Embracing More Technology in Math Class
Using technology in the math classroom will give your students a powerful tool for engaging in meaningful math learning experiences.
But embracing educational technology trends can be intimidating and many teachers are fearful to venture beyond familiar resources like PowerPoint presentations and YouTube videos.
If your idea of effectively using technology in the math classroom involves allowing students to use graphing calculators or showing the occasional video clip on the SMARTBoard, then you are missing out on an amazing collection of tools that will enhance your instruction, better engage your students, and bring your classroom into the 21st-century.
So, if you’re ready to overcome your fears of embracing more technology in your math classroom, here are a few simple ways to make your lessons more tech-friendly:
1.) BYOD
Adopt a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy in your classroom and allow students to use their smartphones, laptops, and tablets as a learning tool/resource. Of course, there is a right way and wrong way to implement BYOD in your classroom. Andrew Marcinek’s blog Why BYOD Makes Sense: Thinking Beyond a Standardized 1:1 via Edutopia is a great road map.
Google Classroom
2.) Online Classroom
Start using digital classroom software such as Google Classroom, Brain Pop, or Class Dojo. These programs allow teachers to create an online hub for students to track their progress, stay on top of assignments and homework, and review lessons when they’re not in school.
3.) Incorporate 360-Degree Video
Using educational 360-degree video clips from free video platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, GoPro, Discovery, NatGeo, and Veer is a great strategy for enhancing your lessons and for adding context to what your students are learning. This list of 7 Mind Blowing (and 100% free) VR Videos for Engaging Your Students is a good place to start.
4.) Collect Instant Feedback
Take your formative assessment to the next level by using tech tools like Kahoot! and Survey Monkey to collect instant feedback by assessing your students’ thinking in real time! This data will allow you to gain an instant idea of what your students are thinking and make adjustments mid-lesson.
Example of a post on a class Twitter account.
5.) Create a Class Twitter Account
Give your students an opportunity to showcase what they are learning (parents love this) by creating a class Twitter account. Alice Keeler has an awesome blog post Why A Class Twitter Account, which shares why and how a classroom Twitter account can significantly boost student engagement.
Kealer also shares a blog post Class Twitter Account: How Your Students Can Tweet that is very helpful.
6.) Better Utilize Email
You use email every day, but are you taking advantage of its versatility for making your teacher life much easier? By allowing your students to submit assignments via email (including smart phone photos of hand-written assignments), you will be better organized and will save a significant amount of time and energy.
7.) Make Your Own Video Lessons
If you have a smart phone, then you have an excellent video camera that you can use to create your own video lessons to share online with your students. Video lessons are a great resource for posting online and sharing with students who are absent from class and are even better for teachers who want to flip their instruction.
Could YOU use some free. helpful, and engaging math resources? Access over 100 FREE K-12 Math Video Lessons and Animations on YouTube? Subscribe to our channel (100% free with your Gmail account) and access the full library. We add new video lessons every week!
Did I miss your go-to strategy for using technology in math class? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below!
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By Anthony Persico
Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.