Archive for Mathcast

Presenting….my syllabus!

August 1, 2010 CPS Clickers, Livescribe, Lumens DC265 Ladibug document camera, Math Projects, Mathcast, Mobi, Prezi One comment

I have been spending the past few weeks trying to think of better ways to get my future teachers to be more engaged in their learning. I have decided to model several ideas after a great friend of mine who writes the amazing Teaching College Math blog, Maria Andersen.

Not only am I going to use hands on manipulatives and technology (like I have been) to teach with, but to help my students organize their thoughts and the material for the course, I am going to have them create a Prezi, a Wiki, a Blog and a Mindmap. One fourth of the class will be doing each of these for every test. Each student will rotate through the 4 types of online tools for every test (but not in the same order as the rest of their group). All students will also create a google website to house links to all of their creations and any notes or other information they want to add, along with their service learning journal. The website will be private and they will only share viewing privileges with me. The other 4 online components will be public and shared with the rest of the class.

I am hoping that not only will they have a better feel for the material in each quarter of the course, but it will be theirs to keep online and reuse the ideas and links when they become teachers. It will be helpful for them to study for each test because all 4 types of models will be created by the class for each test, and they will be able to use one another’s to help them study.

I decided I would model some of the types for the students, by creating my syllabus as a Prezi, and also in a mindmap format. (I will write a new blog entry when I finish my mindmapped syllabus).

I thought it would not be as helpful to show them the syllabus in Blog format (they can see this blog for ideas), and my syllabus is already on a website (just not a free google one). I am still contemplating whether to show an example of my syllabus as a wiki.

Here is the first pass at my syllabus as a Prezi:

Math156syllabus on Prezi *the Prezi is now having issues viewing…try THIS LINK

Copy of Math156syllabus on Prezi

I think I have narrowed it down to have them use the following free online tools:

Prezi (for a free online presentation style of tool)
MindMeister (for a free online mindmapping tool)
Glogster (for a free online fun poster tool))
Wordpress or Blogger (for a free online blog)

Google website for their free online website

I hope they are as excited as I am to learn these great tools and put them into “action”!


Clip to Evernote

 

Teaching with Manipulatives on the Web!

July 24, 2010 Lumens DC265 Ladibug document camera, Mathcast, Teaching Online One comment

Over the past few weeks I have used my Lumens HD 265 Ladibug document camera several times to show hands on materials (manipulatives) and activities online!

Here are a couple of examples of how I used it online:

Ex 1)    I taught an online session on how I teach with technology in my classroom.  One of the examples I used was to have all my students using fraction pieces while I taught with them from the front of the room.

So the students can see what I am doing with the pieces, the Ladibug document camera can show my hands moving the pieces live during class, projected onto the screen. (These still images and the video below were all taken by the Lumens DC265 Ladibug!!)

To demonstrate this to the participants online, I was able to share my desktop in the session, and show the document camera’s live feed running on my computer screen!

I was even able to toggle back and forth between the Ladibug document camera’s view, and the other programs I was running on my computer to teach the session!

Not only can you show what you are holding and teaching with live through the camera, but the Ladibug HD 265 also records video and audio!  Here is the same lesson above, but the video version, which I can now post online for students to see.

HalfPlusThirdblog

(Why won’t the blog let me embed an .mp4 file??)

Ex 2) I was creating a video for my students on how to use the graphing calculator.   I no longer need to capture the screen of the calculator using  special software!

I can show them which buttons to hit and the screen, all at the same time!

I can even zoom in on the screen so they can see a graph more clearly:

Or zoom in on the equation used to create the graph…

All of this can be done live during class, or I can record the calculator lesson directly from the Ladibug camera and then post the lesson to my website!

Above you can see the menu that “floats” on my desktop when I am using the document camera, making it very easy to switch to any other program or back to the document camera, also allowing me to zoom, take still images and video with the camera!

I can’t wait to teach my Math For Elementary Teacher’s class in a few weeks!  No more overhead projector, no more graphing calculator overhead…just the document camera to show all the manipulatives and the calculator both as I teach, and as online lessons for outside of class!

 

My Google Website From the ACTEaz Workshop

July 16, 2010 Animationish, Conferences, CPS Clickers, eInstruction Interwrite Workspace, Jing, Livescribe, Livescribe, Mathcast, Mobi, Presentations Comments Off on My Google Website From the ACTEaz Workshop

Today I gave a 3 1/2 hour hands-on workshop on teaching with technology, in Tucson, AZ

Looking at the screenshot of my website for the workshop above, you can see the major topics were:

  • Animationish (FableVision Learning)
  • Google websites
  • Jing (TechSmith)
  • Livescribe Pulse smartpen
  • Workspace (eInstruction – comes with the Mobi)

To see the full workshop, along with all the materials presented, you can visit my google website for the workshop. During the workshop I presented with the Mobi, and had the participants often answer questions using the CPS Pulse clickers (eInstruction).   It was really a lot of fun!

If you view the workshop website, to have it make more sense, scroll down on the HOME page to see the schedule and follow the links IN ORDER that are in the schedule.   When you make a google website, the side links are alphabetical, NOT in the order I presented them in!

The workshop was in a computer lab, so each participant was on a laptop.  My 13 (soon to be 14) year old son was my technical helper during the entire workshop, walking around helping anyone who had questions.  He also taught the part of the workshop on Animationish!   He did a fantastic job and I was very grateful to have him with me!  I hope he can help me during my 8 hour workshop I am giving in October!  🙂

 

Snagit Beta for Mac and my final 3D Flash

July 7, 2010 Flash, Flash, Mathcast, SnagIt Comments Off on Snagit Beta for Mac and my final 3D Flash

Today I downloaded the Beta version of Snagit for Mac!  I am so excited!  I have it on my Windows computer, but I usually use my Mac since I have Adobe Web Premium on it, and have really missed out on using Snagit.  Jing is great for a free program, but Snagit is amazing!

