How much is an interactive whiteboard? How about £5? In fact, for that price, you can have an easily portable interactive whiteboard. Interested?

Actually, I’m cheating a little: I’m assuming that you already have a classroom with a projector and either a laptop or desktop computer (which is the case in almost every classroom in my school). If you have, then you just need to add one cheap and cheerful wireless mouse.

I bought a few mice to try out Mouse Mischief (which is brilliant – I’ll post about that later), but then I realized that even one wireless mouse could be a pretty useful teaching tool that allows students to interact with any program. I just pass the wireless mouse to a student and they can use it to interact with whatever is on the board: that could be selecting answers; completing drag and drop tasks; playing educational games or doing anything else that the touch surface on an interactive whiteboard would allow.

I’ve tried this with several classes and it’s worked brilliantly—students pass the mouse to one another with less disruption than when they come out to the whiteboard. Since the students aren’t standing in front of the whiteboard there are no issues with shadows or other class members being unable to see. Some students who are extremely reluctant to come out to the board will happily use the mouse from their seat.

Only one student can use the mouse at a time – but since most interactive whiteboards can only be used by student at a time, that’s not really a great disadvantage.

As a teacher, I can easily take back control at any time—all I have to do is unplug the receiver for the wireless mouse.

I’m sure I’m not the first person to think of this—in fact I can’t believe this idea has only just occurred to me—but it’s been a really effective way to involve students. I’m sure I’ll be doing this a lot in future. In fact I have a strong suspicion that I may have rendered my very expensive SMARTboard redundant. Mind you, there are no SMARTboards at the school where I’m working from September. I’ll just take my £5 mouse.

Photo: Cheesy Cat and Mouse Pic by fozzeee on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons Licence.

[Post originally published on my learning (b)log]

Using the iPod Touch in the Classroom – some Dos and Don’ts

DO:

• Try different ways of using the iPods: paired work or use by a small group is possible.
• Experiment with different Apps. If you find a good one, please tell us about it.
• Check websites work on the iPod touch before the lesson—some sites that use Flash (such as mymaths.co.uk) won’t work.
• Count the iPods in and out each time you use them. Whenever possible, keep a record of who uses each one—this encourages students to behave responsibly.
• Let someone know if there are any problems.

DON’T:

• Allow any student to find out our iTunes password (however trustworthy they are)
• Allow any student to leave the room with an iPod for any reason
• Allow students to use the iPods unsupervised—remember that they can access the Internet!

What do I do if… ?

Technology is great, until it goes wrong! Fortunately, most things are easily put right:

• 99% of problems will be solved by pushing the round button.
  Yes, it really is that simple!
• 0.9% of the remaining problems will be solved by keeping the iPods charged, so if you spot any low batteries at the end of a session, please make sure that they are re-charged before someone else uses them.
• A few problems will require more drastic action: usually a reset, which only takes a few minutes. If the round button doesn’t work and there is power in the battery, ask for help.

Anyway, this is very much a voyage of discovery for me: I’d never owned an iPod or an iPhone, so there’s been a bit of a learning curve – helped enormously by recommendations from some of the fantastic people I follow on Twitter.

Let’s start with ten apps that have worked well for me in the classroom:

1. Arithmetick This is a free app (recommended by @colport – thank you!)
As the name suggests, it’s great for practising basic arithmetic. Choose from add, subtract, multiply, divide – or a combination of these, pick a level and get started. I’ve used this with students in Y6 working at level 3/4 and with a foundation group in Y9. A few of them couldn’t keep up with the timer and opted for a practice session rather than the game, but most students opted for the game, got really competitive and tried to get high scores.
Verdict: Great for practising multiplication tables, in multiplication and division form. Also good for number bonds.

2. TwentyFour Lite This is a free app, there’s also a paid version.
I used the 24 game as an intro to BODMAS/BIDMAS with Y7 students working at level level 5/6 . We played this as a starter activity. They loved it, several of them went home and downloaded this onto their own devices.
Verdict: Nice version of the game, shows working step by step (which was ideal for me). The free version is fine for classroom use, but any serious 24 addicts would probably run out of games and need to upgrade.

