I teach 7th grade math at a school in New York. I strongly believe in continuous learning and innovative instruction to help students build confidence in their math knowledge.
-Miss Middle School Math π
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I always encourage my students to become life-long learners. I myself, never stop learning and reflecting, striving to become the best possible teacher I can be. This summer I had the pleasure of taking an online graduate course about Web 2.0 tools in education. In the class, we learned about what Web 2.0 tools are, explored specific Web 2.0 tools, and developed projects using Web 2.0 tools. The class has helped me reflect on my delivery of instruction and encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone to prepare new teaching materials.
One of the most effective aspects of this course was the required weekly discussion posts. While they were required, I found myself reading every post thoroughly and enjoying interacting with my peers online. We were able to interact and share ideas with one another, discuss advantages and disadvantages of certain tools, and inspire each other to use tools in new, unique ways. My peers gave me ideas on how to innovate my classroom through these posts, that I would not have otherwise thought to do.
In addition to the weekly discussion postings, I found myself pushed out of my comfort zone when asked to create projects using Web 2.0 tools. I created a Pinterest page, a blog, and a WebQuest, all of which I would have been hesitant to make on my own. This course was able to help me create these through effective scaffolding. We would read articles, watch videos, and discuss with one another. Once I had received all of the necessary information through many formats (articles, websites, videos, discussions), I felt comfortable creating these on my own and am proud of what I have created.
One of my favorite exercises of the course was creating a blog. Designing my own blog page allowed me to be creative and take ownership of my project. I was able to design the layout of my blog, create a logo for my blog, and write my first blog post. I enjoyed the process and feeling of accomplishment when this project was completed.
I found myself pushed out of my comfort zone when asked to create projects using Web 2.0 tools. Never did I imagine myself writing a blog, and enjoying it! In education, we tend to gravitate into certain content area groupings such as STEM or humanities. I notice as a teacher that some students are more successful in one grouping more than another. Being in the STEM field, I grew up being successful in and enjoying STEM subjects more than humanities. Initially, I was anxious when asked to create a blog because I never felt as confident in my writing abilities as I did with my math, problem-solving skills. I also never enjoyed writing as much as I enjoyed solving math problems, but I have new-found confidence after completing my blog project. When I completed my blog project, I had a sense of pride that I have never felt before with my writing. Not only was I proud of my writing, but I had fun writing it as well. Maybe it was because I was writing using a different medium. I am not sure, but I am grateful to have been pushed out of my comfort zone. Without this course, I would have never known how much fun writing a blog can be!
After writing my blog, I realized that there may be students who were similar to me; who need a different medium to feel confident in their work. Web 2.0 tools could be the medium that these students need to be successful in my math classroom. This course has inspired me to use Web 2.0 tools to enhance my teaching, but not use them exclusively. I feel that there are many benefits of using these tools in the classroom including collaboration among peers, interactive learning, and being able to present the material in a way that caters to multiple learning styles. Web Quests are one tool I would love to incorporate, so that students can explore concepts on their own, but in a structured setting. I plan to incorporate Web 2.0 tools into some of my future lessons, so that students can experience the benefits and develop a better understanding of mathematical concepts.
There are not many things I would have changed about this course, because I did think the material was thought-provoking and useful. I would have liked for all of the links in the modules to work because some of the links were no longer available. In addition, while I did enjoy the act of blogging, I do not know how to easily incorporate it into my math classroom. I would have enjoyed learning about more Web 2.0 tools that could be easily brought into a math classroom, such as Web Quests.
I personally believe that a perfect teacher does not exist. I feel there is always room for improvement as information and the world around us changes. It is important for us, as teachers, to reflect and modify our teaching, so that future students can benefit from all we have to offer.
Through this course I have learned about Web 2.0 tools and created materials that I can use in my classroom immediately. The information was relevant, useful, and thought-provoking.
For both of these reasons, I would participate in a discovery program such as this one again. I would be able to continue my education, improve my teaching, and learn information that is relevant and useful to my career.
As summer comes to a close, I wish luck to all of those prepping for the beginning of the school year!
Miss Middle School Math π
“Technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational.”
– George Couros
Get to know me:
I teach 7th grade math at a school in New York. I strongly believe in continuous learning and innovative instruction to help students build confidence in their math knowledge. Below are my top 10 favorite educational math websites.
Link: https://quizizz.com/
Summary: Quizizz is an online website where students can take a quiz on any subject created by teachers. These quizzes can be used as formative assessment or can be given to students as homework using the homework feature.
Review: This website has all of the benefits of Kahoot, but at an individualized pace. This site features the option of a leader board, music, memes, the ability to change the time allotted for a question, and whether to keep your quiz private or public. My students are engaged by the leader board and memes every time we play! I can create a quiz by using one or more quizzes created by other teachers on any topic I choose. In addition, Quizizz will provide data analysis on the questions answered. so the teacher can assess student learning. Unfortunately these quizzes must be in multiple choice format and if you do choose to use a quiz originally created by someone else, you will need to ensure their answers are correct before publishing it.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Link: https://www.khanacademy.org/
Summary: Khan Academy provides lessons in written format, video tutorials, and practice problems for many math topics.
Review: I have yet to find a topic within my math curriculum that Khan Academy does not cover! The videos, practice problems, descriptions are of exceptional quality. Choose a course, topic, and lesson to get started; it is that easy! It seems to be a well-rounded site, but the videos seem to be geared towards older students.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBuMwlP7kHkNxdPAqtFSJTw for the YouTube account or https://www.mathantics.com/ for the website.
