Math Gaming

Mystery Math Town Screenshot

Gaming is becoming a very popular educational tool because learning experiences are programmed in the principles of game design. Gaming programs are designed at the center of teaching and learning and help students act as seekers and solvers of complex problems. Additionally, games that use a system of points, badges, rewards and leaderboards can be replicated by teachers as a motivational tool. Gamification is allowing students to develop non-cognitive skills, patience and discipline, collective intelligence, collaboration skills and social/emotional learning skills- skill sets that will be valuable for their future jobs. 

Elementary School is where the foundation of mathematical knowledge is laid: adding and subtracting, multiplying and dividing, understanding fractions and decimals, and mastering basic geometry. Math can sometimes be considered boring to students and most have a hard time being fully engaged in their learning. Using Gamification to help students master math skills is a wonderful way to get those higher order thinking skills working. 

Here are a few of my favorite Math Apps out there you could add to your lesson plans:

*Number Frames The Math Learning Center has lots of great resources for students, including interactive math tools to help students practice skills. With this tool, students explore the relationships between numbers as they represent each operation with virtual manipulatives. This free app gives kids the space to build a foundation that makes math fluency practice most meaningful. I feel this is one of the best apps as it truly gives them an idea of place value and what the number really means.

Math VS Zombies Screen Shot

Math Vs Zombies This silly app asks children to add, subtract, multiply, or divide one- and two-digit numbers. Students need to answer each question correctly in order to zap the zombies back into humans. Kids are sure to love this game! 

Details: $4.99. Availalbe on iOS and Android (free)

GeoBoard is the electronic equivalent of those pegboards you stretch rubber bands over to create various shapes. Students can make a multitude of geometric shapes — and in the process, learn about basic geometry, line segments, polygons, angles, congruence, perimeter, area, and more. The app is open-ended, meaning that it allows students to explore freely as they go along and experiment with creating different shapes.

Details: $4.99. Available on iOS and Android.

Mystery Math Town combines learning math skills with the fun of solving perplexing mysteries. Kids must solve equations and math problems to help a friendly ghost search Math Town for fireflies. Players unlock doors and secret passages that lead to mysterious rooms, all the while having their skills tested in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and equations.

Details: $2.99. Available on iOS.

I would try to identify your learning objectives first and then move onto looking for an app that would help your students achieve those goals. These are some of my favorites but there are a ton of other apps out there. Keep your eyes and ears open for new games and rememember to HAVE FUN :) 

 

Google for Teachers - Working Smarter, Not Harder

Google Classroom - Working Smarter, Not Harder

I have to say that I am one of those people who has heard the chatter on the benefits of Google but hadn't really fully dove in until this semester in my Technology Education course at UNI. I am astounded on how many ways Google apps can help make life easier and more efficient. So, I wanted to highlight some of my new discoveries and share them with you! These tools from Google for Educators, whether old and familiar or new and improved, will keep teachers and students inspired, inventive, and organized.

There are a ton of different links and downloads available and it can be quite a doozy trying to figure out which ones work and which ones are a flop. Google created Google for Educators, which puts some of the most sought out and useful applications in one place for you. 

From French to Math or from Music to History, there is a free website that gives you step by step virtual directions and videos to help get you ready to go. 

Google Drive

Google Drive is a very easy and efficient way for teachers to provide feedback to students. This was also something that I had not seen until this semester. It allows you and your class to track what changes have been made, save each revision, and collaborate in real time. You can create folders for different projects and easily organize class handouts. 

Google Search

Google Search is something we all have used, probably even multiple times each day! Within the search site, Google has also come out with a Webquestish game called A Google a Day, where students are prompted to solve and answer a question each day. This will help our students build digital literacy skills in finding quality sources of information. I think this is extremely important given the amount of false information on the web. 

Google CS First

Teachers and students alike will benefit from this computer science curriculum called CS First. This app was designed to Inspire kids to create with technology through free computer science clubs. It's really easy to start up, its free and fun. Google will actually send you printed materials for free. Kids loving these  CS First clubs and they are available in a variety of themes, such as music, art, and game design, that are designed to capture a student's existing interests.

Google Keep

Google Keep, is A-mazing. This is definitely something you can use every day. There is a desktop/web version or you can download the App. Keep is super simple and super sweet way to take notes. It takes text based note taking to a whole notha level. You can use it to save an image, make an audio recording for yourself or you can even create a to-do list. 

Google Classroom

Google's newest amazing app is called Google Classroom. Teachers are able to create a space where they can make announcements, post assignments and give students a way to interact with their classmates in addition to turning in assignments electronically. There are Android and iOS versions of Google classroom making it even easier for students to access. 

Google Sites

Teachers, Google Sites is your place to create a digital presence on the web. One of the best things about Google Sites is its ability to be that digital hub for your classroom. Using video, docs, forms and other resources to place onto your web classroom to ensure that everyone has access inclusively. You can combine calendars for due dates, early outs etc for both students and parents to access.  You can have students create their own portfolio, like we did with our class, showcasing the hard work and accomplishments made during the school year. 

Google Maps 

Google Maps helps students explore the world around them because they can go virtually anywhere in the world through Street View. Rejoice! -  Google Earth Pro is free, and teachers and students can use Google Maps Engine Lite (permission required) to create custom maps for a variety of projects. Also, check out Google Tour Builder to have your students create their own interactive tours of historical sites, locations in literature, and travel guides. Seriously the possibilities are endless and will open up the doors of creativity! 



http://www.india.com/whatever/teachers-day-google-wishes-happy-teachers-day-with-colorful-doodle-139717/

https://creativecommons.org/

My PLN (Personal Learning Network)

My Personal Learning Network Journey

At the beginning of our semester, we were challenged to construct our Personal Learning Network as it stood at that time. I must admit, it was lacking, to say the least. (See below). Throughout the course of the semester, I have been collecting connections and resources that I can use to find answers (research), learn new things, contribute my own ideas to and collaborate with other professions with the use of chats, blogs and social sites. 

This semester, because of my connection with my Math Educator - Julie Hatzler,  I was able to volunteer for the STEM festival at the Science Center to help teach elementary students basic math skills through games! While I was there, I visited with Central Iowa AG In The Classroom booth and I was given information on how to enrich my future students with lessons, activities, information, resources an outreach in regards to Iowa's Agricultural realm. This taught me that I can expand my Personal Learning Network by also being physically present in social settings involving education. The connections I have made in just one semester, involve a wide variety of social media and will allow me a tremendous opportunity for me to enhance my professional development. 

I created my very first Twitter & Pinterest account, have knowledge of learning/lesson planning apps and have created a Teacher’s Page on Facebook for parents and students to follow. After collecting all of these resources, I needed to put them all in one place, so I created a Symbaloo account. These are just a few of the many resources, apps, and social connections I have made during this semester. I am very grateful for this assignment because I will be able to use my PLN to help form relationships, stay informed and be able to keep myself up to date with new knowledge as a teacher. 

Twitter: One of the first resources I created was my own professional Twitter account. Twitter is a wonderful place to share ideas and form connections with other professionals. New tweets allow me to stay up to date with happenings within the educational world. I will benefit from this resource in my future teaching because I will be able to stay up with the latest trends in education, and I will have a growing network of teachers to collaborate with. Below is my account today...

Pinterest: I love how you can share ideas and create boards with various pins/ideas. I created a folder labeled "Elementary Education" and have been pinning ideas, weekly to this folder for future use as a teacher. I am so glad that I created my account because Pinterest will allow me to share creative ideas for lesson plans, activities, crafts, ways to integrate technology into the classroom, organization within the classroom and much more to people that are following me. I will benefit from this resource in my future teaching because it will help me put together a collection of ideas that I will be able to utilize in my own classroom someday. 

Teacher's Facebook Page: I found this resource towards the end of our class while looking at examples of the other PLNs students had created. I thought this was a fantastic way to reach out to students, parents and other teachers during the school year with a page that would be strictly dedicated to education and happenings within the classroom. I could put reminders for due dates, events in the classroom and even have a shared group for parents to ask questions. I will benefit from this resource in my future teaching because it will provide a resource for my students to access. I could even put up important alerts, due dates or specific information for parents such as early outs, and no school days. Endless possibilities!

Symbaloo: After a while, I found myself with an abundance of resources and apps but they were strung out all over the place in various bookmarks. As this was starting to drive me a bit bonkers; I realized that I  needed to put my social media accounts, the blogs I found, the various teacher websites, etc. in one place. As a solution to this problem, I created a Symbaloo account. This is a free visual and bookmarking tool where each person can make their own webixer with tiles linked to an URL on the internet. Another cool thing about Symbaloo is that you can look up other webmixers that other users have created. There are tons of Teacher Resource Themed Mixers available for you to use as well. I also added this to my home screen accessing these usefull apps and resources a breeze! 

Here is a snapshot of my account today... 

TA DAH! This is what my Personal Learning Network looks today! What a HUGE difference this will make with my career as a teacher.  If you have trouble seeing all of the labels (because there are so many!) feel free to click on this link

Here is a list of the URLs to the ten additional resources of my personal learning network...

1.   Twitter Account - https://twitter.com/BaileysMom14

2.    My Pinterest Account - https://www.pinterest.com/jessicaljones14

3.    Teacher’s blog - http://missjonessteachingworld.blogspot.com

4.    Teacher’s Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/MissJonesClassroomWorld

5.    Symbaloo Account - http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/jessicasapps

6.    Thinglink Interactive Learning Tool Link -https://www.thinglink.com/scene/907101329275486209

7.    Join Miss Jones's Edpuzzle Classroom - https://edpuzzle.com/join/kihohud

8.    Creative Commons - https://creativecommons.org

9.    Popplet for new PLN - http://www.popplet.com/app/#/4005957

10. TedTalk: Ideas Worth Spreading - https://www.ted.com

11. I joined the Scholastic Reading Club! https://clubs.scholastic.com

We should all be familiar with STEM, but just in case you are not; STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. These are all important elements that lead a thriving and successful economy. Currently, there is very little attention towards technology in our K-12 Educational System in which we put our focuses on sciences and math, both of which are equally important. What I want to propose is that we need to do a better job of incorporating all of the STEM elements together to enhance our students' learning potential! If we continue to teach these subjects in isolation of each other, we are not giving our students their best chance to thrive in our new economy. 

If you really think about the relationship between these subjects it can be very interesting to note that science progression relies on math, technology, and engineering advancements. Likewise, engineering needs the help of science, math and the use of technological tools to continue its growth. 

Luckily, new standards are being put into place in regards to technology and engineering. Next Generation Science Standards are linking the four subjects together. Disciplinary ideas, or subjects, are grouped in four domains: the physical sciences; the life sciences; the earth and space sciences; and engineering, technology and applications of science.To read more on this process of grouping and teaching these subjects together please click here. 

This is our future and our guide to staying competitive internationally. What would happen if we put all of this new found information to use you say? 

1. Students would learn more deeply, utilizing higher order thinking skills

2. Intertwining these subjects will lead to more interest in STEM Careers, leading us to a better future and economy

As teachers, we need to be looking for ways to integrate all four of the STEM subject areas into our lessons and thematic units. We could do this by using problem-based learning to introduce STEM-related info. Again, these four subjects work with each other and are only at its best when the other three are helping. Let's give our future the best shot! 

http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/stem-clip-art-65663343

iPads In The Classroom...A Win!!!

By now, we all know that technology is becoming more and more important in succeeding in our world. Educators should place their focus on making sure that students are being taught and utilizing 21st Century Skills. 21st Century Skills are fundamental to education and is a valuable learning tool. 

81% of US Teachers think that tablets can help enhance classroom learning

86% of students believe tablets can help them study more efficiently. <---- This is coming from our student's mouths! Our job is to make sure our students are retaining as much as they can and that we are setting them up to be productive citizens in our technology driven the world. 

Looking at these statistics, you should see that if your school district hasn't jumped on the technology train yet, it will be in the very near future. 

The most important job we have as educators is to set our kids up with the best chance possible to succeed in life. It is vital that they are working on mastering their technology skills so that they can compete in today's job market. I've put together a list of ways iPads can enhance our students' learning.

Internet research
The iPad is great for surfing the web and researching topics in or out of the classroom. The Project Gutenburg allows students to download thousands of classic books to be read on any number of free book reader apps available. 

Making videos

Video creation and editing are simple tasks to complete on the iPad. This can be a great group activity to encourage collaboration.

Taking notes during class
The iPad is portable and easy to carry around with books making it the ideal tool to take notes and store all of a teacher’s lecture material. Evernote will help students keep track of their notes and Mendeley will organize their research documents and let them take their research done on their computers with them, wherever they are going. 
Teaching Enhancements

While walking around the classroom and interacting with students, teachers can control their computers from their iPad with the Remote Mouse app. With a simple cable, teachers can use their iPads to present their unique and creative Prezi presentation made on their computer by using the iPad application called Prezi Player. The teacher can control the document by simply pinching, twisting and sliding their fingers across the face of the iPad. 

Live debates and discussion forums
Setting a discussion topic for homework is ideal for encouraging participation from the more nervous members of the class. Students can be encouraged to take part in a live debate for their evening homework using the school virtual learning environment and can be marked on their level of engagement and responses.


Class blogs
The whole class contributing to a blog can be a rewarding experience which allows the students to get their first taste of getting published on the web.


Art classes
The iPad has changed art lessons for good – there are so many fantastic art apps which allow drawing and painting.


Making music
It’s easy and rewarding to make music on the iPad, using a variety of different instruments.


Talking to students from abroad

Particularly useful for language lessons: Skype can be set up so that video conferences can be arranged with schools in other countries. Video penpals allow students from different countries to talk, practice their language skills and share their cultural differences.

Technology has allowed the children who are more nervous in class the opportunity to have a voice.

Education is not just about memorizing facts and vocabulary words, it is about problem solving skills and long-term retention. 18 2nd graders completed PowerPoints about a specific animal and 16/18 remembered more facts about that animal after completing the presentation. It is known that projects enhance long-term memory and can help the student retain knowledge more effectively. 

Image credit: YZ Photography

The Most Important Thing You Can Do For Your Child Is To Read To Them

The classic bedtime story we all try to fit into our night time routine may be one of the most important things you can do for your child. Young children who are read to regularly by family members receive a multitude of benefits that boost their literacy development as well as social-emotional gains and are shown to excel academically. Children who are read to regularly end up having a larger vocabulary, higher levels of phonological, letter name, and sound awareness, and better success at decoding words. Wowza! 

Also, did you know that the number of words in a child’s vocabulary can be an important indicator of later academic success? Children’s vocabulary use at age three is a strong predictor of language skill and reading comprehension at age 9-10. Yes, that means what we are providing our children now is going to be with them for rest of their lives. What better gift could we give our kids than that?

It is equally shocking to hear that children who lack a strong foundation of language awareness and literacy skills early in life are more likely to fall behind in school, and are more likely to drop out. This doesn't mean always but there is a stronger chance of this happening. But - We DO Know that shared parent-child book reading during children’s preschool years leads to higher reading achievement in elementary school, as well as greater enthusiasm for reading and learning. Therefore their chances of falling behind and dropping out are slim to none. 

Diving in a little bit deeper to recent trends, it was found that vocabulary use in first grade can predict more than 30 percent of 11th-grade reading comprehension. This is something each of us as parents can fit in, say, 30 minutes a day. There is actually no excuse not to or really anything else more important you could do for your child to help them be successful in this world.  As educators and parents we have a responsibility to take 30 mins or so from our day and give our children what they need most. A chance and opportunity to excel in life and we can start by making reading to our children one of our top priorities. 

https://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/05_appendix1.pdf