Technology in the Classroom
There are a plethora of activities that can be designed around using technology in the classroom. Some useful resources are described below. I want to thank my fellow cohort members at UC Irvine for their contributions to this list.
GeoGebra
GeoGebra is an online mathematics applet that can be used for algebra, geometry, and (according to the website) calculus teachers and students. This applet allows students to physically manipulate lines and shapes in a plane, create things such as perpendicular or angle bisectors, and compute areas. This applet is useful for introducing students to different ideas that are difficult to visualize with normal pen and paper. Students work with the physical shapes and numbers, allowing them to watch as measurements change when they alter the length of a side. Often times in math, we just give students to formulas with nothing concrete to back them up, but this applet allows students to work in the concrete to see the numbers and formulas come to life. GeoGebra can be used to prove geometric ideas or calculate algebraic equations, giving students something concrete on which to base their learning.
Math Playground
Math Playground is a math learning website for students who are mainly in elementary school and middle school. It provides fun math and thinking games, step-by-step instructional videos, math practice, and problem solving activities. It was created by Colleen King whose primary goals are to help students feel more confident about their math skills and to help them form more positive attitudes toward the subject of math. I really like this website because it also provides fun activities that aligned to the Mathematics Common Core State Standards for students who are in first grade through sixth grade.
Exploring Space Through Math
Being an engineer myself, I really like this website because it connects science, technology, and engineering to mathematics (STEM) by showcasing the practical applications of mathematics in the universe around us. The explorations encompass Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, and Precalculus, so is applicable to both middle school as well as high school students. The web site also has several activities that require the use of scientific calculators. There are numerous STEM schools all over Southern California, and many of them are using Texas Instruments (TI) scientific calculators to expose students to the use of technology in solving real-world problems. Some notable features of
this web site are the use of engaging eClips (video) for teaching, and that the activities can be easily adapted to meet the Common Core State Standards. The site provides several lesson activities with both a student edition (without answers), and an educator's edition (with answers). I checked out some of them, and got so engrossed that time flew by! As the website states...."The focus of Exploring Space Through Math project is to promote inquiry through real world applications. Doing so will place students in the role of NASA scientists, engineers and researchers who work in teams to accomplish tasks. This project will promote cooperative learning, problem-solving and the use of
technology."
AAA Math Website
AAA Math features a comprehensive set of thousands of interactive arithmetic lessons. This website holds a wide range of lessons from Kindergarten through 8th grade level, and it enables both new learning and review at each student’s current level. The website is sorted into two categories- by subject and grade level. In each topic, students may learn, practice, play, or explore. Further, students may learn more about the contexts, next lesson, or previous lesson. Students may also gain immediate feedback when practicing a particular mathematical problem. The AAA Math website also offers another version in the Spanish Language for those who mainly communicate in Spanish. AAA Math website allows both teachers and students to learning new materials and to put their new learning into practice, and then be given immediate feedback to correct their mistakes.
Java Math Applets
This website features java applets on a variety of math topics, including middle school math up to Calculus. Although it was founded by three Japanese educators, the website and applets are in English and the power of using them in the mathematics classroom is that they don't need words to visually "prove" or have students explore a concept. They are hands on, letting the user click and drag things around to demonstrate, for instance, several different ways to prove the Pythagorean Theorem or that all triangles have angle sums of 180 degrees. Some of the applets leave things to be desired, but they have numerous ones that are very handy for either a demonstration of a hard to explain concept or a hands-on exploration in the computer lab. My favorite ones include those of Complex Numbers (very hard to explain or explore without this!) and ones from Calculus topics of finding volume by slicing.
Online Graphing Calculator
This online graphing calculator is free and capable of producing correct graphs with practically no wait time. It's useful for interacting with new concepts and their graphs. For example, students who are learning quadratic equations can use this tool to graph the equations that they have to find roots for algebraically. This is especially useful for fractional or irrational roots, since they put their numeric answers into visual perspective.
Purple Math
This free website provide detailed instruction on how to use various procedures to solve equations. This can be a supplementary source of instruction for the students. Providing the students with a link to the specific page about the procedure they are practicing will allow the students to have more guidance and scaffolding. Students also have more autonomy when they access the sources in their own time and with their own free will.
