Sometimes low-tech is best

My students are learning about integer operations this week.  I have read that integers are where a lot of algebra students struggle, so I wanted to make sure that my students got some good integer practice.  I did some searching for something technological (and I do have a Blendspace lesson for review, which we did use) but most days, I did not have access to the computers we would have needed.

So I needed a new plan - and came across Integer War! We played it for addition and multiplication and my students loved it! Some played in groups of 2, and others, to extend their learning, played in groups of 4!

Here are some photos of my students:






They loved it! They were so loud and crazy and engaged that I videotaped my classes for about 30 seconds and showed them the videos at the end of class. It was amazing.

It reminded me that some days technology is not needed for learning.  Just imagination.


Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 25, 2014 at 8:26 PM

    Just a side note: Skitch may be more useful when posting pix of kids. They have a pixelated tool that pixelizes any portion of the photo you want. Looks more natural. It's in the App Store.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Math Icon Board

Image
In my job, I am always looking for new ideas to share, whether it is a new activity or a new twist on an established one. Recently I got an email from Matt Miller at Ditch That Textbook with this idea -   an icon board for visual thinking.  I really got me thinking about how it could be used... and what other icon boards could be created. Since I am a former math teacher, that is where my mind heads - to math.  I started looking at the icons in the Insert Icons for Slides add-on, and sure enough, I found plenty that apply to math. So I started adding them, and thus creating my Math Icon Board My goal was to add icons that could be utilized in a variety of math and science classes. Obviously I do not have everything, partly because I couldn't find it or it didn't come to mind during my creation. When students use this, my suggestion is that they copy the icon (either by right-clicking and choosing copy OR hitting ctrl and C keys at the same time) and then pasting it
Read more

Remote Learning Recommendations, part 1

Now that many of us are in the thick of remote learning, or for those of us in my district, where we are preparing for remote learning, I have come across some great resources that I wanted to share. I am sure that throughout all this that there will be more, so that is why this is part 1. First, I have to say, I love Slidesmania . Her templates are amazing and I am constantly recommending her site to everyone. Right now, her Weekly Planner template is a must for teachers teaching remotely. Check it out! Second, I have seen a lot about educational technology companies reaching out to teachers, schools, and districts with free offers of normally paid versions.  On one hand, that is really cool, but it can be really overwhelming to teachers to decide what new tools to try in their classes.  Edweek  even wrote a very good piece on it. Based on what I have seen, planning with teachers and instructional coaches for remote learning, my recommendation is for teachers to generally use wh
Read more

My Personal User Manual

Image
One of my bosses, Ryan Smith, recently blogged about the clarity of a personal user manual . As I thought more and more about his post, I thought about how it might help me in my role as an ITS. Something like this might be useful, considering a large part of being successful at my job requires building and maintaining positive relationships with my staff. So here is my personal user manual: I'm a pretty positive person and I tend to smile a lot. Sometimes I worry that others will think my smile is fake or looks fake because I do it so much. But I promise it’s not… I can’t really fake a smile. One of my biggest strengths is that I am willing to say yes to new projects and innovative ideas. One of my biggest weaknesses is that I have a hard time saying no. So if I say no to an idea/project, it is not because I don't want to be involved, it is because I feel that I cannot give it the time that it deserves. I hate looking incompetent. I prefer to be "in th
Read more