This past week I took part in a 3-Tier Collaborative Planning workshop designed to facilitate the integration of iPod Touch devices in math classrooms at the middle and high school level. The three "tiers" represented were the regular ed teacher, special education teacher, and ITRTs. Each of the district's secondary schools has been given anywhere from two to ten iPod Touch depending on the number of students in the building with IEPs. There is also a class set of 17 devices available for checkout from the special ed department.
The event began with an overview of apps that are currently downloaded to the iPods. Three-tiered groups then had the opportunity to browse, research, and download apps that we felt addressed specific SOLs in the math curriculum that proved to be a challenge for students. I worked with two fabulous seventh grade teachers during the workshop, and we came across the following apps that we felt would be useful in seventh grade math:
Basic Math (free) - drill and practice
Number Line (free) - ordering/comparing decimals, fractions, and percents; drag the decimal, fraction, or percent to the correct spot on a number line to order from least to greatest (I've mentioned this one in a previous post too.)
Portion Platter (free) - visualize fractions; interactive
Brain Tuner Math (free Lite version or $2.99 version) - similar to Brain Age games; thought this would be good for a math warm-up each day
Geometry Combat ($0.99) - challenge game with a cage-fighting theme; great for students who like competition; you even get to trash talk a bit (There is also an Algebra Combat app.)
Hot Potato Basic Math (free) - practice up on basic skills; individual and competition modes
Our 3-tier teams were asked to spend the afternoon planning a lesson that integrates the iPod Touch in a meaningful way (or two). My team integrated three apps into our lesson: BrainTuner, Scribble Lite, and Portion Platter. The lesson was designed to address math SOL 7.1: TSW compare, order, and determine equivalent relationships between fractions, decimals, and percents. The lessons are being posted on the district's course management system for sharing with other educators. In my opinion, it was a worthwhile, productive day!
What a great idea, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I was not one of the teachers that attended this workshop. Yet, several of my colleagues from CHS did attend. I can't wait to see and hear all about it. Thanks for everything you all do to keep us in the know!
ReplyDelete