Navigating the Multitude of Apps for Chromebooks in a Math Classroom

The school in which I work is (mostly) 1-to-1 with Chromebooks.  Last year was the first year that nearly all of my students had this technology with them in class each day and, to be honest, I did not do a great job of looking for ways to use them.  This summer that became a priority for me.

Today, a colleague of mine and myself spent a good portion of the day exploring various apps and websites, including Plickers, Socrative, Kahoot, Google Forms, Desmos Activity Builder, and Pear Deck.  (We honestly ran out of time to do much with Pear Deck besides watch 2 instructional videos on YouTube, but plan to look into it more individually and discuss later.)  We created a teacher login on each of these, built a quiz or other interactive worksheet, and used a student login to take the quiz.  In our investigation, we were looking for these factors:

1. Ease of construction - We wanted the app to be easy for teachers to use and it needed to include the option of adding an image.  We were also looking at the amount of time it took to create a quiz question.  
2. Enjoyable for students - This one speaks for itself.  
3. Grading options - Ultimately we were looking for options of immediate feedback for students.  Other various teacher report options were also being evaluated.  Each of the apps we examined fit our needs in this area.

Here's what we discovered.  We LOVE the ease of use of Socrative, Kahoot, Plickers, and Desmos.  In each of these, creation of questions was very quick.  This was not true for Google Forms quizzes.  We had trouble formatting images of graphs and equations using g(Math) with the quiz questions.  This feature alone has ruled out Google Forms as an option in our classes, at least this year.

As far as student enjoyment is concerned, Kahoot seems to be the most enjoyable.  We love the fact that video can be included in the questions (and quite easily I might add).  I was initially concerned that the fast pace might deter some of the slower students, but the ability to change the time available for each question helped ease that somewhat.   

Ultimately we decided that Kahoot best fits our needs for review activities.  I can see this being a great activity option on the second day of review for a chapter test or as a brief review before a quiz.  Personally, I would not use Kahoot as a graded activity.  Socrative seems to be a better option where quizzes are concerned.   The ability of the students to work through questions at their own pace was an important consideration here.  The grading features of these questions was also much more appropriate for quiz/test questions.  Desmos' Activity Builder is a great option for an activity in class.  I can see this being something useful for test/quiz review or just to practice more thoroughly with topics.  The little we saw of Pear Deck gave us the impression that it would be more beneficial as a type of formative assessment or presentation tool.  

Overall, I have decided to add some combinations of these tools in my classes this year.  As a geometry and precalculus teacher, each of these programs has some advantages and disadvantages.  I foresee, especially in geometry, having to create a lot of images and upload to these programs.  As for precalc, I see more use of Desmos in that area.  My goal is to use the Chromebooks at least twice a week.  If I feel confident that I can add more, I'll do so, but I don't want to stress myself out committing to an every day schedule.  

Oh a happy note...My copy count should decrease this year :)

Classroom Organization

I've been located in the same room for about 8 years and was fortunate enough to be allowed to paint it a few years ago.  That being said, I've had the room arranged in the same way for most of that time and it is starting to feel "stale."  

Sorry for anyone besides me that reads this.  I just needed to write down all of the things I've been thinking about.  Will post later what I come up with.

Things to work around/figure out:

1.  The one network jack in the room is in the front corner opposite the door.  I do, however, have access to a LONG cable.

2.  The Promethean Board cables that attach to the computer are not that long.  Options:  Leave the computer where it's been or buy longer cables.

3. Organize the furniture so the filing cabinet can be close to my desk.

4.  Keep a table by the door for daily handouts.  (Students pick them up as they enter the room.)

5.  Determine a way to have seating near my desk for students that need help/student worker.

6.  Podium/table at the front of the room?

7.  Have space for at least 27 desks.

Supplies that need to be handy for students regularly:

1.  Graph & Patty paper

2.  Rulers, Compasses, Protractors

3.  Dry Erase Boards, erasers, markers

4.  Scissors & Tape

Organizational things I need to "fix":

1.  A place for students to routinely hand in assignments, quizzes, tests.  Separated by class period?  

2.  A location for handouts for absent students.  (3 different courses = three different locations?)

3.  Desk/bookcase organizer for commonly used folders: copies to make, paperwork to be completed ASAP, etc.  Couple this with #1?

