We received this idea submission from Patty O’Flynn, a math teacher from Woodland, Washington yesterday.
In my math classroom, CPS is a great way to launch a discussion about different approaches to solve a math problem. We often record these discussions as mathcasts; you’ll find one example here: Sample Mathcast
Patty’s mathcast is a terrific example of using the verbal questioning mode in CPS along with your CPS chalkboard. I got a kick out of the giggles as the kids were writing with the chalkboard. It does take a little practice!
Patty and a colleague received a 2007 Qwest Foundation Learning Technology Grant and are currently setting up 16 student mathcasting stations with hardware and Camtasia. You can find links to her mathcasts at her blog, Patty Papers, in the Mathcasts section or at Mathematics with Mrs. O’Flynn under “Mathcasts”.
Last year, Patty also played around with having her tech department host her Examview quizzes and practice tests online, and she plans to get this up and running in full force this year. You can find them at Mathematics with Mrs. O’Flynn under “Quizzes”. Patty says her students (and parents) love it, and she thought it might be something that other teachers might consider doing.
Thanks Patty for your willingness to share your ideas and successes with other teachers!
August 24, 2007 at 8:10 pm |
That’s a very cool idea. What was the toolbar along the left?
August 25, 2007 at 10:33 am |
I’m not sure if you watched the same mathcast as me, but on the left of the sample mathcast is the breakdown of components of the mathcast. This is probably something Camtasia does, although I haven’t used it to know for sure.
On the right side of the screen on the sample mathcast is the tablet toolbar. Although is looks like Patty is using a different brand of tablet, this would be comparable to the CPS chalkboard, which allows you to remotely control your computer and actually annotate on your computer screen. Even for a teacher who is not using clickers, this is an incredible tool. If you are using clickers, it makes it that much easier to control your computer from anywhere in the room!
The CPS chalkboard comes with RM Easiteach software, which of course comes with a generic toolbar that allows you to create shapes, draw, and write with a variety of different tools. However, you can actually purchase subject-specific toolbars that provide you with a bunch of subject-specific tools. For example, the math toolbar, contains buttons for number lines, graphs, fractions, symbols, a function machine, number grids, a compass, and place value cards. I probably missed some, but you get the idea.
August 25, 2007 at 12:16 pm |
Thanks for posting about our mathcasts Cathy!
Yes, the toolbar on the left is produced by Camtasia. The tablet I’m using in the mathcast is a Hitachi Starboard. I highly recommend that any teacher using clickers have a wireless tablet; it’s wonderful to be able to get away from the front of the room and circulate!
August 25, 2007 at 12:27 pm |
[...] at Engaging-Technologies.com has blogged about our mathcast featuring the use of our CPS student response system, aka “clickers”. Here is a bit [...]
August 25, 2007 at 2:01 pm |
Yeah, had a brain fart on my first comment. I meant to say the right side of the screen. I knew it wasn’t the RM toolbar because I have a CPS Chalkboard. I was curious because it looked much better than the RM software, which is very poor in my opinion.
August 25, 2007 at 2:32 pm |
The EasiTeach software is very thorough and has a ton of very interesting tools but you have to know your way around. I think it is very comprehensive in what it can do but I may agree with you that it’s not super easily accessible and right in front of you.
Have you checked out thier additional toolbars? EasiTeach does have some discipline specific toolbars that are really powerful. I think they have pretty much every discipline now.
August 28, 2007 at 9:39 pm |
I have a Hitachi Starboard interactive panel in my classroom, and the toolbar on the right side of the screen is my Hitachi Starboard software. I tend to engage a lot of verbal questions that correspond to our lesson on the Starboard which is what you’re seeing in this video.