How to teach with an interactive white board

One of the most frequent questions today at NCTM in Albuquerque was "how do I get the students involved with the software (in this case Sketchpad and TinkerPlots) using the interactive whiteboard?" Which, if you think about it, almost makes no sense...isn't that the nature of an interactive whiteboard - students are interacting?  But...apparently not. My guess is many teachers continue to use the interactive whiteboard in the manner that they used the projector/screen set up - as a demo tool, with themselves as the driver and students watching.

If you want interactivity and student involvement in order to engage students in learning and discovery, then you want them to "drive".  How to do this? Here are a couple suggestions:
1) Have students go up to the whiteboard and be the driver of the software physically, either by following the directives of the teacher or the steps in the activity worksheets or from inquiry and suggestions from other students in the room.  You can rotate through students by randomly selecting students in various ways.
2) Assign students in pairs/groups to be in control of the white board - perhaps assign each pair/group a specific task to demonstrate or model or explain or a specific step in a task.
3) The teacher is the physical 'driver', but the students drive 'what' actions to take. This works great if you are working with students to 'discover' something and there is opportunity for them to make conjectures and you can try them out and see the immediate results.  An example might be using an activity like Mellow Yellow from Sketchpad, where students are connecting real-world context to rate-of change and slope and time/distance relationships. The teacher asks the questions, the students come up with stories and conjectures, tell the teacher what to move to make a graph fit the story (or change the story)....so the students control the actions and direction of the activity to test their ideas.

Just some simple ideas.  Key here - get students to 'drive' the learning, whether physically or just verbally - either way they are engaged.

NCTM Albuequerque - Stop on by

Okay, just have to report that the third time IS really a charm! The first NCTM in Atlantic City it took 6 hours to set up the booth, in St. Louis, 4 hours, and today in Albuquerque, 1 1/2. I am feeling happy. And, saw Arnold Schwarzenegger in the bar (yes, really...apparently filming a movie here), so my day is just a little strange and strangely complete.

Any of you out there who happen to be at the NCTM conference tomorrow or Friday, stop on by the booth. would love to talk technology!

Math Teachers and Gambling

Okay, just wanted to report back on my 'gambling adventure' on my 21st anniversary while at the NCTM Regional Math Conference in Atlantic City.  In my post, I believe I referenced the idea that I would put 21 dollars down on 21 at the roulette table.

So, with my good friends and colleagues at the casino, after a lovely dinner, I went right up to the roulette table to get my chips.  Apparently, lots of etiquette rules on how to get the chips and place the bet - thank goodness the nice gentlemen next to me filled me in!  I shared the anniversary story and the man next to me suggested that instead of placing my 21 dollars on 21, to place my bet at the bottom of the column where the 21 resided, where I would get 2-to-1 odds if it landed on any number in that column, which included the 21.  I would have more likelihood of winning....it's all about the odds.

And here is where I believe math teachers are at a disadvantage in gambling - we know the odds and we know they are not good...stacked against us.  The odds of hitting 21 (i.e. single number) are 2.6%, though the pay out is 35-to-1. The odds of hitting a number in a column are 31.58%, but with only a 2-to-1 pay out.  What to do, what to do....?! 

Hah...no brainer for this math teacher who hates to lose money and can do some quick calculating.  I went column.  And won. And then walked with 42 dollars more than I started with.

I am not going to be able to pay off the house or my daughter's college tuition, but I am a winner.  Cheap and a bad gambler, but a winner!

Teachers are using technology....they just need support!

Well, as I mentioned previously I was going to Atlantic City for the NCTM Regional math conference.  Today was the first day at the booth, and it was a very busy day - lots of teachers stopping by to check out the new booth and play with Sketchpad, TinkerPlots and Fathom.  I spent the whole day talking to so many different folks - teachers, administrators, students, and it was so fun to see them trying out the software, or help them find some resources to support their own learning of the software or find an upcoming lesson to use.

I think the overall message I got out of today is that the technology is being used, but teachers really want and need curriculum and support/resources they can use right away because they don't have the time to search or create on their own.  I think it's one of the strongest components of what Key's software offers - (shameless plug, but hey - I am at a math conference!) - we have great software but more importantly we don't leave teachers out there struggling - we have ready-to-use lessons and built in tutorials, videos, and activities that teachers could start teaching with tomorrow even if they hadn't spent any time themselves learning the software.  A scaffolded approach you might say of learning the software incrementally as you also do mathematics. Here's one example of a tutorial just to get an idea.

All in all, fun day and I am looking forward to meeting more folks tomorrow.  Tonight, off to check out the Atlantic City boardwalk and possibly do a bit of risk-taking at the casinos.  It is my 21st wedding anniversary today, so I am thinking 21 dollars on 21 at the roulette table...worst odds, but why not?  Or...perhaps Black Jack...after all, 21 is the magic number there, right?!!!

NCTM Atlantic City

I am off to Atlantic City tomorrow for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (whew...that's a mouthful) (NCTM for short) Regional Math Conference.  I am a little nervous and a little excited.  We are going completely technology this year, so a little nervous at setting up and making sure I am up on TinkerPlots and Fathom demonstration, as my strong point is Sketchpad.  But...very excited about the prospect of focusing on technology and getting to play with math and technology all day.  So...any of you folks planning to attend Atlantic City, stop on by and say hi...would love to see you!  I will update on how things go.

On a side note - Atlantic City - gambling....  Should I try Black Jack? I am a HORRIBLE gambler because I don't like to lose money - even a dollar.  But how can you be in Atlantic City and not even try, right?!  Do math teachers have an advantage?  I know this math teacher doesn't....