Math

Teacher Spotlight: Jennifer Buck, Upland Terrace Elementary

May 2015Josh Whiting

Ms. Buck is an amazing 6th grade teacher at Upland Terrace Elementary. She incorporates technology in her classroom seamlessly. I had the opportunity to observe her class creating Kahoots to review math concepts that they had learned throughout the year. The students in her class use iPads to create their review quizzes.

This spotlight showcases the excellent instruction that Ms. Buck provides her students. Her lesson is so well organized. She lays out very clear instructions and encourages feedback from her students. Her students exhibit 21st Century skills; collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity are happening in her classroom.

Spotlight Author: Heidi Meenen, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist

Grant: CS4HS (Computer Science for High School)

May 2015Josh Whiting

Google’s CS4HS is “an annual grant program promoting computer science education worldwide by connecting educators to the skills and resources they need to teach computer science and computational thinking concepts in fun and relevant ways.” More information on applying for these hands-on in-person and online training opportunities is available here. You can also watch the video below to get a basic idea of the goals of this program.

Featured Resource: PowerMyLearning

May 2015Josh Whiting

PowerMyLearning is a free personalized learning platform that allows teachers and parents to design and assign custom activity playlists for students by choosing from thousands of games, interactives, videos, and simulations selected from across the world wide web. [Read more…] about Featured Resource: PowerMyLearning

Teacher Spotlight: Karen Fox, Sandburg Elementary

January 2015Josh Whiting

iPod Touches are out and about in Karen Fox’s first grade class. On the iPods, students practice math, reading and writing in fun and meaningful ways that Karen has designed for her students. With a dice app, students shake their iPods to roll their dice. They add them together to get a sum, and then either hop, tiptoe or skip to find others with the same sum. Students use the mic app to record themselves reading their story. Afterwards, they listen to their recordings to hear themselves reading. Then they’re moving on to writing their Word Wall words using the notes app. Karen carefully demonstrates the instructions for each activity by placing an iPod under the doc cam to show her students what is expected. Students get busy typing their word wall words and then get a chance to individually read them to their teacher. Karen makes “Every Day Count and Every Minute Matter” for her students. Thanks Karen Fox!

Spotlight Author: Teresa Bruin, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist

Teacher Spotlight: Erin Evans, Monroe Elementary

November 2014Josh Whiting

Erin Evans makes learning meaningful and fun using various forms of technology in her Kindergarten class. The students use iPads with carefully selected apps during student rotations. This video highlights that, as well as Erin and the STS, Stephanie Evans, working with students who are using a new iPad suite of apps called Osmo. Osmo includes Words, Tangrams, and Newton, a critical thinking app. Students problem solve as they interact with the apps using letter tiles, tangrams and drawing in front of the mirror attachment for the iPad. The attached mirror recognizes what they have placed or drawn in front of the iPad and helps them with phonemic awareness, problem solving skills in math and critical thinking skills in the physics app as they draw lines to make a falling ball reach its target. Students also have access to a cart full of iPods (not shown in this video). Most of all, the students are fully attentive and enjoying learning in their classroom!

Spotlight Author: Teresa Bruin, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist

Apps and Resources Shown in Video:

Osmo: https://www.playosmo.com/
Homer: https://learnwithhomer.com/
Frog Hop HD: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/frog-hop-hd-math-problems/id585700693?mt=8

Teacher Spotlight: Andy McIntyre, Valley Jr. High School

October 2014Josh Whiting

Andy McIntyre is a math teacher who uses technology seamlessly with his students at Valley Jr. High School in South Salt Lake, Utah. He participated in a classroom Chromebook pilot program last year, and the laptop computers are now fully integrated into the learning activities in his classroom. Check out the video above, showing his math students in action on a typical day of learning.

Here’s how Mr. McIntyre described the lesson he shared with students on the day of this video:

Students will use Chromebooks to better learn about perfect squares and perfect cubes.
They will use formulas to fill columns, insert pictures of cubes, create scatter plots and label them appropriately.
They should see from the tables and graphs how the perfect squares and cubes grow.

Some of Mr. McIntyre’s awesome technology tools shown in this video:

He uses the Doceri iPad app to draw out math problems in bold, easy-to-see colors while being mobile in the classroom.
He introduces some of the lesson’s math content with a Jeopardy game.
His students use Google Sheets on their Chromebooks to create formulas for perfect cubes and perfect squares.

Spotlight Author: Teresa Bruin, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist