Going Old School.

I have been off line for the past three weeks because the internet went down.  It took the company a week to get it back up for a total of 6 hours and then it was down for another couple of weeks.  I live in Alaska and the company had to contend with figuring out which relay went down ( it was more than one), figure out what parts needed replacing, contend with weather issues, and so many other things.

When the internet went down and stayed down, it made me realize how much I rely on it to help with my teaching.  I teach grades 6 to 12 all in one classroom and it was difficult and I had to return to "the old days."  I have students on IXL to help them fill in cracks in their foundation.  Without internet, students were unable to have their daily IXL practice.  

In addition, I couldn't pull worksheets to supplement instruction because the book I'm using doesn't always have the information I think they should have.  I couldn't access supplemental videos that students could use for additional information.  There are videos in Youtube that provide great explanations for certain mathematical processes.  I also use it to find new ways to explain mathematical concepts, ways to use manipulative, and so much more.

I search the internet for ideas I can use when teaching a concept.  It is nice to find new ideas to use when teaching a topic because not all students learn the same way.  In addition, I try to find ways to fill in gaps when teaching that topic. If a student is missing a certain piece of knowledge, I look to see how to include that piece while teaching the other concept.

I ended up having to go quite old school by finding books in the storage room that had exercises, explanations, and information on manipulative.  Furthermore, I actually found multiple sets of ones, tens, and hundreds manipulative that I could use for both the middle school math class and my Algebra I.  I also found some of those PIZAZZ books for upper elementary or middle school.  

Of course, I couldn't do my MAPS testing due to lack of internet.  The window was set between December 4 and January 12 but the school I work at is Russian Orthodox so they have their holidays from January 1 to 15.  I finally got my internet back but it was sluggish so we couldn't test. The elementary teacher tried to use the MCLASS test and had difficulty.

I also didn't have access to some of the sites I use to get them to practice their math.  Sites such as Kahoot, Quizzes, and others.  Sites they can practice using the concept in a fun way.  Most of these sites also keep records so I can check how they are doing on learning the material and where I need to scaffold.  It gives me ongoing assessment.

Also for three weeks, I couldn't update my grades in the online program that students access so this past Saturday, I spent time at school updating everything.  Unfortunately, the lack of updates made it difficult for both my students and myself to know exactly what had been turned in or owed.  When the internet came up, it was such as short time to get everything in so I had to give a bit of leeway.

Until the internet went out for three weeks, I didn't realize how much I relied on the internet until I went three weeks without it.  I scrambled, swore, got creative, and we all survived. I am glad to have it back and I plan to keep up using it since it makes it easier to teach.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.