Math Apps

As I was reading my article, I immediately thought of the conversations we had in class today about making sure our assessments were valid and reliable. The article stated that they focused their reviews on four areas, “(1) the quality of mathematical content, (2) feedback and scaffolding, (3) richness of interactions, and (4) adaptability of the applications.” They chose tablets, mainly because Apple’s iPads were new and sweeping the nation. But also because they knew what was needed in education. They had the idea that “tablets could personalize learning and improve student learning outcomes. A key to achieving this goal is in the form of formative assessments to track student learning and provide timely feedback”, something these new apps might be able to do.

They narrowed a list of 64 apps down to 16 through various factors. These 16 apps were then subjected to two researchers taking notes on positives and negatives in each of the four areas listed above. It was interesting to read that they were a wide variety of different age groups and genres available out there. However, it was not surprising that the majority of the apps on the list were targeting a younger audience and game oriented. Interestingly though, they did not find any that claimed to be assessment apps. They found “four recommendations for researchers and assessment developers on designing tablet-based mathematics assessments: (1) Thoroughly review the mapping between concepts/operations and objects/actions early in the task design stage; (2) Start with what evidence is needed to make inferences about student performance, and design the interactions to collect the necessary data; (3) Create opportunities for students to self-reflect or explain their problem-solving process; and (4) Adopt the mindset of app developers to keep the user engaged, on task, and moving forward to ensure that students are “in the game” enough to accurately assess content knowledge.”

The thing that I find most interesting about this article is that what the researchers recommend for designing tablet-based math assessments is actually very similar to what teachers need to do when creating or considering any kind of assessment in their classroom.

1. There needs to be mapping between concepts. We shouldn’t teach things in isolation but instead as a progression or unit.
2. We need to start with the “why”. It needs to be designed to the collect the evidence and data  we are looking for.
3. Assessments need to provide an opportunity for reflection and revision, how else will students learn from their mistakes.
4. The students need to be engaged. There usually is no effort put into something that meaningless.  

References

Cayton-Hodges, G. A., Feng, G., & Xingyu, P. (2015). Tablet-Based Math Assessment: What

Can We Learn from Math Apps?. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 18(2), 3-20.

Tablet Based Math Assessment

Digital Assessment

Intended Audience:

• My first grade classroom

Learning Objectives:

• RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
• RL.1.10 With prompting and support, read prose and poetry of appropriate complexity for grade 1.
• W.1.5.  With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
• W.1.6.  With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.  
• SL.1.a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
• SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
• SL.1.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
• SL.1.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

Rationale for Instructional Approach and Media:

• In first grade, we do a poetry unit. Students would be exposed to a variety of poems throughout the unit. They will have been able to play around with writing their own poems/rhymes and may chose to read aloud a published poem or their own original work. They will be required to circle/highlight rhyming words, as well as draw a picture to visualize the poem or nursery rhyme. This will be a written assessment. I also created an online assessment working on just the rhyming piece. This digital assessment will be used, in addition to the written piece, along with an oral piece, to assess the objectives listed above.

Rhyming Test

Rhyming Games Screencast

Intended Audience:

• My first grade classroom

Learning Objectives:

• RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
• RL.1.10 With prompting and support, read prose and poetry of appropriate complexity for grade 1.
• W.1.5.  With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
• W.1.6.  With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.  
• SL.1.a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
• SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
• SL.1.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
• SL.1.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

Rationale for Instructional Approach and Media:

• In first grade, we do a poetry unit. My screencast would be used to show students how to access and play rhyming games to practice the skill at school and at home. Students would be exposed to a variety of poems throughout the unit. They are required to identify rhyming words and/or word families. They will also produce their own “screencast” using the Draw & Tell App where they will illustrate their chosen poem/rhyme and then record themselves reading it aloud.