PBS Teachers
PBS has dozens of classroom resources for teaching the math and physics behind many everyday phenomena. The site is searchable by topic, media type, and PBS program. The site offers lesson plans, offline activities and in-class activities as well. PBS offers various views of math and science including historical, present day applications, and even future possibilities for math and science. Beside what is offered for the classroom, the site also has a professional development section that is very useful for teachers who are trying to expand their own capabilities. There's also a discussion area so users of the site can learn from and contribute to the teaching community, give opinions for how to make the teaching segments better, and offer up new methods for making the classroom experience a more enjoyable learning place for all.
Illuminations
Illuminations is a great place for teachers and students to search for helpful methods in math. Both in lesson planning and math activities, this site also provides mobile apps that help students practice multiples or just have fun in playing games. There are videos and online games too. Teachers can benefit in this just as much with the lesson plans it also provides, within the lesson plans it also has handouts and in depth explanation on how to teach conceptual math content to students. The site also provides many great interactives for students to use if manipulatives are not readily accessable.
Pinterest
Pintrest is also a great way to share handouts and get cute ideas on how to teach and what ways you can creatively teach. This is a free sharing network between teachers who find other incredible sites or just want to share something that they had created. In its search engine type in the topic of your subject and easily many handouts and activities such as proportion will appear. Use these to help guide you and give you ideas to create your own or use the ones offered. Sometimes these go getters will also lead paths to great resources, though some of these resources may cost money, don't fret, most are free.
Math Is Fun
This website supports learning in the content area of math. This website has many different topics of math, such as Data, Geometry, Algebra, Measurements, etc. Students can work with a partner on a computer to enter this website and click on the topic that they are learning, for instance, exponents. It could be used for a review session for them to learn more about topics or use for clarification. There is a page of definitions and examples on a topic followed by 10 “Quiz Questions”. The Quiz Questions are usually multiple choice and if a student answered it incorrectly, it will show the steps on how to solve for that problem. The quiz questions will give them immediate feedback on their understanding This website is engaging and visual. Students can go at their own pace in reading the question and speak with their partners about the particular topic. Along with that, students can take notes about what they learn on this website.
GeoGebra
GeoGebra is an online mathematics applet that can be used for algebra, geometry, and (according to the website) calculus teachers and students. This applet allows students to physically manipulate lines and shapes in a plane, create things such as perpendicular or angle bisectors, and compute areas. This applet is useful for introducing students to different ideas that are difficult to visualize with normal pen and paper. Students work with the physical shapes and numbers, allowing them to watch as measurements change when they alter the length of a side. Often times in math, we just give students to formulas with nothing concrete to back them up, but this applet allows students to work in the concrete to see the numbers and formulas come to life. GeoGebra can be used to prove geometric ideas or calculate algebraic equations, giving students something concrete on which to base their learning.
Math Playground
Math Playground is a math learning website for students who are mainly in elementary school and middle school. It provides fun math and thinking games, step-by-step instructional videos, math practice, and problem solving activities. It was created by Colleen King whose primary goals are to help students feel more confident about their math skills and to help them form more positive attitudes toward the subject of math. I really like this website because it also provides fun activities that aligned to the Mathematics Common Core State Standards for students who are in first grade through sixth grade.
Exploring Space Through Math
Being an engineer myself, I really like this website because it connects science, technology, and engineering to mathematics (STEM) by showcasing the practical applications of mathematics in the universe around us. The explorations encompass Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, and Precalculus, so is applicable to both middle school as well as high school students. The web site also has several activities that require the use of scientific calculators. There are numerous STEM schools all over Southern California, and many of them are using Texas Instruments (TI) scientific calculators to expose students to the use of technology in solving real-world problems. Some notable features of
this web site are the use of engaging eClips (video) for teaching, and that the activities can be easily adapted to meet the Common Core State Standards. The site provides several lesson activities with both a student edition (without answers), and an educator's edition (with answers). I checked out some of them, and got so engrossed that time flew by! As the website states...."The focus of Exploring Space Through Math project is to promote inquiry through real world applications. Doing so will place students in the role of NASA scientists, engineers and researchers who work in teams to accomplish tasks. This project will promote cooperative learning, problem-solving and the use of
technology."
