Discovery education.

I stumbled across Discovery Education which has a ton of resources for various subjects including math.  According to their banner in my NCTM daily e-mail, they are getting ready to unveil a digital textbook that is made for the 21st century student.  As I explored the math resources for grades 9 to 12, I found a lesson plan that has students researching various proofs of the Pythagorean theorem and then making a poster on the material.  I think they could also make an infographic or a presentation.  There are lots of possibilities.
In addition I found quite a few matching vocabulary sheets, brain boosters or word problems, and a couple resources to help students learn material on their own.  This is wonderful having more resources available.
This site also has materials for grades k to 8, puzzlemaker, lesson plans and it has resources for both parents and students.  I have bookmarked this page for my personal bookmarks so I can use these in the classroom.

Keynote and solving systems of equations.

This past summer I learned how to create animation using keynote.  I just realized today that I could use keynote to prepare an animated presentation showing the steps to solve systems of equations either by graphing, substitution or elimination.  I show videos, demonstrate the process for substitution and elimination but I think I need something a bit more because it is not quite enough to help them learn it as well as they should.  Since I've done a keynote animation showing classification of triangles by sides and by angles, I know the basics.  But tonight, I realized that I could apply the same animation process to create something where coefficients and variables might move around. So I have a process for next weekend - create a keynote animation for solving systems of equations. 

OpenEd

Tonight I just discovered OpenEd which is a website filled with common core based lesson plans, videos, assessments, and games for students.  It covers grades K to 12 and best of all it has an app for the ipad or an android based mobile devices. 
All you need to do is sign up to access all the material available.  You can set up classes that students can use a code to get into.  You do not need to have everyone set up their own account, or even provide an e-mail.
During the search for material I can choose to search for a lesson plan, a video, an assessment, or a game.  The descriptions tell you which are free and which are part of the premium package.  You can add any of these things to your class lesson.  The high school section of common core math has classified things according to the standard stands of Algebra, Functions, Geometry, Number and Quality, and finally Statistics and Probability.  I love that each item has information on the common core standard it matches, ratings, type of license, etc.  You can mix and match as your needs require. 
I need to set up a class and try it out.  My only concern is if the ipads can run most of the games or if most will not work.  I am off to check things out.

IXL more uses

Today my Algebra I classes were beginning linear equations so I had them use the guest feature of IXL and try 10 problems on identifying linear functions vs nonlinear functions.  I used this as the pretest for the unit and early next week, I will have them retake the test so I can see how much they improved.  I like being able to do a pre and post test although I do not always get a chance to use either as much as I like.
Then in my Geometry class, I had IXL on my computer and went to the section on using SSS and SAS to prove congruency and I projected problems on my smart board and had the students write down their answers on SAS Gloss on the ipad.  They would hold the ipads up so I could check answers.  They were pretty good at choosing SSS or SAS but not as good on any other reasons on the proof.  This tells me I need to work on their understanding of the reasons for why they can do certain things.  I then put up a couple questions on AAS and ASA just to check but I could not really use it as a pretest today so I think on Thursday I will have them do 10 questions on AAS and ASA proofs.

Geometry Drawer or Geometry 2D-pad.

Geometry 2D-pad is the version of Geometry Drawer set up to maximize the ipad's ability.   I tried playing with it a bit before I resorted to the help spot on the website because it was not as intuitively obvious to use.  What is nice is that there is a blog you can access for instructions on constructing various geometric shapes using this app.  This  app actually has a users guide but you have to go to the blog site to find it and read it.  If there are instructions contained within the app, I could not find them.
I think I need to play around with this app a bit more to actually figure out how to change dimensions of various shapes.  I also plan to read more on the blog and check out the users manual to learn more.  I think this has quite a bit of potential but until I figure it out, I cannot use it in class.

Dragon Box lite

I stumbled across this lite version of Dragon Box app and finally got around to trying it last night.  I downloaded it because it markets itself as an algebra app.  The idea is that as you work your way through various levels you feed the dragon and watch him grow and each level has a specific algebraic lesson associated with it.

 
 I began by exploring chapter one, lesson one.  I was wondering about the algebra part because I was just touching swirly green masses to get rid of them.  This lead to matching opposite colored items and putting one on the other side.  Not too long afterwards, I began working with the letter C.  I soon discovered they have the person begin learning the process with nonmathematical representations before introducing algebraic representations.  By the time this happens the student is ready  to use  algebra and would be comfortable with it.  this app only has the first chapter and it really gives you an idea of how it works.
Dragon box comes in two versions, the 5 + for younger children and the 12+ for older students.  Its a bit more expensive at $7.99 but it appears to be quite good.  I am seriously thinking of buying the full version so I can see the full package but based on the information it gave at the end, it looks good and goes quite far in teaching algebra.

My script calculator and Boss Maths system of equations.

I knew that in my script calculator, if you put in the equation in just right, it supplies the answer so the students do not have to actually show their work.  I realized this when a young man wanted to use an iPad during the test to answer a couple of simple problems like 2x + 3 = 8. I had a suspicion on why he wanted it because I discovered this myself.  That is why I always require them to show how they got their answers Please note on the picture that it shows the answer.

Right now my Algebra II class is working on solving systems of equations using graphing, substitution and elimination.  I have the Boss Math's app that helps students solve systems of equations. 

I like it because it has an introductory section and shows three ways to solve the equations.  Then there is a test section where students may test themselves on each of the ways and they get scores so they know how they did.  I plan to use these tests for a quick assessment next week to see how they are doing. 
This is what the first page of the introduction looks like.

This app teaches a comparison method but I plan to use it for the substitution and elimination methods.  I would not use this to teach solving systems of equations but I would use it to refresh, differentiate and scaffold along with assessment.