Monthly Archives: July 2015

Twitter Math Camp Is All About Love – TMC15

Posted on by
10
TMC15

Twitter Math Camp 15 – 200 Strong!

This may be my longest post ever.  It was tough to write.  It’s a hot mess and just all over the place, but I can’t look at it anymore.  I just need to post it. I almost did not go to TMC15.  I changed schools for the 2014-15 school year.  As an experienced teacher I was not really worried about changing schools.  I did not take into account the added stress I would encounter from new people, preps, procedures, and new culture.  I did not take into account how difficult it would be to be “unknown” by students (and everyone) in a much larger school.  But I found that it was a tremendous change for me. I had switched divisions, from middle school to high school, and had two new preps.  I had never taught Geometry before.  My co-teacher (who I had grown close to) quit mid-year.  My three children also changed schools with me and it took them a while to adjust.  Plus, as much as I love high school students, I really missed teaching middle school students.  I was overwhelmed and under water most of the year. Luckily, I have an amazingly supportive administration at my new school.  That, and a few key people completely saved my year.  But it was still hard.  So hard that I haven’t recovered enough to think about education, or read educational books.  For the first time since I returned to teaching, all I did in this summer was SUMMER.  I was anxious about going to TMC because much of my time there involves intense math education conversations.  I just didn’t know if I was ready to be immersed in education yet.  At the same time, I was worried that if I didn’t go, I would still feel this way on the first day of school.  I love teaching, and I adore my students, so I didn’t want this to happen.  In the end, I decided that I HAD to go to TMC, because I was hoping it would inspire me.  Enter Fawn. My most impactful “non-lesson” TMC thing was Fawn’s keynote.  Fawn’s talk deeply moved me.  She reminded me how much I love my students.  Her talk created the shift in me that I had been hoping for the entire conference.  It wasn’t about pedagogy and activities.  It was about the heart, because that is why we teach.  Students are why I love teaching.  Fawn’s talk affected me emotionally.  It makes me tear up, even now, just thinking about it.  I am excited to go back to school now, and I can’t thank you enough Fawn. Screen Shot 2015-07-29 at 5.21.07 PM Of course, the rest of Twitter Math Camp was amazing as well.  Lisa Henry said that it was like a family reunion, others jokingly referred to it as a cult.  There are many things that set this conference apart (and above), other conferences or professional developments, but the most impactful difference is the support, and even the love that is there.  Fawn’s talk was even titled, “A Love Letter to the MTBoS”. Screen Shot 2015-07-31 at 9.36.54 AMTeachers do not attend TMC just to learn how to become a better teacher, they attend TMC to connect with other progressive and like minded math teachers.  Last year, I connected with many Geometry and Alg2 teachers at TMC14.  These connections not only carried me through the year, they saved my year, especially in Geometry (special thanks to Jim Doherty and Peg Cagle).  Connections like these are the “special sauce” that makes TMC better than other conferences. Last year after TMC some of the amazing things I implemented were Glenn’s (h,k) forms, Cindy’s Conic Cards, and Plickers.  I have an even longer list of new things I can’t wait to try this year.  My number one TMC15 thing (#1TMCthing) is to try to include debate in class.  Who doesn’t love a great debate?  And it totally fits in with my class personality.  Other things from TMC15 that I want to try are:

Lisa had a great idea that we could all pick the one thing that we most wanted to implement and tweet it out to #1TMCThing.  Then, on Oct.26th, we are all going to check in on other people that picked our same thing.  This is support and community.  And this is why I love TMC and the #MTBoS so much! This year I had a blast at game night, where Deborah Boden was nice enough to give me an amazing pink math teacher shirt!  Screen Shot 2015-07-31 at 12.53.52 AMBefore the conference even started, I got a shout out from Jonathan that made my heart smile.  I presented a session with Sam and Brendan (even though I complained so much because I wasn’t in the mood to prepare).  Thankfully, Sam didn’t let me off the hook, and it felt great sharing my story.  IMG_4606I finally got to go to IN-N-OUT burger with tech genius John Stevens and posted the pic on Instagram for my former students.  I was excited that they remembered the lesson from 2 years ago!  I got to do Barbie Bungee with Fawn and Matt!  I also learned how much preconceived ideas can affect your math.  Matt had mentioned quadratics to me and even had a quadratic option in the Desmos model so I totally went for it.  And totally failed (sorry Hedge and Ashley)!  But it was such a great experience and I would not have been satisfied if I hadn’t tried it.  Sam, Tina and I conducted a lunch meeting on the next blogging initiative, and I presented a short “My Favorite” on Kahoot.  I had a blast collecting money for a gift for Lisa, posing as a raffle, especially when she bought five tickets!  And, even though I didn’t help write it, Sean and Rachel and David still asked me to help sing the amazing song they created.  ❤ But one of my favorite things about Twitter Math Camp is all of the Tweeting that is going on.  The backchannel is almost more active than the conference.  It is almost like there are TWO conferences going on at all times.  It gets pretty bad (in the best way).Screen Shot 2015-07-31 at 12.53.27 AM Finally, I just had an amazing time reconnecting with the best friends I have ever had.  My only regret is not spending more time meeting and talking with new people.  I am sorry about that.  After all of the changes this year, I really needed serious quality (healing) time with my closest friends.  I needed to sing and dance, a lot.  I tried hard to be myself, even though I wasn’t feeling like myself.  Thank you tweeps, for being there for me this year.  And even though I wasn’t in the best frame of mind this year, TMC, and the love of the people attending, inspired me again.  They are not only “my people”, they are my soul mates. Special thanks to my dear friend Lisa Henry for all of the work she does for this.  I don’t know how she gets it all done (and done so well), but I am very thankful for her!  Also thanks to the TMC Planning Committee, Darryl Yong, Harvey Mudd College, and our barbeque hosts.  I can’t even imagine the amount of work that went into planning and pulling this off for so many people.  Twitter Math Camp is all about love. Piano, piano on tweeps! Screen Shot 2015-07-31 at 12.53.35 AM Camp Song – “Party at the TMC”

Slideshow:

Party in the TMC Slideshow with lyrics and pictures

Lyrics:

“Party at the TMC” I hopped off the plane at L.A.X. Because I didn’t realize there was a closer airport Welcome to the land of awesome tweeps (whoa), Am I gonna fit in? Jumped in the car, Here we are for the fourth time (beat) Look to my right and I see the Harvey Mudd Sign This is all so crazy Everybody seems so famous My phone is buzzin’ with the fav-rites and the retweets So much excitement and I’m nervous, That’s when Lisa turned on the microphone And then TMC was on And then TMC was on And then TMC was on [Chorus:] So I put my hands up I’m giving high fives The MTBoS is here to stay We’re starting on time like yeah Movin’ our thumbs like yeah We got our phones out, We’re tweeting along, There’s awesome packed in every day Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play (breathe!) Get to Friday gonna share my fav Everybody’s tweeting at me now Like, “Who’s that chick that 3D prints?” I gotta go and track her down. (beat) Sooo hard to choose, why can’t I pick three? It’s definitely not like normal PD ‘Cause all I see are teaching pro-s Sha-kin’ it in front of two pianos (breathe!) My tummy’s rumbling’ and I gotta pick a food TRUCK Gonna count the times that fawn will say f…. whoa whoa whoa! -something incredibly heartfelt that makes us all feel very emotional- That’s when Chris Shore dropped and did the worm And then Fawn put a wig on And then Fawn put a wig on And then Matt put a wig on So we put our hands up We’re two hundred strong And growing bigger ev’ry day Bar-be-que-ing like yeah Nixing the tricks like yea Now look at these pics Which doesn’t belong? There’s awesome packed in every day Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play Soon I’m hoppin’ on my flight (on my fllight) Wish I’d won The Price Is Right (Price is Right) Hard to leave you every time (every time) But then I’ll just log on and I’ll feel alright So we put our hands up We’re waving goodbye We’re sad to all go away: Courtyard chil-ling like yeah Raf-fle-ing stuff like yeah We found what we love, We’re doing that now, And did it for the last four days Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play And of course, my favorite moments at TMC, in pictures!

