Teacher Websites and Math

Teacher Websites and MathKelly DauOctober 12, 2012EDMA 658

So, what are we talking about here?I began my research by looking for state and local (MSBSD) resources on mathematical education. State of Alaska

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Division of Learning and Support, Assessment, Accountability and Student Information

Formative Assessments, organized by grade, provide student feedback to teachers throughout the school year. Teachers can use the assessments to guide and improve instructional methods.

This is the State of Alaska Department of Education and Early Childhood Development site. From this page, one may find lessons and information by strand. 3Tools for the Transition to the New Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics

This page is useful because it highlights the changes between the old standards and the new standards that Alaska alone has adopted (NOT Common Core Standards). Useful to help educators understand the changes forthcoming.4

Lessons aligned with the State of Alaska Standards (NOT available any where else!).5EXPLORE!EED.state.AKTools for TransitionK-9 LessonsWe could stop here and look aroundor return later!6

This is the Mat Su Borough School District Department of Instruction front page. From here one may access many helpful links.7

By clicking on curriculum, all content curriculum links are shown. Note that math is divided into four distinct sections.8

This is a snapshot of the 3-5 math curriculum page. Many useful features herepacing guide, scope and sequence, GLEs for each grade level, and a real handy one (in my mind), the MAP reports breadcrumb trail guide.

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This is a snapshot of the GLEs for fourth grade. What I did not know for a very long time was that the standards reference links you to model questions (and answers) for that specific strand. Very handy if you are not sure you are hitting the target.10

This is a screenshot of the MAP report breadcrumb trail guide. This document lists, by RIT, specific skills that students should be learning/practicing. I find it helpful to think of RIT as ready to learnso students should be learning those skills within their RIT range, have mastered the skills in the prior RIT ranges, and be preparing to learn the skills in the next RIT range.11

Still at the MSBSDthis is a screen shot from the Federal Programs link. Here one has access to some great Glad Units (as built by our own talented pool of teachers) and a great strategy gallery that highlights GLAD techniques and pedagogy.12

Zero noise signal as modeled by Mrs. Throndsen!Here is a photo of our own Mrs. Throndsen in her GLAD inspired classroom (notice how it is dripping with literature?), modeling have her students respond with a voice level zero!13EXPLORE!MSBSDTime to exploreshould we wish!14

Alaska Comprehensive Center Alaska Comprehensive CenterThe goal of the Alaska Comprehensive Center website is to provide an online library of resources that may help teachers, schools, districts, states and technical assistance providers implement research-based instructional practices. I was pretty excited about this website, but then found that not all resources nor links were live! This can be a common problem15

TheNational Council of Teachers of Mathematicsis the public voice of mathematics education supporting teachers to ensure equitable mathematics learning of the highest quality for all students through vision, leadership, professional development and research.This is their main page (which I dont visit too often)new to me were the core math tools (higher level and very cooland which I downloaded), the new Mathematics Teacher Educator journal, and the ELL journal. I guess it pays to go to the home page periodically!

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Fantastic lessons and resources (and the Core Math Tools) are placed in a searchable base.17National Council of the Teachers of Mathematics

Illuminations (resources for teaching math) is a part of the NTCM family. Great information, tools, activities, lessons, and more! Many activities are Adobe Flash driven!18

These are the six NCTM journals. I subscribe to Teaching Children Mathematics and Mathematics Teaching in the Middle Schoolboth extremely valuable resources. To which journals do others subscribe?19

National Library of Virtual Manipulativesof which we heard during our last session. As an intermediate teacher, I was not too impressed with this sitethere can be quite a bit of reading. However, now teaching in middle school, I find this site could be much more useful (still waiting on computers). However, not all links seem to be live and, as this is a virtual manipulative site, these tools will not work on products without Adobe (i.e., Apple). A frustration20EXPLORE!NCTM*NLVM *You need to be a member!Time to explore should we wish!21

Math LandingMath Landing is a recent findand I would guess a recent resource as it is still in Beta. The search engine is strong and I like that it links me to NCTM, Illuminations, and other reputable sitesbut also includes many new choices! You may filter by topic, grade level, and resource type (lesson, research, activity, etc.). It is a current favorite for me!22

Activities Leveled by RIT!I found this site by being a member of the MSBSD 3-8 Math Teachers Edmodo group. Misty Gilland posted this information! Fun, engaging activities for students structured to move them along their MAP continuumunfortunately for some, flash driven!23

Inside MathematicsInside Mathematics featuresclassroom examplesof innovative teaching methods and insights into student learning,tools for mathematics instructionthat teachers can use immediately, andvideo toursof the ideas and materials on the site.24

PUMASPUMASis a collection of brief examples showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes can be used in interesting settings, including every day life. Their goal is to capture, for the benefit of pre-college education, the flavor of the vast experience that working scientists have with interesting and practical uses of math and science.25

Math WASL QuestionsA simply fantastic district website from Port Angeles, Washington, I came upon a few years ago. Engaging problem solving tasks are organized by strand and grade level. Very useful and student approved!26Math Playground

It is really all about making math authentic for our students. After all, we do really use math in our daily lives! The site allows students to select a area of interest and make decisions about how best to run their businessmust have flash!27How can you find new and valuable websites (easily)? I use Diigo!

Diigo is a powerful online research tool and collaborative research platform that integrates several key technologies, including social bookmarking, web annotation, tagging, and group-based collaboration, to enable a whole new process of online knowledge management and participatory learning in the 21st century.

Groups I have joined are Diigo in Education, Literacy with ICT, Cool Tools & Ed Tech (among others). I see what others have recommended, make my own recommendations, and access this info (and my favorites) from any device (I am mainly a lurker ).

Check it out! DiigoThe name "Diigo" is an abbreviation for"Digest ofInternet Information,Groups andOther stuff." I particularly like the other stuffbecause that is what I tend to chase after! The non-mainstream sites that I have referenced is this demonstration have been found through DIIGO!28Now, how about some teacher websites (the Other way I thought This topic might be Addressed)?MSBSD websites*Mr. Morses Class Online, CWECherri Mattson, JSE (dolce sight) Carrie Day, WMS, LibrarianSarah Hughes, PJMS, Science*EVERYTHING takes time!I contacted resources and searched our district to locate interesting teacher websites. One element I did notice is that even teachers that had awesome websites had dead or outdated linkshence my comment which reminds us that active websites TAKE TIME! NOTE: I refrained from viewing ALL OF THE AWESOME websites of the students in this classwe have enough pressure!30What is Weebly? Check it out!

Weebly(2 minute demo video)The website that I found most visually compelling was built utilizing WEEBLYa very user friendly site (as those that took Dr. Grahams class will attest). I think it would be worthwhile to take a few minutes to explore WEEBLY!31Final thoughts

There are a lot of websites out there

Dont discount your local/state resources

Look for research based or links to reputable resources (NCTM comes to mind!)

Dont spend all day investigating (or all night)use your resources (diigo)!

Think about weeblyexciting may be Easier than you think!