4.  A way to organize student papers:  quizzes, tests, finals, etc

5.  GET A PLANNER/ORGANIZER!

Paper/Pencil Grades in an Online Gradebook World

This year I have the pleasure (at least it's a pleasure most of the time) of teaching summer school geometry.  The 23 kids currently enrolled in my second semester geometry course are all students that have failed the course during the school year and are retaking it with the hopes of catching up on credits.   With a class full of at-risk students, the environment can be both challenging and rewarding.  For visualization purposes, consider the magnitude of completing each set of notes, homework assignments, worksheets, quizzes and tests for a semester in 64 contact hours.

As part of the summer program, I am required to enter a final grade for each student in our district-wide gradebook program.  I am not, however, required to enter each daily assignment, quiz, etc as I typically would during the school year.  So, at the beginning of the semester I gave each student a list of all worksheets, quizzes, and tests that would be collected for a grade.  This list also contains the points possible for each assignment, as well as a list of cumulative points possible.  (This semester we have 1235 points possible.) Once papers are graded and passed back, each student is to record the number of points he/she earned and find the cumulative number of points earned.  After a short lesson on how to do so, students are now able to compute their grade independently.

I realize that this is neither a novel idea, nor a new one.  Years ago, prior to the onslaught of online gradebook programs, I had students keep a handwritten list like this in the front of their binder.  Somewhere over the course of time and after falling into the realm of thinking that technology is meant to make things simpler, I stopped this practice.  I expected my students to check their grade online periodically - some did, others not so much.  (I really don't know why I decided to do it this way for summer school.)

Here's what I've learned....
1.  The majority of my students are taking a more active role in their learning.  They see the benefits, and the pitfalls, of doing well/poorly.  Some that failed miserably during the school year are now earning A's and B's on most work, want newly graded papers back daily, and are quick to determine their most recent grade.
2.  The students prefer to have the paper/pencil list in front of them instead of the online option.  Some students have pointed out that they don't have access to the internet at home.  So, having this list makes it possible to know their grade without asking the teacher.
3.  The students are aware of any work they have not turned in or work that was turned in without a name.  This saves them having to ask me questions like "What's my grade?" or "Is there anything I can do to bring my grade up?"  Note:  When they do ask, I simply reply with something similar to "Check your grade sheet."
4.   Since this list contains a list of all possible points for the semester, the students are able to determine the minimum number of points necessary to pass the semester (in our case, 735-ish).  This number has become a goal for them.  They know attaining at least 735 points will GUARANTEE a passing grade and that any number of points above this cut-off value equates in a higher semester grade.

Watching these kids progress has been AMAZINGLY rewarding.  (Don't get me wrong.  There have been hiccups.)  These kids have convinced themselves over the course of many years that they can't do math.  Watching their points earned climb seems to be convincing them that they can be successful.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to make it work for a quarter length course.  (It might also be something useful on our evaluation tool.)

Geometry Curriculum Map 2014-2015

I finally finished updating my curriculum map for this year, which feels like a major success.  School starts (for teachers) a week from tomorrow and with kids in 9 days.  My schedule this year will consist of 5 periods of Geometry, one of which will be taken at a slightly slower pace and involve less in the way of formal proof writing.  I'll also have a section of PreCalculus.

My goal is to create some sort of guided notes each day of class.  We aren't doing a traditional INB persay, but I intend to incorporate some foldables, etc in our daily note-taking and exercises.  I also intend to use Geogebra more in class this year.  Nothing fancy, but I think that giving the kids to be able to create and interact with figures is a step in the right direction.

I am also going to get back to using SBG in my classes.  I used it for a couple of years, but for whatever reason, didn't do so last year and I think that it might have helped alleviate some of the issues I had.  Nonetheless, my next step is to use this document and my common core standards to write up the standards.

Got a busy week ahead of me, but feel confident I can get enough accomplished to not feel too stressed about it once school starts.  