AAA Math Website
AAA Math features a comprehensive set of thousands of interactive arithmetic lessons. This website holds a wide range of lessons from Kindergarten through 8th grade level, and it enables both new learning and review at each student’s current level. The website is sorted into two categories- by subject and grade level. In each topic, students may learn, practice, play, or explore. Further, students may learn more about the contexts, next lesson, or previous lesson. Students may also gain immediate feedback when practicing a particular mathematical problem. The AAA Math website also offers another version in the Spanish Language for those who mainly communicate in Spanish. AAA Math website allows both teachers and students to learning new materials and to put their new learning into practice, and then be given immediate feedback to correct their mistakes.
Java Math Applets
This website features java applets on a variety of math topics, including middle school math up to Calculus. Although it was founded by three Japanese educators, the website and applets are in English and the power of using them in the mathematics classroom is that they don't need words to visually "prove" or have students explore a concept. They are hands on, letting the user click and drag things around to demonstrate, for instance, several different ways to prove the Pythagorean Theorem or that all triangles have angle sums of 180 degrees. Some of the applets leave things to be desired, but they have numerous ones that are very handy for either a demonstration of a hard to explain concept or a hands-on exploration in the computer lab. My favorite ones include those of Complex Numbers (very hard to explain or explore without this!) and ones from Calculus topics of finding volume by slicing.
Online Graphing Calculator
This online graphing calculator is free and capable of producing correct graphs with practically no wait time. It's useful for interacting with new concepts and their graphs. For example, students who are learning quadratic equations can use this tool to graph the equations that they have to find roots for algebraically. This is especially useful for fractional or irrational roots, since they put their numeric answers into visual perspective.
Purple Math
This free website provide detailed instruction on how to use various procedures to solve equations. This can be a supplementary source of instruction for the students. Providing the students with a link to the specific page about the procedure they are practicing will allow the students to have more guidance and scaffolding. Students also have more autonomy when they access the sources in their own time and with their own free will.
PBS Teachers
PBS has dozens of classroom resources for teaching the math and physics behind many everyday phenomena. The site is searchable by topic, media type, and PBS program. The site offers lesson plans, offline activities and in-class activities as well. PBS offers various views of math and science including historical, present day applications, and even future possibilities for math and science. Beside what is offered for the classroom, the site also has a professional development section that is very useful for teachers who are trying to expand their own capabilities. There's also a discussion area so users of the site can learn from and contribute to the teaching community, give opinions for how to make the teaching segments better, and offer up new methods for making the classroom experience a more enjoyable learning place for all.
Illuminations
Illuminations is a great place for teachers and students to search for helpful methods in math. Both in lesson planning and math activities, this site also provides mobile apps that help students practice multiples or just have fun in playing games. There are videos and online games too. Teachers can benefit in this just as much with the lesson plans it also provides, within the lesson plans it also has handouts and in depth explanation on how to teach conceptual math content to students. The site also provides many great interactives for students to use if manipulatives are not readily accessable.
Pintrest is also a great way to share handouts and get cute ideas on how to teach and what ways you can creatively teach. This is a free sharing network between teachers who find other incredible sites or just want to share something that they had created. In its search engine type in the topic of your subject and easily many handouts and activities such as proportion will appear. Use these to help guide you and give you ideas to create your own or use the ones offered. Sometimes these go getters will also lead paths to great resources, though some of these resources may cost money, don't fret, most are free.
Math Is Fun
This website supports learning in the content area of math. This website has many different topics of math, such as Data, Geometry, Algebra, Measurements, etc. Students can work with a partner on a computer to enter this website and click on the topic that they are learning, for instance, exponents. It could be used for a review session for them to learn more about topics or use for clarification. There is a page of definitions and examples on a topic followed by 10 “Quiz Questions”. The Quiz Questions are usually multiple choice and if a student answered it incorrectly, it will show the steps on how to solve for that problem. The quiz questions will give them immediate feedback on their understanding This website is engaging and visual. Students can go at their own pace in reading the question and speak with their partners about the particular topic. Along with that, students can take notes about what they learn on this website.