During the month of January, I have been using something new in my classroom. It has quickly become my favorite piece of technology. The website is called . It is free math website that allows teachers to create a class. Once the class is created, you pick a grade and they have a predetermined list of skills based on six math standards: number sense, algebra, measurement, fractions, geometry, and probability (this may be different for different grades). Each standard is broken into sub-standards such as number theory basics, decimals, fraction concepts, addition concepts, introduction to algebra, foundations of geometry, area and perimeter, and many more. Each sub-standard is further broken into individual skills like angles and their classification, triangle classification, quadrilateral classification, decimals and factions, equivalent fractions, and so on. On the free account, the teacher is also allowed to pick a few more other skills. I chose addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division concepts from earlier grades for my students who still struggle with those skills. Every skill has over 30 practice problems that focus on that specific skill. The problems are all multiple choice. For every problem there are two or three hints for the student and the student also has the option of watching a video that explains step by step the concepts involved in solving the problem.
Each student receives a username and password and they are able to log on from any computer that has access to the internet. As they work through the problems, they submit their answers. From the teacher portal, I am able to look at the work students are doing on each standard, or each sub-standard, or each skill. I can view this as a class overview or just look at individual students. The report is also color-coded based on the percent of questions the student has answered correctly. Every week, I am emailed a report that tells me how active the class has been and the average number of questions answered correctly. Also, you can add parent emails to each students account and they will receive weekly emails with their student’s information.
I have found this to be incredibly helpful in assessing and organizing students into flexible groups for math content and small skills groups. Also, I have contacted many parents and if they have access to the internet, their struggling students can receive extra practice on specific skills that they are struggling with. I have many parents worry that they do not have sufficient math knowledge to help their students, but now they can watch the videos with their students and help them with the math.
While there are so many benefits with tenmarks, there are a few things that I would like to see changed. Because every question is multiple choice, I do have some students who are simply guessing at the question even though I ask them to show work on paper. Also I do not have enough headphones for the class and I have found that students are embarrassed to watch the videos when the whole class hears what they are struggling with. It takes a motivated student to really work and learn from the website if they are struggling with a skill. Also, the website itself is not one-hundred percent reliable. There are times that we are unable to work on it because it is responding so slowly and I have not been able to access student results for weeks at a time. Over all it has helped me focus in on my students needs and on what my students already know and keep all that information organized. I feel this is a huge benefit for me and my students.

January Blog

This January, I decided to have my students publish their three week writing project as a PowerPoint Presentation to share with their parents during conferences. They loved it! They had to complete their rough drafts, revising, and editing prior to being able to publish, of course, and it really excited them through the entire process. I had students who normally barely write in class taking their writing home and completing it for homework just so they could have more time to complete their PowerPoint.
I began the PowerPoint istruction with the bare minimum. I let them pick a slide design, and they then had to type all their writing into certain slides. (I had a break down ready for them as to what part of the paragraph(s) went on each slide.) Once all the typing was complete, I allowed the students to add on the "bells and whistles", such as font, pictures, and animation. They all worked so hard, almost every student was able to add these things! My students wrote some of their best writing, and their enthusiasm was unparalleled. It was fantastic to also watch them present to their parents as well. Now, I have them asking to create presentations for every project we do!

January Blog--Math Website

I have had my class working on the website enlvm.usu.edu. This is a website with many different computer activities that students can complete on their own. All you do is create a class and give each of your students a number. There are activities for grade 2 all the way up to trigonometry. This past month we have worked with the geometry sections. I really liked the geometric transformations. Most of my 6^th grade students could recognize a rotation, translation, and reflection before I did any formal teaching. These computer activities extended their knowledge of the 3 math terms and definitely challenged all of my students.

Smart Slate

So I have begun tackling the Smart Slate! I really enjoy using but admittedly struggle a bit with my hand-eye coordination. My focus tends to shift completely to the board vs the students BUT luckily they are so engaged with watching my "magic" on the board that my lessons have still been successful. As I approach proficiency with the Smart Slate I am eager for more ideas on how to integrate it into more lessons. I will post more as they come but please let me know how you have been using Smart Slate in your room!
Thanks!

January and beyond

Yikes- where has the month already gone? I have been thinking about my goals for technology in my classroom for the remainder of the year. I am sad that one of my goals has been my goal since October, but I still haven't figured out how I best want to use my class blog. Is it still a great idea to have students post or better to just post student work? As of now it has been just a place to post (and not as frequent as I want at that). I guess we shall see where the year takes it. Another goal is to get better at using the smart response clickers in my classroom. I have teamed up with a teammate and we have been doing every weekly reading test on them. I would like to use them for math assessments as well as get fast enough to create quick formative assessments to help drive my small groups more. I guess my last goal is to maintain and increase my use of our new computer lab with my class and my use of the smart board. I still think the smart board is such a great tool for student engagement, I do, and we do instructional times. So look forward to seeing how my technology goals pan out for the rest of the year!

Mini-Laptops!

Our classroom received new laptops! Our school made a decision to distribute the computers that were apart of the laptop cart! Now, each classroom in our primary hall has at least 2 or 3 little laptops that are perfect for little fingers! I was nervous when we received the computers because I wasn't sure if the kids could use the touchpad on the computer. However, I was really surprised to find that the kids were able to use the touchpad on the computer! I'm beginning to think that kids are pre-wired to use technology!

Goals for 2011

So, I've heard that the best thing to do when making long-term goals is to make them public. What better place to do that than this blog??
Here are my (school and technology-related) goals:
1. Use my Smart Response clickers at least three times per week in math.
2. Use the clickers once every two weeks in reading during an independent center.
3. Use the newly forming Monaco computer lab with my ELD students to create comic strips, photo stories etc. to enhance their reading comprehension.
4. Increase my students' blog postings to twice a month- hopefully with more independent blogging.

My goals are attainable and realistic for my classroom of 27 students and I am excited to get started on them!