Geometry Curriculum Map 2014-2015 by FosheeM

PreCalculus Session - Trig Identities Card Sort etc

In the morning precalculus sessions at #TMC13 we were asked to work with group members to develop a lesson, activity, assessment, etc to fit a topic that we found difficult to teach. My partner, @jlpaulen, and I chose to work on Trig Identities. We both felt that we find them a fun challenge and not too terribly difficult, but hard to teach.

What’s the Big Idea?

We determined that the struggle our students have with them is in the application of the algebra skills necessary to complete the proof. So for us, the big idea is simply algebraic manipulation using trigonometric functions.

What is so challenging for students?

The students have no idea where to begin or how steps flow from one to the next.  There is evidence that students follow the mentality that they must know where to begin in order to finish the problem.  Students are not receptive to the idea of try and possibly fail. While the students may have the ability to factor, distributive, substitute, etc in algebra, somehow applying these skills where a trig function is involved proves more difficult. I, personally, have had kids tell me that they tend to look at "sin" in a function and see 3 separate letters instead of one function. It makes them think they are dealing with a more complex problem.

Primary Identities to learn/memorize:

- Reciprocal Identities

- Quotient Identities

- Pythagorean Identities

- Sum and Difference Identities

Why were other identities not covered?

We settled on these 4 sets of identities because they seem to be the basis for many of the other groups. For example, odd/even identities can be taught using the sum/difference identities. (ie, sin(-u) = sin(u-2u).

Activity ideas

- Make a trigonometric “card sort” where students are given pieces of paper with each step and reason on separate pieces of paper.  Students are given a starting and stopping step.  Their task is to put the "proof" in order. Students may eventually be weaned from being given reasons and eventually will be expected to write the steps and reasons entirely.  Problems may also progress from easier to more difficult.

- Give the class a trig identity that can be verified in multiple ways.  Divide the class into groups and give each group a large whiteboard on which to write their proof.  Have each group present their proof to the class, then compare/contrast resulting methods.  

- Another follow-up would be Kristen Fouss’ Trig Identity Matching Activity in Chapter 5 of her virtual file cabinet.

The card sort activity is focused on Pythagorean Identities (no sum/difference) in an effort to allow students the opportunity to practice these and develop habits before adding in sum and difference identities.

Note: The identities we used were from this website.

TrigIdentityCardSortPythagorean (1)

Parent Function Card Sort

This week I spent in an inordinate amount of time working on materials for Geometry, but managed to work in some time for PreCalc as well.  Early in the year we spend time going over the 12 Parent Functions.  Students are then taught how to create new functions using the four basic operations, compositions, and transformations, as well as how to analyze these functions.  One of the problems my students have previously had with these was remembering how the parent function behaved in order to determine how a transformation of that function would affect the domain, range, etc.  In an effort to curb this problem, I am creating a card sort using the pages below.

My goal is to print the graphs, domain and range, etc on separate colors of cardstock.  Students will not be given the entire set of cards at one time.  Rather, they will be given the pieces as they are learned in class. I am scheduling time in class as these are covered to review the previous day's information, before adding new material.  By the time the entire analysis is taught, the students will have practiced the sets enough times that they've memorized, or can quickly determine by sight, the analysis of each parent function. Hopefully, this will also improve their speed in analyzing transformed functions throughout the remainder of the year.

Parent Function Card Sort

Triangle Centers

I am in the process of working through a series of lessons on triangle centers.  So far, I've made it through the perpendicular and angle bisector theorems, as well as perpendicular and angle bisectors of triangles.  I am posting what I have accomplished here in an effort to get input on whether these seem to be too difficult.  Are my expectations too high?  My students are average level sophomores.   I am wavering on including more basic skill level types of questions along with the problems currently on the worksheet.

I have considered updating parts of it by incorporating some sort of technology investigation using either TI-84s or 92s, but would have to incorporate some sort of training on how to use the Cabri environment before looking at triangle centers.  I think this would be especially useful in portions of the investigation into angle bisectors of a triangle.

I thank you in advance for any help or advice.

Perpendicular Bisector Theorem Investigation

Angle Bisector Theorem Investigation

Perpendicular Bisectors of a Triangle Investigation

Angle Bisectors of a Triangle Investigation