Fraction Game

I looked for a math game that was geared toward fractions since most of the students I come across have a lot of difficulty working with them.  I found a flash game called Fraction Splat that was interesting and didn't involve doing math directly.  This game forced you to quickly notice different types of fractions in a specific amount of time while also increasing the level of difficulty.


Link: Fraction Splat Game

For this game, there are three different rounds, and you click on bubbles of a specific type of fraction for each round.  The first round is mixed numbers, the second round are fractions that are greater than or equal to 1, and the third round are fractions that are less than 1/2.  You have one minute to complete each game, and the games get harder as you progress through the round.  I determined that it would also take maybe 5 - 10 minutes to complete each round.

In each game you click on the bubbles that relate to the specific type of bubble you are looking for.  You are allowed to hit 8 wrong bubbles before it is game over and you have to start at the beginning.  The bubbles move around the screen and you have to follow them to make sure you have clicked them all.  Once you feel you have found all of them, you hit the finished button on the bottom of the screen.  A new screen will come up saying either you have found all of them, or you have missed some.  There is no penalty for missed bubbles, but if you run out of time it will start you back at the beginning.

The game isn't too complicated and deals with some basic concepts that students struggle with when it comes to fractions.  Looking thorough fractions that are moving around a screen and then trying to figure out their value keeps the game interesting.  The more bubbles on the screen the harder it is to keep track, and then you have to decide when you feel you are done.  The game doesn't automatically determine when you are finished which I think so many young people find in games today.  Once everything is complete it will automatically stop and tell you that you have "leveled up".  In this one you have to make the decision for yourself, which I think makes it much more than a "beat the clock game".


I also understood the reasoning for the terrible non-catchy music (able to keep your attention on the game), but I was glad to see a sound mute button on the game.  Sometimes you can only take so much.  Great simple game!

Adolescent Interview

I interviewed my teenage cousin about his technology use and discovered some very interesting things.  Even though it was hard to get answers from him since he's not much of a talker, he did say things that made me think about the world that teens his age are living in and how they are navigating it.

We discussed the technology that he uses like his cellphone, Xbox, tablet, and laptop computer as well as what he sees and uses at school.  At school they don't use as much technology as I would think, but they do limit the usage of cellphones to lunch times and study halls.  They only use Smartboards in their classrooms, though they do use an online learning service called Castle Learning.  This is where teachers can post assignments and students can create quiz and test practice materials. 

We also talked about which of his electronics he uses more often and why, and he basically stated that his cellphone and tablet were used because they can be brought anywhere.  The amount of apps that he can download and use with friends such as Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat which he also mentioned factored into his answer.  He said that he uses text more often than calling someone because it was faster, and only posts to social media every once in a while.  He is mostly on social media to see what his friends are posting or doing.

He is also a gamer and plays a specific war type game on his Xbox.  He said it is a group game that he plays with the same players every time and I believe he considers them friends.  He has made sure to only play when he has completed his school work and has free time.  I asked if he knew where the people lived who were playing with him and he said one was from Arizona, from Saudi Arabia, and from Canada which is "not that far away.".  Even though he only lives a few hours from the border here in New York, I still thought it was interesting that he would say that.  It seems that for our younger generation the world is a much smaller place, and they can connect with others around the world very fast.

We ended with a short discussion on what he thought might be some good or bad things about social media and he mentioned cyber bullying.  I asked him if he had ever been bullied and he said no, and so I asked what he would do if he saw it happening online.  He said he wouldn't get involved, but then said he might if it was one of his friends.  I also asked him about texting and driving, but he said he would just connect his phone to the bluetooth in the car so he wouldn't have to worry about it. 

My cousin is involved with sports and a couple of community activities that keep him occupied, as well as parents that make sure he is keeping his grades up in school.  I believe that his outside activities he is a part of influence how much social media he uses all day.  He has found something that he really loves and I think the technology he uses with becomes secondary to those.  He still finds time to have fun and use them, however finding an activity that you really enjoy gives you the socializing and responsibility that teenagers need when growing up.

Integrating New Technology in Mathematics Classrooms

For my final paper, I would like to write about how technology can be integrated into mathematics courses, and the impact it has on retention of student knowledge of mathematical concepts.  I have learned how students do not always learn best by the traditional methods that schools are using.  I see it in my current job where many students lean towards technology such as video or visuals, in order to fully understand a concept.  Learning how others have incorporated various technologies into their classes is interesting and gives me ideas as to what I can do to help the students that I see on a daily basis.  I try to link a math problem to a real world situation, however if there are some low tech options that I can bring to the tutoring center, I think it would be a tremendous help.  I could also incorporate these ideas into the classes I teach, but in a different way, which would help my students perform better in the course.

