Edmodo

As a high school teacher I am forever trying to find ways to help put my students more in control of their learning. Edmodo, is the tool to do just that! I love that Edmodo is built to look just like Facebook which is one of the top sites already used by my students. The similarities mean that the student already know how to navigate much of the site, the layout appeals them, and Facebook is cool so therefore Edmodo is is at the very least, slightly cool by association. This year my school district has enabled students and families to view the electronic grade book used by the teachers. I have been making my students use it to find out what they are missing instead of asking me. This gives them more ownership of their learning. I would love to incorporate Edmodo into my curriculum project by having students log on to Edmodo to  do interactive assignments, communicate issues with me, and provide links and information for supplemental information to students and families.

Geometry!!!

Geometry!!! by Math Pentagon is an amazing app that is worth a lot more than the $2.99 price tag it displays in the iTunes store.  The app has 4 different levels of geometry with each level increasing in rigor and expectations.  Students are given a set of problems from a chosen category of geometry with a drop down menu of multiple choice answers.  Once the student answers the question the app provides encouraging feedback if the answer if incorrect and a congratulations if the problem is correct.  Students earn points for each problem set in the category and can still earn partial points if they answer the questions correct on the second try, as an incentive for the student to keep trying.  There is plenty of space on each page for the student to use their finger as a stylus to work out problems that require computations. 

The app allows for students to use it for self-guided independent practice as well as allows the teacher to set up specific problem sets for each student.  Both the student and the teacher can review the results of each set of problems and the results can be saved.   This helps hold the student accountable for their work, provides easily stored records for parent/teacher conferences, and allows students to practice self monitoring.

Overall, the app is an excellent resource for teachers and students.  It has a thousands of problems, so the students will not get repeats, as well as varying skill levels.  This app helps teachers provide more individualized practice while enabling each student to be successful at their highest level of ability.  The cons of the app include the size of the text and graphics on the problem pages as well as loading correctly.  Occasionally when using the app, the loading screen would come up for a few minutes and would not go away until the app was closed and reopened. 

 

Action Map

This unit has been modified from the given scope and sequence to better meet the needs of the learning support students in the class. This unit is comprised of 4 main concepts; measuring angles, constructing angles, solving for unknown angles, and classifying angles.  The unit will take approximately 3 weeks to complete with final summative assessment being a test given at the end.