Hup Algebra app

I found this line of apps by HUP.  The one I am looking at is HUP algebra.  It is a nice app which could be used to help flip the class and have students use the app at home.  It has several sections starting with "What is algebra?".  Then it has sections on solving single step equations using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.  Each has a pictorial example using tiles, a written example and you can try problems.  There is a section on solving multi-step equations and on solving equations with the distributive property.  All sections have practice problems.  I like this app as I can use it to flip the class or I can use it to scaffold some of my students who need additional help or practice. It is free at iTunes.  I just got a Nook and I am starting to find neat apps there so I will review some of those.

More on centers

I have been giving some serious thought to using iPads with centers.  I have a book with printed instructions for using centers in Algebra I and ll, geometry and pre-algebra.  I can scan the various activities into PDF form.  If I have an app on the iPad that allows the students to read and write the answers on the file, they can then send it off to me so that I can grade it.  By using centers, I can increase their group activities and hopefully decrease their dependence on me. I look forward to trying this.  If I store the pdf files in the school wiki, I can use a QR code to send them to the proper page, provide instructions and any additional information.  I am trying to change the main focus from teacher oriented to student oriented.

Algeboats lite

Found a nice little game called Algeboats lite for students to practice evaluating one and two step equations.  There are boats with equations such as x-3.  On the dock are four loads each with numbers you could substitute in for x and there are four flags at the top with the answer to the problem based on which value of x you choose.  Once the value for the variable is substituted and the correct answer is put on the flag pole, the boat moves away. There are three levels, rowboat, speedboat and yacht and each level has three sublevels which are unlocked as the first sublevel is completed.  The student can get a fair bit of practice.  The only thing that might frustrate students is that the loads and the flags do not always move as directed and it can sometimes take a while before moving.
I mention games because my students love playing games and this is something that could be done when there is time left in the class after they have completed the assignments or done after the weekly quiz on Friday or perhaps to obtain an exit pass.
Games provide possibilities for students, especially the lower performing ones, to practice in a fun and safe environment.

update on myscript calculator

I did a bit of reading on the web and tried it out a bit more and discovered a couple things about it.
1.  You can write an equation like 2x ? + 1 =9 and it will write 2 x  4 + 1 = 8.  It will actually solve the problem.
2.  If you do 2 x 3 = 5, it will give you the answer 2 x 3 = 5  + 1  so it takes your answer and tells you how far off it is.
3.  Since it only does nth roots by using the fractional form of the radical signs, this means that students get more practice on converting radicals into fractional exponents.  I like this because too many of my students have trouble with the connection.
Finally, the student I let try it out for some work, loved it. 
I am going to continue exploring it this summer but I think I will put it n the iPads in the fall.

I showed the subtext app to the principal who used to be the science teacher.  His first comment out was that you could set up a whole week doing this type of app.  He was impressed.
So I have 3 to 5 apps that I will be working on over the summer to prepare for the fall.  I will be sharing things as I set them up.

One last thing.  My 9th graders love using the Venn diagrams to find LCM and GCF  because it allows them to see the relationship between the two.  I am going to see about creating a document that I can use with subtext or with the students that they can fill out for themselves.

idea for teaching 30/60/90 triangles.

I am going on memory right now and will do some additional research this summer but I seem to recall something on iTunes university about math in nature. This series shows real life examples of math in nature.  Then they go on to show the mathematics behind it.  I recall watching the episode on nautilus and if I remember correctly, it used 30/60/90 triangles.  I am thinking I can show the episode on the nautilus and the math behind it.  I can then have them create their own nautalis on the geoboard app on my iPad.  This would happen toward the end of the triangle section.
I am adding to this as I was grading papers after having read a bit on fractions and realized I can use the Geoboard app to have students create representations for fractions such as what is 1/3 or 1/3 x 1/2.  I  can also use it to show the distributive property and multiplication of binomials.  This opens more uses of the app for me.

I should be letting you know on Monday when I am offering my e-book for free.

2nd website and mindmapping

The second website I use is www.aaamath.com.  I often use it for my Algebra I or Pre-Algebra level students who need to practice various topics.  Today I'll be sending my students here to read and practice prime factorization.  This website has a topic, information on doing it, practice and often offers games.  My 9th graders tend to be much more focused in class when they have an iPad assigment.
I gave some thought to mindmapping last night and came up with a couple ideas of how to use it in my math classes.  So far the ideas are for geometry but its a start.
Mindmapping ideas
1.  Use it for classification of triangles.  The center topic of triangles has three arms.  One for angles, one for sides and one for both.  There are more arms off of each of those topics to list the type such as right, acute, scalene or right scalene.  Add more arms for the characteristics such as acute would have three acute angles, or right scalene might list must have a 90 degree angle with three different length sides.  A 30-60-90 degree triangle would be an example.
2.  Classification of quadrilaterals.  This would work the same way as the triangles one.
3.  Altitudes, bisectors, and medians.
This could easily be done on a mindmapping app on the iPad.  I use Simple Mind.  It is free and it allows you to use a different color for each branch of the map.  Students often remember color better than something in black and white.
I'll give some more ideas for mindmapping in a day or two.

