YouTube Playlists for All Teachers

As almost all schools go Google, one thing you might take for granted is the use of YouTube and your own YouTube Channel.  YouTube is a great place to collect resources from all over to introduce topics or review content.

First thing you need to do to create a playlist is find a video.

This is one of my favorite videos (you can watch it here) to play before we begin our section on unit rates. I won't give students the question, but just let them watch the video. We will watch the video again with this in mind, "How many claps does he get in per second?" or "How many could he do in 5 minutes?"

It could be a bell-ringer for an Algebra 2 class or an extension activity for middle school. It is a great math video.

So, you found a video.

Now you need to click the "Add to" button below the video.


Next there is an option to add to playlist.



You can create a playlist or once you have created one add to the playlist you want to add to.

Here is the link for my math video collection: https://goo.gl/2aqJJM

The videos I add range from The Opposite of Infinity by Numberphile which offers higher level math videos to Practicing Free Throws to Beat a Pro by BuzzFeed.

I encourage all teachers to use their free YouTube channel with their school Google account. It is a great place to collect resources to use in your classroom.

Law of Sines: Google Cardboard

Earlier this week I created my next Google Cardboard activity with Law of Sines.  I taught law of sines earlier in the year and this was a good way to get students engaged with just a few days left of school.

Here is the worksheet: https://goo.gl/1BY83U

I wanted to take pictures, but my phone was being used during the lesson.





The basic concept is that students are given a distance from the Eiffel Tower.  Then they have to find the angle of measure to the top.  The next thing they have to do is move around (I said 5-6 spaces), but could be moved around further or put in a different location.  They then have to find the angle the second time.  Using the law of sines they can find their new distance to the Eiffel Tower.

They proceed through the activity with a partner and switching half-way.  The math is more difficult than the first Google Cardboard activity I created, because students in order to find the other angle, must use some critical thinking and know that the angle you are measuring is the outside of the triangle you are looking for.


Here is the first example sketched out:

#14: Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a learning management platform where students and teachers can interact in an online space.  This is a good tool, but our district uses eBackpack where students are already loaded in and students feel comfortable using the tool.  I am sure in the future we will go to Google Classroom, because it is free.

If I had all my materials in my google folder it would be easier to use, but since they are on my computer it makes eBackpack easier to use.

The only other thing that makes Google Classroom lower of a priority is that I want to use the blogging platform SeeSaw more in the classroom next year which will take the place of Google 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