Google Voice

I've heard about it, but now I'm convinced.


We all know Google is amazing. I have joked (ok, I'm semi-serious about it) that when I eventually get a tattoo it will read "I heart Google." And I really wouldn't mind putting it right on my forehead.

Google Voice is one more tool in the ever-growing catalog of awesomeness that is Google. I have already heard at recent conferences how teachers are using this simple tool in creative ways. It is the perfect example of staying away from the "sexy" in favor using simple technologies in smart ways.

One teacher shared that students work in groups during her English class and at the end of the day they all call her Google Voice number to give a summary of what they accomplished. It is far quicker and easier than having students fill out something on paper that then must be collected, graded, and entered. Through Voice, the teacher can immediately listen to (or read the transcript) groups explain their work. Talking is much quicker than writing so it also allows for the maximum amount of time for students to actually be working as opposed to finishing work time early in order to fill out a log. I can think of how awesome this could be for English teachers to use in place of a traditional reading log. Pretty powerful for such a simple device. Now I have to come up with at least thirteen ways to use a blanket and I may be ready to brainstorm how to use Voice in my math class. I'm certain the possibilities are endless.

And I still laugh a little bit about how this really reminds me of WUPHF from The Office...enjoy!

Blended Learning in the Math Classroom

When I flipped my math classroom last year, I feel that I did not do a great job of really changing the way that my students learn. Yes, they watched videos at home as opposed to listening to a lecture in class, but they didn't interact with the material in a new way. 

While I am not the biggest fan of Khan Academy videos, I applaud what this school in Oakland is trying is in order to reach students who have been previously unsuccessful in algebra. They are using the "coach" side of the website which allows the math teacher to access data on how students are progressing through the content. In addition to traditional in-class lectures, students are using the videos to work through the curriculum at their own pace.

It was interesting to watch this video mainly because of the results the teachers shared. They reported students repeatedly trying difficult tasks, even using "hints" to try to continue working challenging problems. They also noted that students were developing an attitude of willingness to try; a characteristic that Dan Meyers urges is necessary for students to be successful. Perhaps what was most intriguing was the fact that the students' test scores increased by around 30 to 40 percentage points. 

The teachers attribute the success of the program to many factors including the fact that it is online.  Using technology, especially computers, is immediately engaging for students.  Because the program is on the computer students receive individualized instruction based on how well they complete practice problems. Students also can access immediate help and are provided immediate feedback while working through lessons. In an age of immediacy, these are key components that likely are the reason for students being more engaged and more willing to continue to tackle difficult tasks.  In addition, the work is not multiple choice and computer adaptive meaning that students cannot just guess their way through a task, nor can they copy another students work. 

All these factors combined have lead to students to be more focused, attentive, and engaged. They grow as mathematicians in their willingness to try problems that in the past they might have immediately shied away from. The teachers report that even their basic math skills have improved as a result of being engaged in the program.

These are the results that I am interested in learning more about. I am so curious to learn more about how technology can reach students in a way that "traditional" teaching has failed to do. Specifically in math, but equally valuable for all subjects, I am excited at the prospect that technology can help close the achievement gap and level the playing field for all students regardless of race, income, and opportunities.If anything can accomplish this huge feat, it is technology.

When Will I Ever Use This?

This calculus? Oh yeah, never, you'll never use it. Well, unless you go into engineering or other math and science heavy fields...

In this short TED talk from February of 2009, Arthur Benjamin, argues that the pinnacle of math education in the United States should not be calculus, it should be statistics.

Statistics is math that can and should be used in every day situations. It helps people understand risk, reward, randomness, understanding data, game theory, analyzing trends, and predicting the future. And I could not agree more! I was on the fast track for math classes throughout my education taking Algebra in seventh grade leading to Calculus BC as a junior. I am so lucky to have gone on this track because as a senior I was able to take AP Statistics--a class that would change my life. I found that while calculus had been challenging for me, in part because it seemed so contrived, statistics was absolutely enjoyable and meaningful. I loved every moment of that class and went on to minor in statistics in college. It was through my love of data that I have been (loving) named "the data dork" at my school. I have compiled and analyzed our school's data in every way possible over the last four years. Whenever we need to gather data, create a survey, or show growth to our school board and parents, I am the one that is called on. And it is a position that I love!

Benjamin, in his closing, relates the changing of the times to a literal changing of the times. We no longer use analog clocks in favor of using digital clocks (yes, that's my interpretation of his comparison) and our world has changed from analog to digital. It is time for our math classes to reflect the changes that technology has made on our world.  To shift from the more classical mathematics, namely calculus, to the more modern, discrete mathematics (statistics), the mathematics of uncertainty, of data, of using math to make sense of every day occurrences and understanding the world around us.

That is the type of mathematics that will get used daily.

THE Video: Math Class Needs a Makeover

Yes, this TED talk has made the rounds and I have seen it not once, not twice, but at least five times at different professional development meetings. Still, I am inspired every time I view it. And, even though I know the lines (almost by heart), I watch the whole thing from beginning to end, laughing at the line "I teach high school math. I sell a product to a market that doesn't want it, but is forced by law to buy it. I mean, it's just a losing proposition."




This is also not the first time I have used this video in a blog post. Last year, before I flipped my classroom, I decided I wanted to write a blog to keep a diary of how my year went. Along with changing my classroom, I also underwent a style makeover as well. And so "Flipped Classroom/Flipped Wardrobe" was born. In my third post I included this video and how it led me to my classroom theme "Patient Problem Solvers."  While I did not keep up with that blog (I think I made a total of around 20 posts in a whole year...) this post with this video was one of the more popular posts.

Meyer suggests that math classes need a makeover. Meyer encourages math teachers to "use multimedia, because it brings the real world into your classroom in high resolution and full color; to encourage student intuition for that level playing field; to ask the shortest question you possibly can and let those more specific questions come out in conversation; to let students build the problem, because Einstein said so; and to finally, in total, just be less helpful, because the textbook is helping you in all the wrong ways: It's buying you out of your obligation, for patient problem solving and math reasoning, to be less helpful." He goes on to discuss how we have the technology in our cell phones and tablets (and so do our students!) to create our own math curriculum that is based in the real world. A curriculum that creates patient problem solvers.

Since viewing this video the first time I have become a Dan Meyer aficionado. I have his website as a favorite on every browser on every computer I use, I follow him on Twitter, I've used some of his lessons in my class. I would love to be a student in one of his math classes. He is the type of math teacher I want to be. I hope, with the new Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, that this is the direction that all math classes are headed (my own included). 

This truly is an exciting time to be a math teacher.