Webinar #1 - Cathy Fostnot Theories
Many of us used "Math Strings" in our placements but it had been a while since I had seen it in action and I needed some reminding so I watched the webinar even though it wasn't technically mandatory - and I was glad I did! We went through a series of mental math problems and shared our strategies after each and felt so good to share the weird way I had worked through the problem in my head and have it validated by the leaders. I often use the method of turning uneven of difficult numbers, for me that might mean a number I can't easily add or subtract in my head, and change it to a "friendly" number, aka numbers I am more comfortable with (even numbers, multiples of five) and then adding in the difference at the end. I always had this feeling like that wasn't quite the way I should be doing things but today my method was not only accepted, it was praised for its originality!
Webinar #2 - Creating a Safe Classroom Environment/Using Digital Tools
In my past blogs I've spent quite a lot of time stressing the importance of a safe and accepting classroom environment so I decided to focus on the use of digital tools in this webinar because I picked up quite a few new resources! I will list them here with brief descriptions below!
Resource Round-up
A simple website which features tiles such as the one pictured below where students can be asked to find which one doesn't belong. As you can see there is no correct answer, there are many different ways the students could interpret it, which allows for creative thought and fun inquiry!
Which one do you think doesn't belong?
This website gives real world examples for students to use to work on their estimation skills. They could even argue their point of view with their fellow classmates, something WODB also allows the students to do!
Similar to Fun Brain from the days of yore, Math Playground offers a multitude of games focused on different strands and topics (fractions, measurement, geometry etc.). I suggest trying Red Brick, it is extremely addictive and my little sister is an absolute pro at it!
Well that's all for this week friends!
Tune in next week to hear about the fate of my Webinar!
Until then,
"Forth and fear no darkness"
Bernadette
Thanks for sharing Bernadette! I didn't even think to post about the webinars this week. Instead, I found myself posting about the online modules and our mental workout in math class. This blog and our webinars are challenging our media literacy skills that's for certain....
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The digital tools that you gathered from your second webinar are great to add to our "digital tool box for teaching". All three options provide learners with engaging activities that challenge the notion that math is a "black and white"/ "right versus wrong" subject that should be feared. Using any one of these interactive digital tools in the classroom, will likely encourage creative, risk-free math thinking that keeps students on the path to a "growth mindset."
wow loved the tools you shared Bernadette!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you liked our webinar and got lots of resources to use in your upcoming placements!
They were really fun to explore and learn about this week.
Hi Bernadette, I really appreciated your blog post this week as it provided a wealth of resources, and like Brittany said it can add to our digital tool box. You brought my back to my school days with "Fun Brain". That game was amazing! I look forward to trying out Math Playground and seeing the benefits of it. Thanks for sharing these beneficial resources!
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