Monday, March 12, 2012

Technology in Math Classes

Today, my program went to visit some high schools in Oceanside to observe the use of ipads in the classroom.  Before going I was expecting something with a little chaos.  If a student is given an ipad, aren't they going to want to play games and download apps?  Actually no.  This class knew the drill and understood their purpose in the classroom.  Each student has a task to do and uses the proper resources of the calculator and the use of evernote to take notes and capture pictures and compile their thoughts all in one place. 

The teacher also effectively used moodle to generate tests and practice tests so each student gets a different possible problem in a different way so students have many opportunities to practice on their ipads.  One good thing about this is that some kids just think it is the coolest thing that they are able to do school work on an ipad which creates interest for them to want to do it.  Even if it was the same work as if the ipads are there, it is a new and interesting medium that makes it a little fun.

It also promoted an environment for student to talk to each other especially while working on practice tests since each person had a slightly different problem.  Students couldn't simply give each other the answer but had to explain how they got the answer.

Overall it seems like fun, but a lot of work from the teacher.  I would definitely be interested in incorporating something like this into my own classroom, if given the opportunity. 

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