Ready-to-go Online Materials
Younger students: G6-10
Points that have grabbed my attention when teaching online:
- Sharing week (or more) plan with whole class - Example plan - so that in case of any difficulties, they have already downloaded what we're intending to do each lesson and can get started by themselves, if necessary.
- Quizzes, Kahoots, Geogebra "Exam Mode" to give quick tests so that I can get feedback on how much they are understanding quickly, and engagingly, for the students.
- No voice and audio for G6-8, only "chat" -> background noises and silliness can quickly distract the class.
- Short explanations - followed by exercises/task/practical activity etc. for students to do. For more complicated topics, I am looking how to break-down a topic/skill/technique into smaller, simpler steps.
e.g. Understanding the notation used in an equation is important to know how to start "undoing" it (SA MD IB or SADMEP = order in which we do Subtraction, Addition, Multiplication, Division, Indices/Exponents(Powers), Brackets/Parenthesis, is reversed when 'solving/rearranging' an equation).
\(\frac { 4x }{ 10 } +2\quad =\quad 4\) means: \(4\quad \times \quad x\quad \div \quad 10\quad +\quad 2\quad =\quad 4\)
Write out each of the below equations in the same way:
\(Q1(a)\quad \frac { 4x }{ 20 } +2\quad =\quad 4\quad \quad \)
\((b)\quad \frac { 4x }{ 40 } +2\quad =\quad 4\quad \quad \)
\((c)\quad \frac { 2x }{ 40 } +2\quad =\quad 4\quad \quad \)
\((d)\quad \frac { 8x }{ 40 } +2\quad =\quad 4\quad \quad \)
\((e)\quad \frac { 2x }{ 20 } +2\quad =\quad 4\quad \quad\)
\((f)\quad \frac { 8x }{ 20 } +2\quad =\quad 4\quad \quad\)
Q2 Once you have completed Q1(a) to (f) above, "undo" each \(+-\div \times\) to find what number 'x' is. Before you start, look at each equation: (i) what's the same? (ii) what's different? (iii) If you know the answer to (a) predict how you can use this to work out the answer to parts b, c, d, e and f more quickly than simply solving each one by themselves.
- Students forming working groups using: Discord, Instagram, Teams within MIcrosfoft teams (red dot on their profile)
During Covid (all those years ago, it seems . . .), benefiting from each other's experience was beneficial in trying to predict, or at least model mathematically, how each country's situation may evolve next (similar to fellow site author Jim Noble's thoughts).
Data & Graphing Opportunties
During Covid, I found the below site obviously trustworth, and detailed (given its "daily" updated stats): Our World in Data (uses WHO "situation reports" data).
There's a lot of 'Fake News'/advice online.
This is a good talking point with students re: what makes an authoritative source (a big part of which, I think, is the degree of responsibility the distributor has for the accuracy of that information - the more responsibility, the larger the consequences of incorrect information, the more likely the data is to be as accurate as is currently possible(?).
The above graph is one I made yesterday from the WHO data (end date 15th March 2020).
I've scaled the WHO data so that:
- 0 on x-axes = 1st known case of covid in that country for all countries
I've cut the graph off on y-axes at a max of 2500 just so can see more clearly current pattern (but Germany ,France, Spain, Italy-approaching 30 000, now all well above 2 500).
I gave this graph, along with the data, to my grade 9 (IGCSE) class and asked them to compare the graph with the WHO data and, in groups, for 10 minutes, exchange on (i) what's the same (ii) what's different (iii) what the advantages and disadvantages of the graph, to communicate this information, and the raw excel data (downloaded from WHO website).
I felt the Graph makes possible a more meaningful comparison, in terms of predicting a country's progression - and may give insights into which country's policies, or simply their natural attributes, affect the stats e.g. Netherlands (along with England) is the most densely populated country in EU, but is not an island (as is UK). The US is surprisingly, given "big city" settings of many Hollywood films, sparsely populated - look up it's population density figures - you may (or may not!) be surprised.
Please do leave messages in the "comments" below if you have details on the measures Japan took during Covid (and at different times during that period). I've only heard: "closed schools and banned large gatherings early" as possible explanations for their slow rise in Covid cases.
I wondered if (i) culture of face masks when ill pre-Covid19 and (ii) already having learned how to manage similar issues with SARS, might have played important roles in Japan's success story (especially given its high population density in the towns and cities between Japan's many mountains).
Organisation of Resources and classes: Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, Zoom or Skype? Google Classroom or Managebac etc, etc?
Alongside this website, the Thinkib IB Applications and interpretation website and the IB Analysis and Approaches student revision site, I'm also referring students to the following video tutorial sites, if they are looking for additional help:
For teachers, I listen regularly to the hours of outstanding PD offered on Barton Maths Podcast (there's also loads of 'ready-to-go' teaching resources there and much, much more): Mr Barton Maths, and Tips for Teachers, as well as: Ollie Lovell's Education Research Reading Room (ERRR) podcasts and James Manion's "Rethinking Education"