Rhyming Games Screencast

Draw and Tell

I read an article discussing the app, Draw & Tell. First off, I noticed that it actually referenced a website, duckduckmoose.com, which is now working with Khan Academy to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Totally neat! The founders of the website set out to create the next generation of learning apps for kids to grow up with. That’s where the Draw & Tell app comes into play. As we’ve been learning about all sorts of new technology tools, screencasting has been mentioned as new digital learning. At first, I couldn’t see how screencasting would fit into my elementary classroom. Then, I stumbled upon this article. It states that this Draw & Tell App is a “superb screencasting and digital story creation tool, which will work on an iPad or iPhone.” It starts by having the kids first create a blank page or select a coloring page. They add colors, drawings with “pencils”, “paintbrushes”, etc. and even characters, stickers, or stencils. These young artists can then add audio when they are finished creating their masterpiece. Stickers can be manipulated as the audio is recorded if they wanted to be moving things. Finished work can be saved and emailed at the touch of a button.

The possibilities of using this tool in an elementary classroom are endless. Students can be expected to draw and explain vocabulary words. They can summarize a story or event using this app. They can basically explain any concept in any subject area. The article discusses using it for a formative assessment option, as a learning center, one-to-one, or even in small groups. It makes meeting the Common Core State Standards related to producing a multimedia project a breeze.  With my class receiving 4 or 5 iPads next year, I am really looking forward to utilizing this app in my classroom.  

References

TROUTNER, J. (2014). Draw & Tell (http://www.duckduckmoose.com/) Ages 3 - 9. Teacher

Librarian, 41(5), 70.

(n.d.). Retrieved July 18, 2017, from http://www.duckduckmoose.com/

Draw & Tell App Article

Podcast Project

Intended Audience:

• My first grade classroom

Learning Objectives:

• RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
• RL.1.10 With prompting and support, read prose and poetry of appropriate complexity for grade 1.
• W.1.5.  With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
• W.1.6.  With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.  
• SL.1.a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
• SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
• SL.1.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
• SL.1.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

Rationale for Instructional Approach and Media:

• In first grade, we do a poetry unit. My podcast would be used to show how to read nursery rhymes with expression. Students would be exposed to a variety of poems throughout the unit. They will have been able to play around with writing their own poems/rhymes and may chose to read aloud a published poem or their own original work. They will be required to circle/highlight rhyming words and sight words, as well as draw a picture to visualize the poem or nursery rhyme.

Nursery Rhyme Podcast

Podcasts in the Elementary Clsssroom

The article that I read discussed extending a readers theatre activity by using podcasts. Readers theatre is something that I have done with my 5th grade students and I truly enjoyed it each time we “squeezed” it in. I say it that way because realistically, how much time do we have for “fun” in the classroom these days. However, this article was enlightening and opened the door for me on how I can incorporate this “fun” learning activity while still hitting many of the CCSS.

Vasinda and McLeod discussed how 2 teachers took 10-15 minutes each day for 10 weeks to incorporate readers theatre and podcasting, as a reading activity and intervention, into their classrooms. The students were broken up into smaller groups of about 4 - 8, depending upon not only their reading level, but also their personal interests. On Monday, they were given two scripts, one for school and one for home. They were assigned parts and were given 10-15 each day to practice their parts. During this time, the teachers worked with groups as needed, modeling expression and guiding the fluency practices. Students also used this time to do practice recordings so that on Friday they could record their podcasts. This recording was done with the rest of the class as the audience, or in small groups while other students worked independently. The teachers found that implementing the practice of Readers Theatre as a strategy for improving fluency for as little as 10 weeks resulted in consistent gains in comprehension of more than one year! Podcasting this is just a way to enhance an already strong literacy strategy.

As I read this article, I thought of the SAMR model (2009) that we discussed in class. Adding the podcast piece takes the readers theatre activity to the augmentation level with some functional improvement. It also discussed how you could take it to the modification level by completing a video recording. This transforms it from readers theatre to traditional theatre with a twist. Overall, I think that this innovative concept would be beneficial to my class. The article states many positive things like the over abundances of availability of scripts tied to various topics, the home and school connection piece, the authentic purpose that makes repeated practice engaging, and countless creativity options. The podcasts also allow for students to reach wider audiences and drives them to do better. I can’t think of a reason why you wouldn’t want to try this in your own classroom.

References

Puentedura, R. R. (2009). As we may teach: Educational technology, from theory into practice.

Retrieved from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/000025.html

Vasinda, S., & McLeod, J. (2011). Extending Readers Theatre: A Powerful and Purposeful

Match with Podcasting. Reading Teacher, 64(7), 486-497.

Extending Readers Theatre: A Powerful and Purposeful Match With Podcasting