TinyScan – PDF Scanner App for Smartphones and iPad

Posted on by
5

IMG_6195I have been using an amazing app that I really don’t know how I lived without called TinyScan.  Holy mac, this app is a teachers dream!  There is a free version which I tried first.  But, I quickly upgraded to the premium version for $4.99.

With TinyScan you take a picture of something with your phone (for me, it is usually the worked out solutions to homework), take a picture of the page, then TinyScan beautifully turns it into a crisp and clear pdf file.  You can edit, crop, and rotate the file.  You can make it black and white or color and darken or lighten the ink.  You can take pictures of several pages in one file (you may have to have the premium version for batch scanning documents into one file).  Once you have edited your pdf, you can email, AirPrint or fax the pdf’s with one click.  The very best part is that you can instantly upload the pdf to your Google Drive from within the app!  You can also set the app to instantly upload to Google Drive (or other services).  To do this, go to settings and choose Auto Upload, and you can choose from Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, Box or OneDrive.  It’s so easy!

The best way that I use it is by uploading the files to my Google Drive.  I created a shared student folder on Google Drive, so as soon as I finish the key I can take a picture of it and upload it to the student file so that my students have immediate access.  I also take a quick picture of all of my test keys and keep them in the same folder as the original in case I lose the key.  I love this app.

Glenn showed me a couple of different scanning apps at TMC15.  His apps were able to rotate a picture automatically if you took it crooked.  However, he could not automatically upload to Google Drive.  So if you look at a different scan app, make sure you can seamlessly upload to Google Drive if that is important to you.

Fill Out This Form to Connect With Other Math Teachers On Kahoot!

Posted on by
7

There are thousands of public Kahoots! made by teachers to chose from.  Kahoot! has a search feature that allows you to search by title, subject, tag, or username.  You can also share a Kahoot! that you have made with another teacher if you know their username.

Screen Shot 2015-07-19 at 11.19.32 AM

Since my Kahoot! post, I have found that many math teachers that I know also use Kahoot! and are using it in ways that I have not even thought of.  For instance, Laura Wheeler uses Kahoot! a few times a week as a warm up for a fun way to do spiraling reviews.  I would love to easily find and see her reviews, since we both teach high school math.

Then, as is often the case, an amazing idea was born on Twitter.  Wouldn’t it be GREAT if we knew our math teacher friends Kahoot! user names?  Then, we could search and share with teachers that we know.  Additionally, if teachers would tag the Kahoots! they use with MTBoS, we could also search that way.

Screen Shot 2015-07-19 at 10.41.48 AM Screen Shot 2015-07-19 at 10.41.38 AM Screen Shot 2015-07-19 at 10.41.48 AM

Screen Shot 2015-07-19 at 11.23.06 AM

Sharing your Kahoot!

So, please fill out this form if you are interested in easily sharing the Kahoots! that you create and use with other math teachers.  I asked for the subjects you teach so that other teachers can more easily find teachers that have similar needs.  And don’t worry if you don’t make your own Kahoots!  I rarely make Kahoots! from scratch.  But, I do go through each Kahoot! I use carefully, and often edit them, so other teachers would probably benefit from the Kahoots! that I use.  If you are not already using Kahoot!, you need to sign up for a free Kahoot! account here to get your username.

Here are the results: Google Form of MTBoS Kahoot! user names.

Once you finish the form, you will be directed to a Google Form of MTBoS Kahoot! user names.

How to Search and Add Tags in Kahoot!

