Musings from Mrs. Galvan

I gave my students these directions to construct a parallelogram in a circle and discover the results. I did this waaaay last minute as I decided this morning that their traditional problem set was boring. Here is a sample that I made: Drag around point B to re-size the circle. Click anywhere on the circle and drag to move it so you can see. If anyone knows how to only publish the shape and not the algebra, let me know. :)

I was a little swamped last week and had to delegate the coding, so a big thank you to my student worker Calyx for making this for me.

My geometry students are going to use Geogebra to construct a quadrilateral (based on its definition) for their next blog post. Problem: I couldn't see the embedded applet when using Chrome when I first started. Then magically, it worked. Here is a link to the prompt. Here is my sample: I made a parallelogram by drawing a line, and then the line parallel to it. I repeated the process and then connected where the lines intersected. The resulting polygon is a parallelogram. If a quadrilateral has both pairs of opposite sides parallel, then it is a parallelogram. As you can see above, no matter how you drag around the diagram, the following remains true: AB and CD bisect each other BC = AD BD = AC BC \\ AD BD \\ AC m<CBA = m<CAD m<BDA = m<ACB

I am loving Phoebe's most recent blog post on using the perpendicular bisector properties. You can check it out here. 

Over the summer I typed up a list of web tools that I am using or that I want to start using in my class. I posted it here. Yesterday, my student worker got to turn my list of links into this fun Symbaloo of links. I like that I can keep adding to it. I am going to add this to my class website (we use Canvas) so my students always have an interactive list of different ways to show they know. #digitalportfolios

I read one tweet, I get a great list of edtech tools and learn about Symbaloo .

Today in Algebra we discussed scatter plots and best fit lines. It is really handy to use the Desmos online graphing calculator to quickly graph the points as students say their heights and shoe sizes aloud. I had to measure a few kids before we started, which was fun too. I would like to find more examples of variables that I can ask my students though. The shorter kids tend to say their heights a bit quietly and I am worried that I might be embarrassing them. I give them another data set in their notes (Life Expectancy vs Time in the 20th century), but I feel like a data set to which they contribute is more valuable and memorable. My 9th period's Height vs Shoe Size Data

My algebra students' next blog assignment will be to create a concept poster online for Writing Linear Equations. I am going to suggest they use Google Drawing or Glogster. Any other ideas for embed capable online poster making? Here is the prompt: Alg Blog Post #5 Use this blog post to explain key concepts of chapter 5: You will write your own linear function and show it in all forms. You will use an equation editor like Daum, an online graphing tool like Desmos and an online poster tool like google drawing or Glogster. If you end up using other tools, let me know what you use so I can share new information with your classmates. 1.        Come up with your function. You will start with two points. Your first point will be determined by your birthday: x = the month of your birth and y = the day of the month of your birth Your second point will be determined by your mom or dad’s birthday (pick one). x = the month of parent birth and ...

I can't even begin to say how much I am enjoying my students' blogs this year in math. My geometry students will soon complete their first video blogs. I will assign each a different proof for them to explain. I decided to try out powtoon to introduce the prompt. Here is what it looks like on our LMS.

I am sure there exists better videos on how to do this out in the world, but I made my own. I wanted to show one way for students to format equations for their digital portfolios and since google drive has an equation editor built in, it'll work!

I have been teaching for 12 years now and I still experience a small sigh of relief when students actually do the assignments... This year I added digital math portfolios to my list of goals for students and they are coming in! *sigh of relief* 1. First assignment: Just create the blog with title and description.   I like her witty title and LOVE the background. 2. Prompt #1 (I felt like an English teacher). I casually put this prompt on the HUB (our school's name for Canvas). I told students about the prompt being on the HUB in class, but many did the assignment BEFORE I told them about it! Example for Algebra 1. 3. Collect the Blog URLs via Assignment Drop Box Google Form. Thank you Will Kimbley for showing me how!  I embedded my form on the HUB. The google form generates a nice spreadsheet from which you can click through your students' portfolios. I made a template, which hopefully, you can use here . You will have to be a ...

My favorite Web Tools that I learned this week at CUE Rock tar Camp, drum roll please... Using Google Forms to create instant feedback quiz (share-able study guides) ThingLink - make images interactive - think: a poster that talks, plays music, video, has links Lino It - web based sticky board for discussion and collaboration Use Google Forms to sort student work While at the conference, I had time to think more about all the cool apps and websites there are for our students to use. It is overwhelming! In my former life as a history teacher, I could organize these (mostly paper and pencil) options in a list so they could have choices for completing projects. The list (mostly stolen from the internet) has everything from Make a Bumper Sticker to Film a Music Video . These days I'm teaching Algebra and the opportunities for projects are fewer. At the same time, the internet and mobile devices continue to revolutionize learning, so my List of Ways to Show you Know needed to ...

For the next three days, I will be at the CUE (Computer Using Educators) Rock Star conference. At the moment I am learning more about Google forms . Perhaps next year my students will take a quiz or two online.

My students do this project every year on quadratics. I give them x and y intercepts. They are to find the function and then graph it and solve it using three methods. Usually students glue their project on poster board, but this year I accepted online submissions like this:

I have been trying to use the Ipad for a while in my class. I use it as a slate to write on so that I can be mobile while teaching. A few of our students have them too. They use them to take notes and look up terms. Next year our school is implementing a 1:1 program and laptops were selected as the device. Laptops are more powerful than Ipads, but lack the ability to be ready in a moment's notice (static drive) and more importantly for my math class, don't allow students to write on them like I can with my Ipad or with my tablet PC. This new tablet looks amazing! It is designed for the classroom. It looks like it make managing the classroom pretty seamless as well. While it may have more limits when compared to a laptop as far as creating spreadsheets or editing music or movies, it looks easy to use. If teachers are new to integrating technology, they will be MUCH more likely to use it if all students have the same device and if it is easy to use.

So I found out about quizlet 2 years ago while at a tech conference, but the lack of time and an excess of babies have prevented me from using it in my classes. Basically, you make digital flashcards and share them with your classes. Better yet, have students make them. Students can use them via the website, on their mobile devices or from a LMS (like HW's HUB). It isn't terribly extraordinary, but could prove useful. Check out my latest set here .

I started using Brain Genie with my algebra kiddos. It is a little like Aleks, if you are familiar with that program. Basically, it is a free source of practice problems for math and science. Today I quickly chose a goal (practicing quadratics) and invited my students to join. Once they sign up, they can complete practice problems, watch videos, etc and the website will keep track of their progress and tell me how each kid is doing. Awesome.

While I am a big fan of my own videos on algebra, this website gives free worksheets (with answers) and videos. They make you pay for a lot of the features, but enough is free to warrant my recommendation. Apparently, they have an iBook that goes with it too. Meh.