3. World Maths Day 2010 This is a free app (recommended by @misterel – thank you!)
I used this with some of my Y10 form group, they really enjoyed it.
Verdict: Nice app, wide range of levels available, but it does require an age range setting – which is reset via the settings screen, not from within the app itself. Not a big problem, but will need re-setting if I use this with younger students.

4. Guess My Age This is a free app
I downloaded this one (it’s an app version of an old trick – maths teachers will recognise it!), but didn’t ask students to try it. A lot of them tried it anyway – and are amazed by it.
Verdict: The students love this and want to know how it works – but I’m not telling! I’m sure they’ll work it out sooner or later.

5. Dynamic dice This is a paid app (currently 59p)
We use assorted dice for probability work. This is nice for students, they like shaking the iPod to roll the dice.
Verdict: The students like this, but it does present a distraction when we are supposed to working on other things, so I think I’ll save this for the next round of probability. It’s intended for use when playing games, so it doesn’t record the scores, which we would need to do in a maths lesson.

6. Coin toss and Heads Tails Both are free
Two coin flipping apps, which I was trying out for probability work.
Verdict: Heads Tails is the better of the two for maths, because it records numbers and percentages of heads and tails. Good for gathering data rapidly, without the need for students to record anything.

7. Algebra Level 1 This is a paid app (currently 59p)
Solve simple equations, selecting an answer from a list.
Verdict: Worked well as part of a revision session with Y7. I didn’t want to restrict myself to using multiple choice questions, so we started with this and then moved onto Mathmaster Algebra.

8. Mathmaster Algebra This is a paid app (currently 59p)
Solve simple equations, but this time the answer must be typed in using a keypad. The students competed to get a high score.
Verdict: Worked well as a revision activity, following on from Algebra Level 1. It got a fantastic response from the students – they were really engrossed.

9. Falling Algebra 1 This is a paid app (currently 59p)
Solve simple equations, but this time the answer is selected from a cloud of falling numbers.
Verdict: This drove me mad – but Y10 loved it, so it’s a keeper.

Some more nice maths apps are listed here and here (via @IaninSheffield, who has bookmarked lots of useful sites that I’m working my way through – thanks Ian!)

Photo: iPod touch 1.1.3 (main screen) by chrisdejabet. Used under Creative Commons Licence.

{Post originally published on my learning (b)log]

Eiffel TowerHow to draw a pie chart

The site is free (there are options to purchase software, but I haven’t tried this), but there are a couple of limitations: the images cannot be larger than 2048 x 2048 pixels and they must be in jpeg format.

The person completing the online jigsaw has the option to view the image, or use a ‘ghost’ – a faint copy of the image to help them.

Images don’t have to be restricted to pictures, I’ve created some examples that include text as well. The possibilities are endless, you can create jigsaws from photos, diagrams, maps, revision notes, mind maps, family trees, sequences of numbers or sequences of diagrams…

Since this activity involves asking students to look at an image in great detail, it could be used in a variety of ways, with or without the image and/or ghost options:

• as a lesson starter, with a follow up discussion about the image
• as an introduction to a topic
• as a revision tool
• to encourage students to look closely at the detail in a map
• to ask students to use what they know about a family (eg from history, or from a book, or from clues in a logic problem) to reconstruct a family tree
• as a way of asking students to think about patterns in sequences of numbers or diagrams
• if a symmetrical design is used, students can use the properties of the design to help them complete the puzzle

The jigsaws don’t have to be used on an interactive whiteboard, teachers can also provide links to allow students to complete these on a computer (perhaps as part of a web quest) or even embed them in a class web page. Alternatively, why not ask the students to create an image and make a puzzle of their own?

Any more ideas or suggestions? Feel free to leave a comment.

…and finally – a big thank you to  Tom Barrett for sharing this idea.