Also, to search by tag, you can’t just enter mtbos.  You have to type in doc.tags:mtbos.

Screen Shot 2015-07-19 at 11.18.55 AM

Don’t forget to tag your Kahoot! with MTBoS after you finish making it.

Screen Shot 2015-07-19 at 11.17.17 AM

Fill out this form to connect with other math teachers on Kahoot!

Fill out this form to connect with other math teachers on Kahoot!

You Have To Try Kahoot! For Engagement

Posted on by
13

Moving from middle school to high school this year was an enthusiasm culture shock. For example, in middle school, I had to use Popsicle sticks to limit student participation in class. Many middle school students wanted to answer every question, and I wanted everyone to have a chance to participate.  In high school, I had to use Popsicle sticks in order to encourage student participation. Silence can be deafening, especially at the beginning of the year and always on Mondays.

I do not prefer a silent classroom on a daily basis. I  also prefer that my students talk more than me. So, since my move to high school, I have been endlessly searching for activities that engaged everyone WHILE they were doing math. I tried games, stations, trasketball, speed dating, group work on big white boards, gallery walks, tinker toys, conic cards, Nearpod, Plickers, CANDY and just about anything else you can think of this year to get high school kids ENGAGED and EXCITED (about math work).  While they have liked many of my crazy activities this year, they did not love anything until Kahoot!

Playing Kahoot is the most fun I have had in my classroom in AGES.  Kahoot! is an online multiple choice game where students play against their classmates. I project the questions from my computer, and they select from four choices on their device. Students can use iPhones, iPads, or a computer. Students can also work together and share devices if they do not have enough individual devices. They do not see the question on their device, only the answer choice. As students answer a visual timer counts down and the number of students that have answered pop up on the overhead screen.  To increase the excitement, you can also chose to play KaHoots jeopardy sounding music.

Students get points for getting the correct answer, and even more points if they answer the question more quickly than their classmates. The top 5 students are listed on a “Leaderboard” after each question to keep the competition HOT.

The kids love playing Kahoot! They love playing it so much that I often have my students that aren’t even in the current period join my class during their study hall periods!  Students in class have tweeted and texted out the game code. I even noticed a kid playing through the glass window of my door one day.  Of course I took a picture.


Other than all of the fun for the kids, the best part for ME is that I NEVER HAVE TO MAKE MY OWN KAHOOT.  There are thousands of Kahoots! already made by excellent math teachers everywhere. This is KEY when you have a new planning or are simply overwhelmed. You just type in your topic and then can chose from dozens of premade Kahoots! on just about any topic, including Calculus!

The biggest downside to Kahoot is that the kids want to play it all of the time and beg me daily to play it.

Suggestions for fun and productive Kahooting:

  1. Don’t make your own Kahoot at first. In fact, I may never make my own. There are so many to borrow from!  Once you duplicate a Kahoot, it is easy to edit.
  2. When playing Kahoot, 6 – 10 questions is best. Some kids get discouraged and give up if they fall too behind in the scores. So, instead if playing one KaHoot game with 20 questions, play two 10 question Kahoots! You will have two winners and thus more opportunities to get everyone engaged.
  3. I use Kahoot! as a pretest, for a quick check of their understanding of terms. and as practice problems for more rote  or basic topics. The max time students have to answer a question is 120 seconds so KaHoot is not for problems that take a longer time to solve.
  4. Let them make up silly names. I play Kahoot! so they can have fun while doing math. And making up silly names is really a big part of this fun.


You can also embed YouTube videos into KaHoot. I videoed the kids one day and posted it to YouTube, then added it to their next KaHoot game. The next time we played, their video was what played while they were signing in. They loved it. 

Watch the action here. 

I have just learned about a Ghost Mode in KaHoot but haven’t had a chance to try it yet. Cathy Yeneka blogged about Ghost Mode. I can’t wait to try it in the fall!