*Here is a link to download the Beta Version of Snagit for Mac

… and here is a link to the final version of my Flash animation that introduces Volume

 

Fun creating a Flash Animation for a 3D image in 3D!

July 6, 2010 Flash, Flash, Jing, Math Projects, Mathcast One comment



Today I spent quite a few hours building “blocks” (cubes) from scratch in Flash and placing them into
3 dimensional space to fill a rectangular prism!

It was a visually interesting problem to try to figure out which cubes to put in first, and
which ones had to be on a higher layer in Flash then the other ones!

Plus I had to try to get them to “fit” into a geometric rectangular prism. (OK, I gave up, they didn’t fit exactly!)

The end product wasn’t too bad though! (this is a JING video taken of just part of the Flash animation)

 

embedding Hyperstudio directly into the blog

July 3, 2010 Mathcast One comment

 

My Activities at ISTE 2010 in Denver

July 3, 2010 Animationish, Conferences, CPS Clickers, eInstruction Interwrite Workspace, HyperStudio, Livescribe, Livescribe, Mathcast, Mobi, Presentations One comment

Link to the actual Hyperstudio Stack in HTML5

I had a great time at ISTE!  This is the first time I have ever been to a conference and stayed in the vendor area the entire time!

I worked with several companies while I was there.   Every day I spent some time in the eInstruction booth showing folks how I use the Mobi, CPS Pulse student response clickers, ExamView and Workspace in my own classes.   That was very exciting!  I was so busy that I didn’t get any photos of their booth!

I also presented with Jim Marggraff, CEO and founder of the Livescribe Pulse smartpen at a breakfast on Tuesday morning.   It was amazing to meet the man who invented the Leap Pad and the Livescribe Pulse smartpen!  I presented the next day at their poster session as well.

I spent a lot of time in the FableVision Learning booth as well, with my friends Peter and Paul Reynolds and the FableVision Learning staff!   I finally got to meet Peggy Healy Sterns, who created Stationary Studio and The Graph Club (Tom Snyder Productions).  She is currently working on a new project called fab@school with FableVision and Mackiev Software (and other great folks).  Photos and more information about this project if you click on the photo above!

You can see some photos of my adventure on the link below:  It will take you to my Hyperstudio 5 stack on the web.    If you are using a Mac, you need to use Safari, and on a PC, you need to use Internet Explorer (there is a plug-in for Hyperstudio for Safari and Internet Explorer).  I had fun making it!  Be sure to click on the pictures!  Some will take you to other websites and some open videos!  Pretty neat software created by my great friend Roger Wagner (Mackiev Software sells Hyperstudio 5), who spent some time showing me the ins and outs of Hyperstudio AND a chained Bible from the 1500s!  I wish I had a photo of that

 

Upate on ISTE Breakfast with Livescribe

June 23, 2010 Conferences, Livescribe, Livescribe, Mathcast, Presentations, Technology Comments Off on Upate on ISTE Breakfast with Livescribe

To see the article directly, go to Livescribe Blog

This is the breakfast I will be speaking at, right after Jim Maggraff, Chairman and CEO of Livescribe Inc!

 

MyScript for Livescribe: a truly amazing tool!

June 12, 2010 Livescribe, Livescribe, Mathcast, MyScript, Presentations 2 comments

I have been searching through the Livescribe website looking for some great applications for Administrators, since I will be presenting a demo on how to use the LivesScribe Pulse smartpen to the President’s office at my college on Monday.

I’ve had the MyScript application since I purchased the pen over a year ago, but never really tried it since I use my pen to write out math.  I assumed it would not translate it very well.      I was glad tonite to find out I was wrong!    I took a story problem I had written with my pen and “translated” it into text and it came out really close to the original!    I would assume most people would use the translator to convert their hand written notes (no sound or animation) into typed text, and it would be fantastic for that!   But in taking a math problem and converting it, I realize how useful this conversion tool could be for writing a test!   I could take some of the problems that I have posted, and translate them into text to include on my test covering that material.   That would save a lot of time not having to type out the question.   My brain is now buzzing with ideas on how I can use this amazing tool!

I have included a short video and some screen shots of how I converted a story problem using MyScript.

In the video you will see that I started the process by opening up my Livescribe Desktop.  From there I selected a pencast, and then went up to the menu “File” and then “convert to text”:

I found it easier to show the first steps in a movie.  The original pencast (static now) is on the left, and the new typed translation is on the right hand side below.  You can see that the translator did a pretty good job!

Now I can go in, line by line, and edit any of the text that is incorrect

It is really exciting how many new things I am learning about my LiveScribe Pulse smartpen, now that I am starting to teach others about how to use it!  Isn’t that the way it always works?  🙂

 

CPS Pulse clickers and Workspace – great for immediate feedback!

May 24, 2010 CPS Clickers, eInstruction Interwrite Workspace, feedback, Mathcast, Mobi, Student participation, Technology One comment

I spent some time today playing with my eInstruction CPS Pulse (clickers) and the Mobi software called Workspace.   I wanted to create a short “how to” video on getting immediate feedback from your students while teaching a class.    One of the best features is that you don’t have to design the questions ahead of time!  In this video I will show you how to ask any question during class, get immediate feedback of your class as a whole, and then be able to look at more detailed feedback from individual students  at a later time.  You can do this at any point during the class, even when the students are asking questions about the homework!

here is a link to the YouTube video

 
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