Obviously, the key to success  is to balance the learning and the fun. All of the sites featured here focus on the maths, but in the context of a game.

Games based learning doesn’t have to be restricted to the computer room. Games can be used successfully with individuals, pairs or groups playing on the interactive whiteboard. Netbooks (mini laptops) can easily be brought into the classroom, but remember to check that the games you want to use will actually run on the netbooks before you try it with a class—they don’t have quite as much software as desktop computers do!

Here’s three great sites for maths games:

1. Super Maths World

Birley CC has subscribed to Super Maths World. To access the site just use our school log in—it’s on posters in the maths classrooms.

The site looks like a ‘real’ video game, with students battling against an opponent. There are games for every topic, although you may need to look at the kids section to get the correct level for weaker students. The only disadvantage of this site is that there is no way to link directly to individual games and activities—students have to go to the homepage and click through a series of menus.

http://www.supermathsworld.com

2. Tutpup

Students solve puzzles and compete against opponents from around the world. Each game is a race, first to the finish line is the winner.

Register as a teacher to receive a class code, then students don’t need to give any personal details at all. To register, they select a colour, an animal and a number—for example, I set up a demo account as orangecat1810. Since students aren’t giving any personal details to the site and there are no chat opportunities, it is totally safe.

Best of all, it’s free!

http://www.tutpup.com

3. Manga High

Students answer questions as part of an arcade style game. The games start off at a fairly easy level, but stick with it—they get harder! The site is aimed at GCSE students, but could be used with younger students as well.

This is a free site, although students are encouraged to register. It is carefully monitored, with no chat or user generated content, so it’s totally safe.

“For me doing mathematics has always been like playing a game. At Manga High we’ve been working hard to bring out the playful side of maths while ensuring that students get the essential skills to master this important subject. ”
Marcus du Sautoy

http://www.mangahigh.com

Want to find out more?

Watch this Teachers’ TV video featuring Dawn Hallybone from Oakdale Junior School, where  games based learning is being used very successfully.

http://www.teachers.tv/video/37337

On Friday 2nd October I tried something new. Instead of heading home and collapsing on the sofa, I drove to the BBC’s 21st Cenury Classroom in Salford to attend my first Teachmeet.

What is a Teachmeet? Basically it’s a group of teachers who meet up to exchange ideas. Some of these people are actually there in the room, others join in via an online Flashmeeting— which is like a combination of a video conference and a chat room. People volunteered to offer presentations lasting for either 7 minutes or 2 minutes. These presentations have to be about something that they have used in a classroom situation.

Anyone can join in, either as a presenter or just to listen and/or discuss. It’s not a formal session, in fact it’s so informal that it’s known as an unconference.

I came away with loads of great ideas and resources—some of which are featured here. I’ll be passing more of these ideas on as soon as I’ve tried them out.

Want to find out more?
Tim and Moby from brainpop.co.uk explain what a Teachmeet is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlSQYSnPUQY
(This was made for a Scottish Teachmeet, we didn’t have bagpipes in Salford…)

Most Teachmeets are organised through this site:
http://teachmeet.pbworks.com

But Teachmeet Northwest has its own site:
http://www.teachmeetnw.pbworks.com

My summary of all the presentations, with links to some really good sites is here (or at least it will be very shortly!):
http://morethanmaths.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/teachmeetnw

It’s easy to set up: just go to the Classtools website and enter a list of names. You can copy the names from  a list made on a word processor or spreadsheet—then you don’t have to keep typing them each time. As soon as you have entered the list, just click the button that says ‘Fruit Machine’ and kerching—up comes a name.

Once a student’s name has been selected, you have the option to remove them from the list, or you can leave them in for another chance to be chosen. This will definitely keep students on their toes!

This is great for selecting students to answer questions or present results in class. It could also be used to randomly select pairs or groups of students.

Alternatively, why not enter a list of keywords instead of names? Then use the fruitmachine to select one at random and ask students to explain what it means.

http://classtools.net/education-games-php/fruit_machine/