The utilization of technology in the math and science classroom should look like an enhancement and support for learning the concepts in these subject areas. Technology does not replace a standard way of teaching, but rather should be used to transform the learning that is able to occur. Technology can also not be used as a stand alone lesson or be regarded as providing a lesson in and of itself.
Last year I decided to subscribe to a free trial of “Mathletics”. Does anyone use this program at their school? A colleague and I received training one day after school as to all of the resources available on the site and then a date to discuss purchasing a full subscription after a month. My grade 3 students were very enthusiastic to use the site, which was full of math games, videos, practice, lessons, and more on every concept they needed to learn. My students were able to login to this site once maybe twice a week for a block to access these materials. During the month they were very engaged at exploring all of the different avenues available. As a teacher I could assign particular topics to students, track each student’s progress, and differentiate their learning. Mathletics is an amazing site and valuable resource. When we met with the company representative a month later, we were astounded at the price of subscription. Given that this was a resource we were not able to use with our students daily because of equipment and schedule restraints, it was not feasible for our school to purchase any kind of license. Although there are many creative ideas to fundraise and someone support this purchase price, I found myself questioning why. Why would I fundraise to teach math? This would be an expense I would need to find a way to pay for every year. How would I get enough use out of this program if I could only be supporting my students with this program once a week?
I came across the math game, Prodigy, through conversations in one of my MET courses. This is a free game that takes students into an adventure world where they can go on a quest while completing math questions. The program is designed to tailor math questions to student abilities and has been very engaging for my students. It also tracks student progress for a teacher and provides many different useful statistics.
Through my experience with both of these programs I have come to realize that they are both helpful and meaningful supports to my teaching when used appropriately. To solely rely on these programs would be detrimental to not only my students’ learning but also eventually to their motivation to learn. We talk about how numbers and words on a worksheet can be too abstract for many of our learners and that they need more hands on and experiential learning opportunities, and I think we need to realize that jumping to the opposite pole of full learning on technology could also end up looking quite similar to the “learning” that occurs with worksheets. When used appropriately and purposely, the opportunities to enhance our students’ learning in the math and science classroom by utilizing technology are endless and quite exciting.
I have had great success using Prodigy in my classroom to reinforce the math concepts that we are learning in class. I generally set the program for a two week challenge and arrange at least one day with the chrome books so the students can practice at school. I have found that many of them enjoy it so much they are playing at home and on their personal devices. I find it is a great way to augment the concepts we have covered in class, and give the students an opportunity to practice them, which we do not seem to have enough time for these days with our curriculum heavy subjects. I have not tried out Mathletics at all, most likely because I was put off by the cost after the free trial. I hate getting my kids engaged in something only to have it discontinued.
Anne
Hi Anne,
Thanks for sharing your experience with Prodigy! How do you set up your challenges? It is really neat to see student engagement and those who end up playing it at home who do not necessarily show that much interest during traditional math class!
Allison
No problem. I usually set up my challenges for a two week span and then check the reports to see how they are doing. I start with the grade level areas (grade 7) and see which ones match up with the concepts we are covering in class. If they don’t connect, or are a little beyond or below our level at the moment, then I will check the grade 6 or 8 questions. I generally put two up at a time so there is variety, and limit it to about 10-15 questions, mostly because that makes the report easier to see and so the students can complete the challenge within the time period. Once they have completed all the questions I have given them, they can continue to play and the program will give them other areas within their grade level to practice. I am sure the kids just like the gaming aspect and the battles, however, that works in my favour as it motivates them to practice their math skills.
For the four years prior to this current school year I taught middle school math, and my students loved Mathletics. The most effective use for it that I found was as basic skills practice to complement our other classroom activities. My students had large gaps in their math learning, and so we could use Mathletics assessments and activities to work on fundamental skills and add extra challenge when needed while also working on our grade-appropriate curriculum. My students loved earning tokens to modify their avatars, as well as playing against their classmates and/or other students around the world in Mathletics Live. Students who were resistant to any paper-based math would often complete 50+ math questions or problems through the game, providing me additional assessment data in the process. I am fortunate in that my division pays for a license for all students in grade 3-9. As I teach grade 10-12 math this year, I actually miss the program, as I have some students who would continue to benefit from the setup and reinforcement.
Thanks for sharing, Stephanie! That is so awesome that your school is able to cover the cost for Mathletics – it really is great. I agree that the motivations embedded within these games are well thought through…the whole Video Game Model is quite brilliant. Have you ever looked at any of Judy Willis’ work on this concept https://www.edutopia.org/blog/neurologist-makes-case-video-game-model-learning-tool ? I think I came across it during ETEC512 and it really was interesting!