assessments in my own classroom.  Massachusetts teacher Barbara Delaney shared homework data and charming video snippets of her own sixth graders utilizing a FREE tool called ASSISTments.  I am inspired and curious about this tool, and may take Delaney’s advice to take a few “baby steps” to give it a shot.

And for my final highlight, I need a drumroll please… so kindly tap rapidly on the nearest flat surface before reading on…

8. Dan Meyer!

An inspiration to me for the past few years, Dan Meyer’s “Perplexity” talk stretched me most of all during this conference.  I have been excitedly celebrating “student engagement” and along comes “perplexity”… ahh, I have a lot to learn!  I could COMPLETELY relate to Dan’s “Perplexity Fairy” (a little not-so-imaginary voice that whispers bizarre-perplexing-everyday-mathematical questions in Dan’s ear without warning… the voice that makes you pull your iPhone out of your pocket and take pictures of things you see every day that you *know* may have some sort of significance in a who-knows-where-this-is-going-mathematically kind of way). I was so encouraged to know I am not the only person who is constantly taking pictures of things, or e-mailing and texting myself cryptic messages so I don’t forget an idea I am having that I know I will forget otherwise!  Yes!  I am on the right track!  I am on the way to finding my own Perplexity Fairy perched on my shoulder… but mine needs a little bit of basic training.

My problem is… all of these perplexing things are often held captive in my phone rather than being shown to my students (Here are a few potential conversation starters that I haven’t shown to kids.)  I think I have to step away from the pacing guide (I know!) and start to do some more real problem-solving every now and again.  *Whew!*

Thanks Dan – it was a pleasure to meet you today!

 

Posted in Algebra 1, Pre-Algebra | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Algebra App: First Impressions

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Cathy Yenca

I have the privilege of using the HMH Fuse Algebra I Common Core app with my algebra classes this year.  I am only just beginning to learn how to unleash the power behind this app, but even at first glance, my students and I were very impressed.  This souped-up interactive textbook app has a lot to offer.

First, it provides a one-stop shop for resources.  Rather than sifting through the typical textbook website for extra resources, the FUSE app tutorial videos are embedded in the “book” exactly where and when you need them.  The “View in Motion” option is also quite handy for the lesson examples.  I have always said I have a hard time using a textbook to teach math because the textbook just “throws up” on students… which is my crass way of saying that the examples are already all worked out for students, and it’s tough to interact with material that’s just splashed in all its completion on the page – a page,  I might add, that students typically aren’t allowed to write on.  Rather, the “View in Motion” option in the FUSE app pulls the examples from the page with a clever slider option, so students can reveal the steps to the problem at their own pace, processing each step before revealing what’s next.  “Check it Out” problems follow each lesson example and give students the opportunity to pause and apply the new skills before moving on.  These problems are presented in multiple choice format, but I have my students trained to use the built-in “scratch pad” to hide the answer choices like a window blind.  Then, once students use the “scratch pad” to work the problem, they reveal the answer choices and pick the right one.  Immediate feedback either affirms or denies the student’s answer choice.  Even this feedback goes well beyond, “You’re right!” or “You’re wrong!”  Rather, complete correct work is revealed when students make the right answer choice, and if the wrong answer is chosen, guiding questions or suggestions are provided to help students rethink things and try again.

Once a lesson is complete, the app provides a “Guided Practice” problem set, with odd problems’ solutions right there in the app – all a student has to do is touch the problem number for any odd problem, and he or she can see the whole thing completely worked out.  Assessments such as those entitled “Ready To Go On?” are sprinkled throughout the chapters to assess student progress along the way.  Student responses to such assessments (including what students write on the “scratch pad”) are accessible from the teacher login side of things.  A built-in student response “clicker” system is something I have to explore more, and look forward to using with my students (though, I am a little spoiled by Socrative and the amazing data report it provides… so I am not sure how this FUSE app will compare!)

I am one of those teachers who can’t be bound to any one teaching resource to the exclusion of all others, so I can’t say I use this app exclusively, or even every day.  However, having such a comprehensive resource in all of my algebra students’ hands makes me ponder how I might moved toward a “flipped” classroom.  Students will have a unique opportunity this coming week, learning from this app without having me around as I attend a regional NCTM conference, and they have a substitute teacher and this app to guide their way for several days.  We’ll see how it goes!

All in all, students seem to be enjoying this app much more than a traditional textbook – and they are not alone.  Read more about other students’ experiences with this app here.  See some of the app’s features here.

Posted in Algebra 1, Pre-Algebra | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Strategy Swap… Part Deux

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Cathy Yenca

My Algebra students recently experienced a “QR Code Cooperative Problem-Solving” experience, so I tried a similar task with my pre-algebra students today.  Students “zapped” various QR codes posted around the classroom, then solved various problem sets using a template for their work.  Students could opt to work alone or with a partner (though sometimes loners and pairs end up working with other loners and pairs… I just let things happen organically!)  The focus today was simplifying and evaluating expressions with rational numbers.  The potential pitfalls included sign mistakes, decimal errors, and fraction flaws.

 

I made the materials a little more colorful this round, remembering that I am not actually printing any of the PDF problem statements (why stay boring black-and-white if you don’t have to?)  Students were amazingly on task throughout the activity, and the sense of mystery associated with the QR codes kept their attention and curiosity.  The communication that happens during these tasks is unmatched – I literally walk around my classroom with a cheesy grin on my face the entire time.  I love it.  I love hearing students coach and correct one another.  Time and again, I am reminded how important it is for students to have a voice in the mathematics classroom!

Most students finished by the end of the class period, and for those who did not, the problem sets were safely stored within each student’s Qrafter app for reference later – a benefit I hadn’t anticipated!

I also created QR codes that linked to enrichment and extension materials, though none of the groups utilized them because they were so focused on working together on the primary task of the day.  What’s great about that is… I can keep those QR codes hanging on my wall for another day, perhaps for students who finish a test or quiz early.

 

 

It would be wise for me to compile neat enrichment tasks that I always *want* to do but don’t often *get* to do due to time constraints, and just generate QR codes to leave on my walls year-round as “anchoring activities…”  hmmm…!

 

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