Transum Maths Starter of the Day

Posted: September 18, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Handy Tools, Numeracy | Tags: , , , , | 3 Comments

I’m sure that the clever people over at Transum Software won’t mind me inserting their banner as a plug for their excellent Maths Starter of the Day.

I am a great believer in students having a daily starter to get their brains into gear, I am planning a future post on my grade’s morning routine. However, this great resource (which I also plugged on the OET Facebook page earlier this week) serves for a range of purposes.

The calendar view allows the teacher (or student) to select each day’s maths problem and present it to the grade in an IWB friendly format. I must stress that these are interactive and not all of them merely use the IWB as a data-projector, which is very awesome.

I have used them for mental-starters, found subject-specific problems for tuning in opportunities and also make the link available to students via our class wiki. These resources provide great opportunities for modelled and shared problem solving and working mathematically.

You can find the link to this excellent resource here.

Cheers,

Teddy.

What maths tuning-in resources have you found most useful?

Does your grade do a daily starter?

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News Shorts, Ed Tools and more.

Posted: September 2, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Education | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

I’m going to draw from my weekly notes and favourited Tweets to build a range of links into this short monthly section that cover related news, interesting blog posts and recommended Ed Tools. I’ll try my best to experiment with some of the tools offered. If not, I’ll take care to ensure that they are re-blogged from reputable educational sources!

News Shorts

ABC News – ‘What’s in the Gonski Report?‘, is a well constructed article that includes relevant information, some interesting infographics and a pop quiz! (via @wombatlyons)

ABC News – Peter Garrett alluding to the the fact that it could be several years before an overhaul of school funding takes place (video) (@abcnews)

Blogs and Bloggers

‘The Great IWB Swindle‘ – A thought-provoking, well written blog article that prompted me to reflect on my use of the technology in my classroom. (@richielambert via @kathleen_morris)

Edgalaxy.com – A blog that I have browsed in the past. Regularly has interesting posts and valuable links and ideas. (@AnaChristinaPrts via @mgraffin)

Integrating Technology in the Primary Classroom – An inspiring blog that led me to many other intriguing resources that I plan to investigate and blog on in the future! (via the author, @kathleen_morris)

That’s all for now. I am planning to investigate Sqworl and Storify for my next post. If you’re an expert or you have any comments please use the comments section for any feedback or tips!

Cheers,

Teddy.

Handy Web Resource – August

Posted: August 29, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Education | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Each month I’ll post one online resource that I’ve used in the classroom. Sometimes they will be effective stand-alone resources that require little explanation. For other resources, where applicable, I’ll also offer some follow-up activities that have extended the learning that the web resource has introduced.

The kids in my grade have had heaps of fun this year being introduced to different concepts via the resources page on the Oswego City School District’s website (above).

Although it isn’t the most attractive links page, there are a range of games, some in successive difficulty levels, that are excellent for tuning in a whole group or reinforcing a concept with a guided group. My students have even enjoyed the Working Mathematically based games (such as Power Lines) during their wet day timetables!

Personal favourites of mine include: Stop the Clock (1-5 offering increasing difficulty options) and, Speed Grid Addition.

You can find the game links at: http://resources.oswego.org/games/

Enjoy!

Teddy.