Weekly Tech Tip

This weeks Tech Tip is Math and Technology focused. One of the best tools I’ve seen to teach math concepts with is a digital camera, so let’s dust them off and charge those batteries. Your students will have fun with this Math project!

Fractions – If you have a picture with lots of action, such as in my example, you can ask them questions like, “What is primarily happening in the 1/3 section of the image?”

Answer: The Coach is talking to the two boys.

“What is happening in the 2/3 section of the image?”

Answer: The boy is walking away and the girl is walking towards the camera.

Note: (Have the students write their answers in complete sentences and this will meet your writing TEKS as well.)

As you add more sections turning the picture into ¼, 1/5 and 1/6 sections the students can physically see the sections getting smaller and their answers change accordingly. This helps them grasp the concepts of fractions and what happens when you make the fractions smaller. The gist: The bigger the denominator the smaller the parts.

Here is the same image in ¼ sections:

Here is the same image in 1/5 sections:

Angles - Using images to teach angles is fun!!! Kids love going around their school taking pictures. Have your students break into groups and then go out to take pictures of angles that they find. They come back print them out and then mark the angels accordingly.

For example:

Of course the student’s pictures will be much neater than mine.

To extend this activity even further you can have specific angles that you want the students to take. For example: Today the assignment is to find al the right angles you can on hallway B. Then have them print out a photo thumbnail sheet of right angles.

Sending them to the playground to make “People Angles” is the most fun. I’ll leave that one up to your imagination. Yep, kids can come up with some creative stuff if you just let them.

Area, Perimeter, Measurement – Pictures can be used to teach this as well. You can come in with pictures already taken or send the students out to get a few pictures. Have them take the pictures of the object then they must measure it. After taking measurements they can find the area and perimeter of the object.

Extended Learning – Have the students measure the real object and then measure the object in the picture and give the scale. This would require some advanced Math, but I’m sure each of you have students that can do this and need the challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to read and gather ideas for teaching Math with Technology! Let me know if I can help you incorporate these ideas into your classroom. I would love to join you and your class to help you implement your ideas.

Weekly Tech Tip:

This weeks Tech Tip incorporates Math, Social Studies, Reading/Writing and Technology.

Students Can Meet the Following TEKS:

Math: Charts/Graphs, percentages, decimals,

Reading/Language: Compare Traditions across regions and cultures and comparative writing, and read a variety of texts such as newspapers and magazines for information.

Social Studies: Apply critical thinking skills to organize useful information such as Maps and Graphs.

Technology: Use Communication tools in group projects, acquire and analyze information in a digital format, and produce an electronic product in a variety of media.

The Travel Leisure Magazine (http://www.travelandleisure.com/afc/2007/) has put out a report for America’s Favorite Cities. And, as you would expect Austin is one of the favorites. Being the “Food Enthusiast” that I am, I noted that Austin is #1 for Bar-B-Q!!! As a mater of fact Texas has 3 of the Top 4 Bar-B-Q cities in the country. How Chicago got # 7 I’ll never know, but I don’t determine the results of the survey, I just teach utilizing the results.

We (Austin) got rated 23 for a lack of Big Name Restaurants. But that’s fine by me; I like “Mom and Pop” places anyway. What do your students like about living here?? Maybe they could write about it.

This data can be used in hundreds of ways, but I’ve included two activities below that you may want to use.

Activity 1* Your students can take two cities, one being Austin and the other being a place they think they would like to live one day. Have them compare those two cities to one another. They should then report their findings in a chart or graph and in an essay explaining what they found, and why they chose one location over the other.

Activity 2* Have your students write about the things they know and love about their city.

Extended Activity 1* (higher order thinking) Have your students graph each city with the given data and try to make determinations accordingly. Such as, we always hear about how friendly Texans are. Well, does the data show this to be a fact? How about those New Yorkers? Can we develop new theories or are the stereo types we’ve already established proven here?

Extended Activity 2* (higher order thinking) Have your students pick a subcategory such as “Ease of getting around / public transportation.” Why is Austin #18? Research what the top 5 cities have in their locations that make their Public Transportation better than Austin’s. They should report their findings in some form of media presentation. This could be further extended to actually writing the Austin City Council to persuade them to improve public transportation (or other sub category).

You never know, you may be teaching the next World Changer! Ignite them while they are young!

“Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.” Jim Rohn