Summary: With over 1 million subscribers on YouTube, the Math Antics YouTube Channel and their website provide video tutorials for many math concepts.
Review: I use these videos as often as I can. While the jokes can be a bit cheesy (I personally love them!), the quality of the videos are unmatched. These videos are fantastic for students who are visual learners. Rob’s instruction of the concepts is engaging and I appreciate that he uses definitions to drive his problem-solving. Unfortunately, not every topic in Algebra is covered on his channel yet; he is still expanding and creating content.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Link: https://edpuzzle.com/
Summary: Edpuzzle allows users to create interactive videos for an innovative lesson in the classroom or a flipped classroom setting.
Review: Edpuzzle stands out because of its many features. Teachers can either use their own videos, or upload a video from YouTube, Khan Academy, Crash Course, etc. Teachers can then embed questions throughout the video to assess student learning as they are watching, and record their voice over the video. Edpuzzle provides data analysis on the questions embedded into the video. It also allows teachers to track how much progress the students have made through the video and how long it took each student to complete the lesson. Teachers can place restrictions on the video, so students can not fast forward through the video. This can be a great tool inside the classroom, as homework, and to use in a flipped classroom setting.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Link: http://www.math-aids.com/
Summary: Math-Aids provides free practice worksheets with answer keys for math topics across many grade levels.
Review: Math-Aids is great resource for teachers, parents, and students alike! It provides both downloadable worksheets and informational cheat sheets. They can be used as classroom worksheets, at-home practice, or homework. The website provides answer keys along with the worksheets which can be used by teachers for grading purposes or students to check their work. Lastly, the amount and types of questions can be adjusted to fit personal needs (the answer keys always match the worksheet being created.)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Link: https://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/index.html
Summary: Math Is Fun provides lessons in written format, video tutorials, and practice problems for many math topics. It also has games, downloadable worksheets, and puzzles.
Review: In my opinion, this website has everything going for it. It has lessons varying in topics, provided in written format with pictures and video format. The site provides practice questions online, downloadable worksheets with answer keys, and an online mathematics dictionary (with pictures). In addition, games such as Connect 4, chess, and checkers, and puzzles such as jigsaw puzzles and riddles can be played on the site. The only downsides are that some of the videos use laymen’s terms rather than the vocabulary, for example using the word “swap” instead of “change the order” and there is no way to track a student’s progress.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Link: https://learnzillion.com/resources/75114-math/
Summary: LearnZillion’s website contains video tutorials for many math concepts.
Review: The math tutorials do a very good job of explaining and cover a wide range of math concepts. Their videos mimic an EDI (Explicit Direct Instruction) type of structure and are the perfect length for their topics. Unfortunately, this is all that is available for free. According to their site, a paid subscription provides you with, “teacher materials, student materials, assessments, family resources, analytics, and teaching guides to support deep student learning.”
Rating: 3 out of 5
Link: https://kahoot.com/
Summary: Kahoot is typically used by teachers as a formative assessment tool. Teachers create a quiz and students compete to get the most answers correct.
Review: Kahoot is engaging at all age-levels and can be used for almost any topic. The questions must be multiple choice and gives immediate feedback on student learning. If played as a class, the results for the class are shown to the class. If many students answer the question incorrectly, the teacher can go over the problem immediately. The teacher sets the pace of the questions. Unfortunately, because the game is played as a class, students will need to wait for everyone to answer before moving on to the next question. In addition, the class data is not anonymous or confidential.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Link: https://www.prodigygame.com/
Summary: Prodigy is a math-practice fantasy game. Students customize their own wizard avatars, challenge friends to fight in the arena, and fight monsters. Their spells accuracy and power is determined by math problems. As they answer questions correctly, their characters level up, learn new spells, and earn gold they can use to purchase items within the game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvanAzGjw4A
The link below is a video created by the co-founder of prodigy. He discusses how the game works from both the student’s and teacher’s point of view.
Review: Prodigy is better suited for math practice rather than introducing new topics. Teachers are given feedback on what questions students are answering and how accurately they answer them. The game is designed to differentiate questions based on students’ needs. The game starts by running a diagnostic test with questions increasing in difficulty. Through this, the program determines the student’s math grade level. When the student battles other players, they will be given questions based on their individual learning profile. The student never sees what grade-level they are at, they only see the rewards they get for correctly answering questions. The downside to prodigy is that even though it can be played for free, some of the items can only be purchased with a subscription.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Link: https://www.math-drills.com/
Summary: Math-Drills contains math worksheets with answer keys on a variety of math topics. The site also has holiday-themed worksheets, math flashcards, and online games.
Review: Math-Drills is an excellent resource for finding math worksheets to practice one skill at a time. There are multiple versions of each worksheet (with an answer key for each) and each worksheet practices one single skill. It is an excellent resource that can be used by teachers, parents, and students! The worksheets can be used as classroom worksheets, at-home practice, or homework. The worksheets are neatly organized and pictures are provided when necessary. This site does not contain worksheets with word problems, rather the worksheets are completely skill-oriented.
Rating: 4 out of 5
I hope you enjoyed reading about some new math resources. Share any of your favorite resources in the comments below. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
-Miss Middle School Math π
Miss Middle School Math