World Maths Day

Each year I register my students for World Maths Day. Over the space of a few weeks students can practice math calculations by taking timed quizzes in which they compete against students from around the world. Students create avatars, see where in the world the other participants come from, and see the flags of those countries. On March 7th, students from around the world participate on the same day. Organizers estimate that 5.5 million students from 200 countries will participate this year. Unfortunately, World Maths Day falls during our Spring Break, but students can participate from home if you have access to an Internet connection, or on a mobile device (the app can be found here).

Your child has a login and password to be able to participate in the practice days leading up to the event. As their teacher, I can see the number and percentage of questions they answer correctly. There are five levels, and students can work to improve their scores in each level.

Yesterday, the first day we worked with the site, the class collectively answered 1081 questions correctly in about 20 minutes. As you can imagine, it would be impossible for me to give and correct that volume of work were I to have students do it with pencil and paper.

The event is highly motivating and excellent practice. If possible, it would be well worth having your child practice at home to improve their calculation skills.

And in case I forget, Happy World Maths Day!

The Flipped Classroom

Technology where it is needed, when it is needed.

I remember my high school computer lab. One room of large desk top PCs, set up in  traditional classroom style so that we could face the blackboard as the teacher taught us basic programming. DOS style. Yes, I am that old. It was all very cutting edge. At that time we learned typing as well, on typewriters, and the typing teacher was in awe that the computer printers could produce so many different fonts. Where, he asked me, were all the wheels inside?

For the students in my class, working with technology is a normal part of the day. So normal that they don't get nearly as excited as I do by the new document camera or the SMART board lessons that let us show things differently than I would have thought possible when I was last a student. I am blessed to have exciting new technology in my classroom,  and while some of it sometimes doesn't work as we want it to, it allows us to explore learning situations in completely new ways.