#5: Branding: NETA 2016

This week I was swamped with school, an assessment that I will post at a later date, and with soccer starting it was a busy week.  So this week i decided to tackle "branding" which is something I am terrible at. This meant taking a risk and I decided to present at NETA 2016, which did get accepted!! Woo!

So I will be presenting at NETA my session is called: Apps and Tools for Math Instruction

Here is the Description:  Making sure all students know the day's information is important. We will cover apps and web 2.0 to help students learn using technology from the beginning of the class until late at night.

I am currently working on the presentation and handouts, which is incredibly more complex teaching teachers than students.

I used Canva to create the presentation and I think will make the handout with the same app and create an infographic. 

Here is the app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/canva-graphic-design-photo/id897446215?mt=8

We will see how it goes, I put in to present at another conference the NNNC Summer Tech Institute.

#4: Jar of Awesome

Jar of awesome is a simple idea that has a big impact.  There are a few different ways of doing Jar of Awesome, for example my jar has things that I do that encourage me to keep pushing myself and powerful engagement with students.  The next example, my wife, she did Jar of Awesome with her students and when students do something awesome they put it in the jar. 

They are really easy to make with just a mason jar and some simple decorations.

Mine is very simple with paper and a mason jar. 

 

Once again they are incredibly easy to make and implement into your classroom.  Your students will be intrigued and want to read them all. This is one of Shake's Up Learning Top 16 for teachers to try in 2016 top classroom positive influences. 

Here are a few things I wrote down on a few of my entries in my jar of awesome:

I would definitely recommend it for any classroom.

#3: Google Cardboard

My students had a blast with using Google Cardboard.  We used the cardboard app and my iPhone to take students to Paris, Venice, and around the world.  It would have been easy to give a worksheet, but giving students the chance to see trigonometry and how they might use it in their life was worth it.

Here what the students were seeing when they put the glasses on:

Students got to see different places on the world that they might not have seen before and got to do some math in the process.  In the first problem one person reads the prompt that tells hem where they are and what they are seeing.  Then they are prompted to look to the top of the Eiffel Tower while the student measures the degree of elevation from the ground.  Then students use trigonometry to find how far or close they are.

Here are some students in action:

They had four questions total, but having only 1 Google Carboard became an issue, students had a tough time waiting working on another assignment.

Here is a picture of the worksheet I gave, I will try to get the link on here:

Link for the worksheet is here to make a copy and edit for yourself:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17XIXQSmEdhvq_NgxgZAtisSu3ApAM0qSIOO4ulPCL-A/edit?usp=sharing

#2: Join A Community

So the actual goal was to join a Google+ Community. I did in fact join some Google+ communities and it has changed quite a bit since I have been there, but it is still not living up to the hype that Twitter, Pinterest, and other social media platforms have to communicate in a community atmosphere. So instead I just joined a regular community outside of Google+, which is The Teachers Guild.

https://teachersguild.org/

The Guild is a professional community that activates teachers’ creativity to solve the biggest challenges in education today. While learning and doing design thinking, teachers build their creative muscle and connect to diverse partner organizations who are committed to bringing their solutions to life. So The Teachers guild uses a problem solving approach to tackle some of the biggest problems in education. 

Here is an example of each phase:

In each phase you collaborate with others and refine your product till polished.

Some of the problems that have already been tackled and have great solutions for are:

1. How might we create rituals and routines that establish a culture of innovation in our classrooms and schools?

2. How might we spark curiosity?

3. How might we reimagine professional learning so that we continue to grow, feel inspired, and have the greatest impact on our students?

The one they are currently working on: How might we create programs, processes, and tools to provide ongoing support to all students on their journey to and through college?

They have provided a great community of educators and administrators who see eye to eye on education and the movement education should have moving forward.  Plus, they have a book club!!

#1: BreakOutEDU

My first project of 2016 of things teachers should try in 2016 is BreakOutEDU.  I received a breakout box for Christmas and have been spending my time creating a puzzle for the upcoming unit of Pythagorean Theorem.  It took me a couple of days to put together all the materials and story, but finally Pythagoras Last Theorem was created.  

Students had a blast getting into the box and made them think in different ways. 

Students had a great time, I did it with three periods two groups got out wit 10 minutes and 5 minutes left.  One group didn't get out and it made for a good conversation about working hard and persevering through difficulty. I am looking forward to creating my next project for students.

It was a great experience and would recommend it to anyone.

Check out this link to learn more and get your own box:

http://www.breakoutedu.com/