Ryan Brown's Instructional Multimedia Blog

Concept maps are a way to present thoughts and ideas in an easy to visually digest format.  It lays all the thoughts out in a way that chunks them together into subgroups.  For this week, I decided to create a map that I could use as an example of student work.  My idea was to get students to work in pairs or in threes and create a mind map that could be used to sum up a mathematical concept or unit discussed in class.  Some examples students could pick from would be equations, inequalities, linear functions, factoring, exponent rules, systems of equations, quadratics, and so on.  They could also pick a topic and get more specific such as types of slope and methods to find them or what makes a relation a function and how that applies to different representations of functions.  The end goal for my students would be creating a concept map that could be used as a quick teaching tool for other students. The question the students would need to answer would be ...

For this week, I decided to create an augmented reality assignment using Aurasma.  My plan was to use it for the factoring unit and use this as a discovery activity.  The students would do stations and are allowed to move around the room to each of the 4 stations as they wanted.  At each station, I would post up 4 of the trigger images and below the triggers, I would post the required problems.  Here are my 4 trigger images: This one has an image version of a linked webpage .  If you click on the image, it will take you directly to the website.  CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0 This trigger links to a YouTube video describing the process. [Braintofu Farfetch125]. (2011, May 19).   Factoring by Grouping - kids algebra basics [video file].  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFWXSjPn87I This trigger links to a video I created explaining the process. This trigger links to an image with examples that I created describing the process. The students would ...

Evaluating a Video Teaching math can get very dry.  Students can be easily driven to boredom with skill and drill style practice but they can also get very bored with activities.  It seems like anything that is done consistently can result in a response of "I'm tired of _______!"  The use of the occasional video will shake things up and help refocus students, especially visual learners.   I am reviewing a video that I have used in my classroom.  The video can be found here: Scientific Notation .  The video offers an introductory overview of Scientific Notation.  This concept falls within our unit on exponents and operations with exponents in 8th grade math.  This video is available through PBIS media and available on YouTube.  My school does not block YouTube but it does flag videos as either appropriate or not appropriate.  When using this video, it is best to use it as a way to begin the unit on scientific notation.  Studen...

If you haven't already, check out my previous post about memes with some examples of memes I used in my classroom for reviewing some procedures lots of students do not think about. Manipulating Images I have used a program called GIMP photo editor in the past to make adjustments to images or "photoshop" images I already own.  I even used it to create my Google account photo.  In this class, I was introduced to Pixlr .  It's like GIMP in that it has all the functionality of an image manipulation software but it is web-based with the option to download a desktop version.  What I like is the express photo manipulation ability.  This means I could set my students loose on this program to quickly and effectively create their own masterpieces within a web browser without forcing them to be masters at digital design elements.  Below is an example of a poster I made to show my students that quadratics are more than just a complicated math concept. Gatew...

I have used, in the past, memes to get procedural concepts through to students.  I made these memes using a meme generator on Imgur.  Calling these images memes might be a bit of a misnomer as they are actually just image macros but the images used are considered memes due to their widespread use on the internet.  Memes change constantly.  There is a saying on the internet that a year in normal time is like 10 years for the internet.  The popular format these days for memes follows a more "Twitter-esque" appearance as most of them are shared through Twitter.  Below are some examples of what I have used in my classroom.

Click here for Padlet Use in the Classroom Typically, this unit requires a lot of note taking and practice.  It spans several days and the students spend an exorbitant amount of time listening to me rather than focusing on the task at hand.  With this padlet, I could essentially "set my students free" in a Web-Quest style lesson.  Giving the students a goal with practice problems, the students could peruse the padlet in pairs or groups to find solutions to the questions given.  This frees me up to be able to provide extra support to those who need it. Learning Objectives Several learning objectives are achieved in this padlet. -I can analyze the graph of a quadratic and identify it's parts. -I can create a graph of a quadratic based on the parts of a parabola. -I can solve a quadratic equation. -I can evaluate the different methods for solving and appropriately select the method best suited for the problem. Copyright Since the goal of this padlet is mainly t...