Algebra Tiles App

The other day, I found an app called Algebra Tiles.  I tried it myself and just could not get it to work correctly so I put it on the back shelf.  Today, I had a student who got bored and wanted to just throw paper wads at the garbage can so I had him check it out and see if he could figure it out.  I showed him the factoring trinomials one and figured out how to do it.  So he tried to figure out the solving part of it.  He got it and I was able to use the app in my last period class (Algebra 1).  The students spent most of the period working on the app and I think it has clarified solving one and two step equations for many of my struggling students.  I think I will have my algebra II class try it tomorrow for a few minutes just to try factoring quadratics.  There are two other parts are substitute and expand.  I hope to get those understood so I can use the substitution with my Algebra I class for solving linear equations using substitution.  Now that I understand how to use it, I will be able to use it in several classes.

Haiku Deck

Last semester, I had most of my students use Haiku Deck to create some awesome mathematical presentations.  I just read in one of my groups that Haiku Deck is giving access to some of their paid themes to people for free.  It is under their random acts of kindness.  If you go to this link you can get the information necessary to do it and they will be offering various themes every day, Monday to Friday of this week.  I am going to try downloading some tonight when I go back to work. I'd love some extra themes for my students to work with.
I need to have my students play with Algebra Tiles.  It is an app with x^2, x and 1 times but the tiles appear to be the same size and I haven't had the time to fully explore this app.  I need to figure out if you can cause the tiles to change size, split them up or even figure out why the app states that the answer is wrong even when it is correct.  I am thinking that it has to do with the app is set up for people to check at certain points in the process.  I am off to play with the app to see if I can get it to work.

Understanding math and a first impression of an app.

I just got back from attending a Response to Intervention conference and came back with some really awesome things.  The one thing that stood out and agrees with a recent comment from the NCTM is simply we need to have students learn to communicate how did the problem.  Not just using the mechanical means but using writing or verbal explanations.   They highly recommended complex tasks or performance tasks that give a scenario like you have dogs and chicken for a total of 40 heads.  Each dog has 4 legs and each chicken has 2 legs, how many dogs are there?  This type of question is open in terms of how they will solve it but it can help us as teachers figure out misconceptions.  This website talks about misconceptions that students have and these are the same ones I've seen my own students have.  I may try this exercise in class later this week to see what my students have to do.
As for apps, I discovered on that uses algebraic tiles at a high school level.  So far, I am finding that it is frustrating for me when I try it and I know the answer is correct but the app tells me I have the incorrect tiles.   Its a math app called Algebraic tiles from the center for algebraic thinking.  It uses tiles but until I can figure out how to use it fully I cannot have my students use it or they will get frustrated.  The other thing is when I tried the factoring choice, the x^2 square was the same size as the x and the constants so the students are unable to see how the x^2 is different from x and it is something they need.  I will get back to you all on this app.