Three apps

I downloaded three apps I found on a list of apps you should have if you are teaching math.  One seems to have disappeared and I've been unable to find it.  The three I found are Ooops, Virtual Manipulatives, and iSpy-x.
The basic premise of Ooops is that you get several numbers and operations that are equal to something.  You insert parenthesis to make the problem come out right.  It has 5 levels and uses all four operations.  Sometimes it uses one set of parenthesis, sometimes it uses two.  When you think you have the answer, you hit the check button and it shows the work with the answer your problem has and tells you if it is right or wrong.  I like this app in that it gives the students a better conceptual grasp of PEMDAS and how it can effect the results of the problem.
Virtual Manipulatives has actual manipulatives for fractions, decimals and percents.  It uses the bars that start at 1 and then are subdivided for 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc.  The 1/3 for fractions, decimals and percents has all the same color and you can move pieces so you can have students explore 1/2 = 1/4 + 1/4 or 50% = 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10%.  Virtual Manipulatives is great for the upper elementary or middle school grades.  I could see using in high school with students who struggle with basic math or in a pre-algebra class.
Finally iSpy-x which is supposed to help students learn to solve simple problems such as 2 + x = 7. You can choose the one of three levels and on each level you can select the operation or used mixed operations.  I downloaded the program 3 different times and each time it had a different bug.  I could never get it to work on more than the easy level for addition.
I know that I am going to load Ooops on my iPads next year to use in the classroom.  I like it and it can provide great differentiated instruction due to the 5 levels it offers.

A first

Today the students in my College Prep math class asked me to stop the video I was showing on the properties of logs so they could take notes.  I show the videos using the smart board because I have limited bandwidth and we don't have the serious stuttering problem that often happens if everyone is trying to watch a video at once.
I am going to explore the showme and Educreation apps over the summer.  I am thinking of using the learning menu idea where I give them the menu at the beginning of the unit and let them choose a couple projects that are due at the end of the unit right before the test.  I hope that I can have the students use either of those apps for one of the projects on the menu.
I have so much to do this summer as I plan my units.  I am going to try to have more integrated technology but it also depends on what changes they make over the summer.

Subject specific apps

I just read something in edudemic.com in which the author said that too often people look for subject specific apps rather than the more general ones to utilize.  That is quite true but in math, there are certain subject specific apps I've had to look for.  For instance, when I teach conic sections, I want a graphing app that will allow the students to graph ellipses, circles, hyperbolas, and parabolas without having to rewrite them into the y = something format.  I actually found one,MathGraph from the iTunes store.  It allows my students to graph all the conic sections and they have a choice of orienting it either vertically or horizontally.  It also has a small quiz section for each type of conic section.  It also does lines, exponents, log and ln.  I like using this particular app for my Algebra II and College prep classes.
While surfing today I discovered this website:
 http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/08/the-top-educational-ipad-apps-every.html
It lists 100 apps for the iPad but it is divided into topics such as Digital learning, Blooms Digital Taxonomy, etc. The one for Blooms Digital Taxonomy lists suggestions of apps for each level from creating to remembering.  This is one I am going to explore in more detail over the summer when I have  bit more time.

Which is first, the lesson plan or the technology in planning?

I just read an article on edtechreview.in about technology and pedagogy in which they discussed teaching and technology.  Do you choose the technology and then write the lesson plan or do you write the lesson plan and choose the technology?  Personally, I don't think it is either.
From my perspective of teaching math, it is more important to choose the concept first, decide how you want the concept to be understood by the students and then look at where in the process the technology is best used.  Technology is a tool to help students learn the material.
One item taught during transformations is tessellations.  I introduced this section by showing pictures of tesselations on my smartboard. I asked questions about what they saw and how they think these were made.  We reviewed types of transformations and discussed  how they were used to produce certain pictures.  This was followed by a video on tessellations and I asked them to design their own tessellation on the geoboard app on the iPad.  Once they had their tessellation created, they transferred the design onto graph paper and colored it in.  This took about two 55 min periods to complete.  The students stayed engaged and we used technology to further the lesson.

I have an app on the iPad called Free graphing calculator.  I have not been using it much but I had my students in the College Prep math class use it today because it allows you to enter in a log with a base other than 10 to graph without going through the change of base formula.  That will make things so much easier teaching logs and natural logs. 
This application does more than just graphing in that it has a calculator, a table window much like the handheld graphing calculators with the x and y values,  the graphing window and the window to enter equations.  It is really nice and combines both calculator and graphing functions.  Just like a TI-82.  I am finding it is quite handy to use without having to juggle a classroom set of graphing calculators.
I am still exploring all the functions it has.  I think I"ll be spending the weekend checking it out more so that I can report back on everything it does.
I think putting enough apps on the iPad to do the job without being addicted to the apps is important.  As a teacher I need to stay at least one step ahead of my students and show them ways the iPad can be effectively used as a tool and not a toy. 
I know many of my students would rather go on the internet to play games rather than doing their work simply because most of my student's parents do not work where a computer is used for its productivity.

SAS Flash cards and Read along

I had a chance to download and check out some apps from the SAS institute.  The first is Read Along which is for early elementary.  I showed it to a kindergarten teacher and an elementary reading specialist. They both like that the application allows three levels of reading.  First level, the program reads as the words are highlighted.  Second level the program only reads the words the students asks for and the third level for no help.  They plan to use them as soon as their mini iPads arrive.

Now for the big one.  I checked out the SAS Flash Cards and was suitably impressed with the application.  It offers more than most flash card programs I've used and offers enough choice to be happy.  When you make a new deck you can choose your subject.  For math, they offer two different possible types.  One is math and the other is a text, sound, and picture card.  The second type allows you to actually read the question, import pictures and add clarification. Once you've chosen the type of card, you may then choose the type of question.  You have a choice of multiple choice, fill in the blank, true or false or plain.
You have the choice to keep the deck private on the iPad or upload it to the SAS site to make it public.  Once you start using the flash cards, you have a choice of practice or quiz format.  The application provides scratch paper so you can actually work the problem.
The SAS site has lots of decks that people have made and can be shared if you want to see what is there.  I really enjoyed playing with the program and am going to install it on my classroom set of iPads.