Annotated Bibliography

Chiu, J. L., Malcolm, P. T., Hecht, D., DeJaegher, C. J., Pan, E. A., Bradley, M., & Burghardt, M. D. (2013). WISEngineering: Supporting precollege engineering design and mathematical understanding. Computers & Education, 67142-155. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.03.009

                This article introduces an engineering web-based learning environment in which students can improve their mathematical knowledge.  This program was given to two seventh grade classes who were then tested on the understanding and retention of concepts learned.  This article gives me an older group of students to include as well as faculty and administration feedback on how their students received the program.

GASSER, K. W. (2011). FIVE IDEAS FOR 21ST CENTURY MATH CLASSROOMS. American Secondary Education, 39(3), 108-116.

                This article offers five approaches to the way that instructors can make math curriculum more interesting to students and engage them in class.  By drawing on Asian school practices the author gives updated versions of problems already presented in classes in which students may be better able to connect with.  This article will allow me to give ideas of how to update math curriculum and still be able to connect with students without technology.

Kiger, D., Herro, D., & Prunty, D. (2012). Examining the Influence of a Mobile Learning Intervention on Third Grade Math Achievement. Journal Of Research On Technology In Education, 45(1), 61-82.  This article summarizes a study between two third grade classrooms, on the performance found   when different math learning methods were taught.  It discusses different teaching methods as well as how the students learned and were able to perform on exams.  This article will be beneficial in seeing how technology can influence the learning of young children versus the normal teaching methods.

McManis, M. H., & McManis, L. D. (2016). Using a Touch-Based, Computer-Assisted Learning System to Promote Literacy and Math Skills for Low-Income Preschoolers. Journal Of Information Technology Education, 15409-429.

This article discusses a touch screen learning system that was used in a low-income preschool in order to assess their retained knowledge of math skills.  Children in 18 classrooms were given this system and then were tested to determine if the program helped them improve their math literacy.  This article will help in giving empirical data on math retention in young children while also showing how a touch screen learning system can keep them interested and learning.

  Urban-Woldron, H. (2015). Motion sensors in mathematics teaching: learning tools for understanding general math concepts?. International Journal Of Mathematical Education In Science & Technology, 46(4), 584-598. doi:10.1080/0020739X.2014.985270

                This article encourages the use of technologies such as motion detectors and motion sensors in class in order to help students understand different mathematical concepts.   Allowing students to collect data and then calculate basic math concepts allows for a greater understanding of what these ideas represent.  This article will help bridge the gap between simply changing the way a classroom is taught and working purely online or with technology by allowing students to find their own data.

Remixing

Part of my job as the full time math tutor in our college's tutoring lab is to take information that is in a textbook and create and update handouts for the students to use for reference.  I take the formulas or descriptions of procedures and bring them into one word document so that there is no need to hunt through notes for a method on how to solve a problem.  In the past few years, I have realized that students like to see things more visually as well, so I have been making sure to incorporate more graphs and shapes into the handouts so students can relate the words to something they see in their calculators.  I didn't realize that I was using remixing in making these resources by merging tools from different computer programs.

I can gather the information from students on what they would like to see on specific handouts, and then edit the handouts that are currently in use.  For example, I decided to update our sheet on graph transformations which I felt needed to have a visual component.  All it stated were the ways a graph could shift verbally, and this confused many students when I gave it to them.  In order for this to be a good summary for students to use often, I looked through many books for reference and then used Microsoft Excel to create the graphs needed.  When I pasted the graphs into Microsoft Word I was able to link the two together, so anytime I made an update in Excel it also changed the look of the graphs in Word.  The graphs were color coded so students could see the differences, however I also made a black and white version with different line patterns for students who may be color blind, or do not have access to color printers.  Students seemed to like this version with the added graphs so that they could relate the concepts visually and verbally.

I think remixing is a great tool in my job for helping out students who struggle with math.  I am always looking for ways to expand and incorporate digital technologies into what we offer to students.  In reading Erstad's thoughts on remixing, I am encouraged by the examples of how other teachers are incorporating digital technologies into their class projects (2013).  Making videos that have either fun background music or adding in a math joke may make the resources posted on our website more appealing to students at home.

