Technology Teaching Tidbits

It is becoming more common for teachers to use online tools within mathematics both within the classroom and as a home learning task. There are many tools available however, there are two that are common in New Zealand Schools. Mathletics Mathletics is an online tool that allows learners to challenge their peers both within the classroom and worldwide in testing, developing and strengthening mathematics skills and strategies. Learners are assigned activities by the teacher then allowed free play to practice basic mathematics skill against peers. The games are engaging and bright meaning they draw the learners in and keep them focused on challenges. Teachers and schools can access their learner's participation and results and several schools use this information to select the participant of the week and reward them in assembly. Mathletics also allows teachers to track progress over a longer period of time and reward learners with bronze, silver and gold achievement. Mangahigh ...

With the increases in Technology today teachers are losing control of the classroom. Looking around the room in a digital classroom a teacher sees all of their students focused on screens but how many of them are actually doing the right thing? Too often we walk towards a learner to check and see them change screens or tilt their screens down in the hopes that they will not be caught. Hapara (and Google Classroom) give teachers back their control and create a more monitored environment as well as giving teachers an well organised platform to share activities and check the work of learners. Managing What Learners are Doing Hapara offers teachers live views of what their learners are looking at on their own screens and any other tabs they have open. Additionally they allow teachers to close tabs, open tabs, send messages and email the learner meaning there is the ability to constantly monitor the students. Sharing Tasks with Learners and Accessing their Work for Marking Hapara ...

I have begun to recognise my over-dependency with social media forums however, every so often I come across an app or other digital tool that makes my feel like it's a good thing I still use some of these social media tools. Although I no longer use Snapchat daily as a tool to share the moments in my day I deem important, I do still look at the live stories from well known businesses. Mashable is a well known source for news and updates on the latest digital tools and happenings throughout the world. They share an app of the day normally a helpful or engaging app, they also share news and other information including a story I came across today. Heather and Amie from Portland have created the first Children's Book that is based around code. Based on Kickstarter they are heading towards publishing and selling this book first in a America (and hopefully soon the rest of the world!) the book titled "The Wonderful World of Creatures and Code" shares coding with learners ...

Week Eight Check out these easy steps to do short multi-choice assessments that give you evidence of learning (while grading and organising the data for you). Checking learner's knowledge is now easier than ever and gives you up to date data as it can take only a few minutes to check if the learners are gaining knowledge.   Week Nine This week we were given the opportunity to look at our peer's "How To" activities and give feedback and feed forward on these to support their development. We were also able to reflect on our own how to presentations and make changes to these. During this week I spent a lot of time waiting for my peers to post their presentations and then give me feedback however, once they did I enjoyed becoming more reflective on my work and look back over it as a new person. I began to reflect on the difference between feedback and feed forward as well. No longer do we just say "good job" instead we give feedback; being what we thought...

There are now opportunities for teachers to move away from recording events and experiences with text and static images and instead use devices to record experiences and bring them to life. We can use videos to tell stories and share learning with parents, whānau and the community as they are more engaging and dynamic. Learners can also bring their knowledge and ideas to life through acting out and filming their stories or new learning. Let think about this in a cultural context. When it comes time to assess the learning in the topic of the Treaty of Waitanga instead of a test or getting learners to simply write out what they know, give them the opportunity to write a script and act out what occurred. Once the learners have written their scripts and practices they could film and then edit their video meaning the learners have more flexibility about the location of their video and the props available. Instead of using a small space at the front of the room, the whole school becomes th...

Previously I have talked about using Twitter in the classroom.  http://jordanshallcrass.blogspot.co.nz/2015/07/tweeting-as-teacher.html?m=1  Being a central microblog it can create a flowing dialogue where many ideas can be shared and accessed. As a class we have shared our thoughts about using microblogging and in particular hashtags to communicate. Check out our feed by searching #TECP317 on Twitter. Barback (2013) talks about using microblogging in the New Zealand Education Review Series. Described as an environment where you can "Make your point then listen to others." Twitter allows for open dialogue with feedback and feed forward. For teachers is means being able to share a quick thought, idea or experience in a few words as a record and reminder for later.  My own newer experiences with Twitter involved sharing a pic collage on Twitter that a student taught me to make. The I stand sharing meant the student was able to see her efforts appreciated and shared at the t...