State mandated testing

Since these tests seem to. Take over the curriculum, I am thinking of beginning the first day of classes by setting up an online test with practice questions.  I figure that I can use the data as a starting point for what I teach, the starting point, and where I start.  Since the push is for data driven teaching, using testmoz.com or other site, I can have ongoing data to refer to.  This opens up lots of good possibilities.

Balancing technology with knowledge.

This post is coming out of something I"ve been thinking about for a while and since the standardized testing for my state is in its second day, I thought I would address this issue.  I've noticed that many of my students need their calculator to do a simple problem such as 27-32.  If they do not use the calculator, they often answer this as -15 not -5.  They tend to switch digits so the bigger one is on top.  When I have students graph functions, they do not recognize they didn't graph it correctly, even though we've studied how the graphs should look. When I taught college math, my students had the same problem on graphs.  The attitude was simply "I entered the problem in and the calculator gave me the answer so its right."  I don't think students even stop to check to see if the answer seems reasonable.
I wonder what I can do to help them make this connectivity that they are lacking.  At this point in time, the students are not allowed to use calculators on the state mandated tests so they struggle many times to find the correct answer.  I am working to find ways to help students use technology while learning the material so they can find their mistakes.
I would love suggestions on this.
On the other hand, I finally got to watch the three videos on using SAS gloss.  It showed how to download pdf files with math problems so the students can do the work right on the iPad and e-mail it to the teacher when done.  The app has graph paper so students can practice graphing and it has lined paper so students can write out explanations or journal.  So far I am impressed with everything this does.  I am going to put it on my classroom set of iPads next week and use it for the remainder of the year.  I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Too much to do and not enough time

With high stakes testing coming up, I've been focusing more on the mathematics they need to pass the tests.  Unfortunately, I know I should be incorporating my technology into this more but due to pressure I end up resorting to standard teaching methods.  I was realizing today, that I could have taken the practice tests in PDF form, sent them to my students one page at a time, had to work on the problems, create explanations and mark up the forms with the information.  They could have sent the forms back so I could look at the responses to monitor their knowledge and understanding. 
I stumbled across a website today where the author of the article discussed having students create the questions for use with the clickers.  It was noted that many of the students created low level questions.  When I say low level, I am referring to Blooms Taxonomy.   Anyway,  this person gave up but I'm wondering if this could be done with my students.  I am wondering if I can have them create the answers and questions for a Jeopardy game using my SmartBoard. 
I have a few other outlets such as Quizlet and Survey Monkey to check out to create quick quizzes my students could take on-line.  I've read of one technique where you set up three or four quizzes for the week.  If the student passes the first time, they are done, if not they can try it a second time to see if they pass.  Its a mastery learning technique.  I know it uses a lot of paper and the kids like to "loose" it so I don't get them back. This might work better.  I plan to try it in two weeks due to testing happening next week.

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.