References

Erstad., O (2013). Ch. 2: Trajectories of remixing: Digital literacies, media production, and schooling. In C. Lankshear & M. Knobel (Eds.), A new literacies reader: Educational perspectives (pp.38-56). New York: Peter Lang.

R U Really Reading?

“what counts as literacy, how literacy changes in response to the new media landscape, and what value we should ascribe to the new forms of communication that continue to emerge and evolve online" (Jenkins, 2009).

 After reading the article by Motoko Rich (2008), "Literacy debate: Online, R U really reading?" I thought a lot about my students and where they would fit into this.  The college students I work with are very invested in their classes, and so picking up a book to read when they have time off is not a usual thing they do.  As Rich points out in the article, reading online can connect young people with the content that interests them most as well as others that share their ideas.  Many times material contains related links so it is easy for someone to continue to explore a specific topic with varying opinions in different online locations.  Online websites are also beneficial to those that struggle with reading and it can give them the place to read without criticism (Rich, 2008).  I also feel that having access to tablets, that I am seeing more students using in place of textbooks, are a way to quickly access a website and read a few short articles instead of needing to be immersed in a book.

I also found interesting information about the increase in consumption of news in the 2013 article, "Digital: As mobile grows rapidly, the pressure on news intensify" by Jane Sasseen, and Kenny Olmstead and Amy Mitchell of the Pew Research Center.  The article discusses the rise in consumers viewing the news on their mobile devices due to the fact that you can carry it with you all the time.  News stations have also started to use social media as a way to reach out to their viewers and engage their audience.  According to the authors (2013), “Audiences now consume more news through social media than they did before.”  Even though people may not be always watching a news broadcast, they are still obtaining the news online through the expansion into social media.  

I feel that with the changes in society and technology, we need to find an alternative way to make young people interested in reading again.  When they are required to do research for a paper in a class they look up resources online, yet we expect them to only read printed books in their spare time.  If we can integrate this type of reading into classes in such a way that explains the flaws in editing or lack of proper sources, students can be more critical of what they read.  Dismissing an alternative way of reading before exploring how it could be a benefit is performing a disservice to our young people.  There is always a chance that a young reader discovers a passion for writing by reading fan fiction or journalism through news articles. 

References:

Rich, M. (2008, July 27). Literacy debate: Online, r u really reading?. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Sasseen, J., Olmstead, K., & Mitchell, A. (2013). Digital: As mobile grows rapidly, the pressures on news intensify. Retrieved from http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2013/digital-as-mobile-grows-rapidly-the-pressures-on-news-intensify/

Digital Literacies

I am surrounded all the time by textbooks being a tutor and teacher at Mohawk Valley Community College.  Students buy them for classes and we keep the new editions in our tutoring center; however, it seems like many students only use them to find the homework problems.  I run the math lab which provides tutoring for students taking math classes, and many times I have heard "Well why didn't it just say that?".  Textbooks can be very difficult to understand and follow, but sometimes I feel that there is something else that they are not getting from the text itself.  I try to show them how to read and understand their book so they feel like they haven't wasted their money purchasing their book, but many times they end up looking elsewhere.

According to Gillen and Barton (2010), "A user of the screen who has several windows open at the same time – attending to chat, surfing the internet, listening to sound-as-music, is engaged in forms of ‘attention’ management entirely unlike the withdrawing, reflective modes of reading traditional written text, a mode still encouraged and rewarded in schools." (p.7).  I see many of our students engaging in this sort of behavior when working on schoolwork, and so I believe that reading a textbook doesn't have that same comfort.  Students can choose what music to play in the background, what sections of educational videos they need to replay to understand a concept, and many other things that make them feel like they are in control of their learning.  A textbook is very static and non-conforming, which sometimes even makes me look elsewhere for a better explanation for a student.  Students feel more engaged in the material when they feel ownership and can manipulate or control some aspect of it, and a textbook doesn't always allow that.  Even ebooks allow you to change the font, background color and number of columns presented.  When a student is allowed more freedom, they may feel more inclined to participate in class, and it all begins with the textbook.


References:
Gillen, J., & Barton, D. (2010). Digital literacies: Research briefing for the TLRP-TEL (Teaching and Learning Research Programme - Technology Enhanced Learning). London: ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme.