MATH can use technology, too!!

MATHcan use technology, too!! PRESENTERS – Dan Strohmyer John Barbier DATE – April 4, 2013 dstrohmyer@mac.com jbarbier@sioux-central.k12.ia.us

Intro • Dan Strohmyer • 11 years teaching Chemistry • Sioux Central CSD – Technology Integration Specialist • Email – dstrohmyer@mac.com • Twitter – @dstrohmyer • John Barbier • 20 years teaching Calculus and Precalculus • Sioux Central CSD • Email – jbarbier@sioux-central.k12.ia.us • Twitter – @MrBarbier

Purpose • Our purpose is to show you what we do and the evolution of student thought, questions, and 21st century skills we are seeing in our classroom. • We use: • Pod/Screencasting • Flipped Teaching 2.0 • Collaborative tools like twitter

Why does this work? • Research base • Cognitive Load Theory (Ayres, 2006) front loading “mastery level” material reduces the cognitive load on students. • Allows students to have all the background information before the discussion. • During classroom time, you can apply and develop higher level thinking. • What this looks like in the classroom

“The Experiment” • The Clay County Fair • Polished iMovies (and other tech projects) are great assessments, but are they really changing the way students think? • The Epiphany - The students learning at the fair were learning just as well as the kids learning in the classroom.

So….. • “I (Mr. Barbier) started making 10-15 minute podcasts for each lesson in PreCalculus.” • Originally to have a repository of lessons that students could access from my website when they are gone because of: • School related absences • Vacations • Sick

“I’ve created a Monster” • It turned into much more than that • The incident of the hard take home quiz. • The students were upset….

Video – From the student’s point of view • http://www.screencast.com/t/oBmB4Dde

What this did to my classroom! • “I was excited about teaching in a new way for the first time in about 20 years” • “I realized that yes, Math can use technology, too” • “The math didn’t change, my teaching style did”

Why this is working • If every student is in the proper mindset in your classroom, they will learn. • But they might be • Hungry • Thinking about their girlfriend/boyfriend • Really worried about the Physics text next hour • Having lessons recorded and posted allows students to learn on their schedule when they are in the right mindset. • On the bus • at a volleyball game • 11:00 at night, etc.

What a Unit lesson plan looks like -

So this is an online class…Right? • Well not really. • We call it Flipped Teaching 2.0 (Ramsey Musallam) • Lecture (Discussion days) • Students working at own pace • Checkpoints

The Ipad/Twitter experiment • We started out using Jing (Free) to post iMovies about Calc problems and post them to the teacher’s website to have a repository for worked problems. • Then we started having them comment on each others’ completed work. • Now we are using iPads to work problems and updating directly to a twitter feed and having student comment on work.

Student side Students use show me to work problems graph equations and submit to twitter for peer review. http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=6Rx2GjQ Kind of unpolished huh?

From a Larger Perspective • What this looks like in the classroom.

From the Teacher’s side • We are using Camtasia (From Techsmith) and having the videos posted throughtScreencast.com (also part of Techsmith)

Implications to a 1:1 Classroom • You are not changing the Math • You are changing the strategy of teaching it. The instantaneous feedback allowed by technology enables high-level interaction and collaboration. • All the rigidity of the classroom “bell to bell” is gone • Allows two-way communication between instructor and students • Allow instructor to “hear” student thinking

How can I do this • One lesson at a time • Choose one and podcast it • Then choose your favorite unit (or choose your least favorite and then you never have to lecture on it again) • Ask the students if they like it • Screencapture is your friend!!

Questions -

MATH can use technology, too!!