Teaching Mathematics with an Interactive Whiteboard and Web Sites

Betsy Sparks, Christian Academy of Knoxvillehttp://www.betsysparks.com

Teaching Mathematics with Interactive Whiteboards and Web Sites

• Introduction to Interactive Whiteboards• Utilizing the Internet to make Classroom

Information available• Free resources on the web to engage students

and make lessons real (Moodle, Fling the Teacher from Content

Generator, Geogebra, Visual Calculus and others)

Survey

How to Poll Free

• http://www.pollanywhere.com• Up to 30 students at a time• Paid subscriptions allow for more students• Create mathematical questions where

students use their cell phones or computers to respond

• Make sure students have an unlimited text plan before using

Interactive Whiteboards

Benefits• Anything written in class can be saved and

uploaded to a web site for later viewing• Students can view the web site for notes and

problems worked in class at a later time• Students can write on the board and utilize

interactive applications by touch

Interactive Applications

• Types of Boards• Smartboards, Promethean Boards, Interactive

Whiteboards made by various vendors• Software has applications for making

interactive presentations with timed matching activities

• Free Powerpoint applications for Jeopardy, Who wants to be a Millionaire, etc.

Making Your Own Web Site

• Making your own web site is possible with free Google sites

• Google sites are limited as to the types of content that can be posted, but it is an excellent free way to start

• Powerpoints and notes can be posted to web site as well an any other pertinant information

• Betsy Sparks' Web Site

Interactive Content

• Games created through flash templates• Content Generator• Fling the Teacher is a free template which easily

allows you to create math questions • Use as a stand alone swf file or post to your web

site• Incorporate into Moodle and monitor students’

progress• Unit Circle Values - Fling the Teacher

Geogebra

• http://www.geogebra.org/cms/• Dynamic worksheets• Can be used for Pre-Algebra through Calculus• Free software • Calculus Worksheet with Geogebra

Moodle is an alternative to proprietary commercial online learning solutions, and is distributed for free under the GNU General Public License.

Modular

Object-

Oriented

Dynamic

Learning

Environment

Moodle is essentially an administrative platform that provides course pages that can be populated with…

• Forums

• Glossaries

• Wikis

• Assignments

• Choices

• Text Pages

• Labels

• Web Pages

• Links to Resources

• Surveys

• Blogs

• and much more!!

Course Management Features - ModulesAssignmentUsed to assign online or offline tasks; learners can submit tasks in any file format (e.g. MS Office, PDF, image, a/v etc.).

Chat Allows real-time synchronous communication by learners.

Choice Instructors create a question and a numberof choices for learners; results are postedfor learners to view. Use this module todo quick surveys on subject matter.

Database

Allows the teacher and/or students to build, display and search a bank of record entries about any conceivable topic.

Teachers can enter a description of the assignment andset how many points it is worth.

Course Management Features - ModulesForumsThreaded discussion boards for asynchronous group exchange on shared subject matter. Participation in forums can be an integral part of the learning experience, helping students define and evolve their understanding of subject matter.

Students are able to communicate amongst each other with the discussion board.

Learner Management Features - CalendarKeeping a calendar of events is important to both the learner and course instructor. Events can be created for different categories, including:

Upcoming Events appear on the course homepage, alerting the learner across all courses they are enrolled in of different category events. Alerts are color-coded by category.

Global events that appear in all courses (system admin).

Course events set by an instructor.

Group events set by instructor relative only to a group.

User events set by learner (e.g. due dates, personal etc.).

Learner Management Features - LogsMonitor when and what course resources the learner has accessed. Moodle's Logs provide detailed learner activity.

Logs pin-point when actions are done. Easily locate specific course, student, date and module activity access.

Logs can be accessed from the“Reports” section.