Resources I Use: Nutshell Math

I'm going to start featuring sites I use in my classroom.  I have taught 4th grade for 2 years now. Prior to that, I taught 3rd grade. I have used this site (in one form or another) since those 3rd grade years.  I don't know about you, but at some point in the year, I tend to loose my voice. Or sometimes, I get the vibe that my students just don't want to hear from me that day.  That's when I pull Nutshell Math out of my bag of tricks!

When I originally began using Nutshell Math, it was as a part of a subscription to Cosmeo. A colleague had subscribed and everyone in the grade level used it.  After leaving that school though, I had to find another option.  I somehow stumbled on just the Nutshell Math product - and their FREE accounts for teachers!  Here's some screenshots so you can see what's what.

Welcome screen. Click "Teachers" to get to the next part.

Teacher screen - you can see examples or click "Get A Free Teacher Account" on the right.

This is what appears as a sample explanation.  The ones the students will see are much cleaner, visually speaking.

When you click to get a free teacher account, you have to supply a bit of information - but no credit cards!

Now the fun part - this is a screen shot of the lists of textbooks.  The pictures are showing just a few of the Elementary Math (grades 3-5) textbooks.  There are almost 30 to choose from!  My specific book isn't listed - but I don't let that stop me.  You can change your textbook at any time.  I simply look at the "Math Topics" and preview the lesson.  If it matches what my textbook/curriculum teaches, I use it.  If not, I'll change textbooks until I find one that is better.  For what it's worth, the "Nutshell Math Virtual Textbooks" listed at the bottom of the page have been my best bet so far.  We have "Math Connects" and it has a very hands-on, inquiry based approach.  Most of our strategies have been included in the Nutshell Math textbook.

As you can see though, there are other math topics covered - Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, Trig, Calculus, and Middle School Math/Pre-Algebra.  This is an AWESOME resource.  There is a "pay" option of course - how would they may money otherwise?  You can set up student classes (perhaps with student access) and assign videos and quizzes for them to take. All accounts get this automatically for 30 days - I never used it.  I simply didn't need it. I wanted the videos - because sometimes, just hearing and seeing someone different is all it took for some of my kids to "get it."

So, if you think Nutshell Math would be good for you, go sign up!  I absolutely love it - if I'm ever out long term, you can bet I'll be leaving this site for my sub to use! It is that good!

What online resources do you rely on?

Technology Conference Week: Lesson Plans

So one of the sessions that disappointed me at the Tech Conference was one called "Lesson Plans in 20 minutes or Less."  I expected to go in and learn some good resources and shortcuts for trimming down the planning time.  I got some good resources, but I did not learn and tricks and shortcuts.  So, here is what I would have done!

First tip - Use a computer! Make a template and actually type your lesson plans into it. 
So many teachers at my school do the first step - make a template. Then they print it and hand write on it! Yikes! It frustrates me to see them taking the time to re-write the same things every week - because I've been teaching long enough to know there WILL BE some repetition in weekly plans.  It just comes with running a classroom. 

If you type into your template, you need to learn how to quickly copy and paste text from one spot to another.  I've seen districts/schools/teachers who have included drop-down menus in their plans, so they merely have to click-click-click to select standards, activities, assessments.  I tried to develop this last year but just got bogged down.

Second tip - Consider using a software program, other than Microsoft Word for your lesson plans.
This is a big one for me - I only recently found a good program that would do this for me easily.  Prior to this, I was chained to my flash drive (I still love my flash drives, but not for lesson plans any longer.)  Here are 2 programs that look good for lesson planning.

4 out of 5 stars

I LOVE Evernote.  I discovered it over at Educational Technology Guy's blog. (He's got TONS of great ideas, by the way.) I began using it after EOG testing, as my planning needs got much simpler.  I simply copied my plans from Word and pasted them into a new note in Evernote.  You can organize individual notes into Notebooks. I really like the functionality of this program.  I can make a notebook for lesson plans, faculty meetings, grade level meetings, and even personal stuff.  This makes a lot of sense to me. 

Evernote is accessible from the web and also from a downloadable desktop program.  The desktop program syncs to the online site so your data is always up-to-date.  It was really fun to share this program with my colleagues.  I had my laptop and the school desktop computers logged in. (I was able to install this on my school computer without any issues, you'll have to find out if you are allowed to do that.) I typed into my laptop and seconds later the desktop updated and my changes were reflected.  I loved that this would really allow my lesson plans to feel "up-to-the-minute" in terms of what I planned and then what was actually accomplished.  Instead of printing my plans at the beginning of the week, I'm planning to print at the END of the week. I haven't explored it yet, but there is a "Share" option. You can share by email, Facebook, and Twitter. So that might be an option for some of the more tech-savvy teachers and administrators to use. There are different versions of Evernote, including options to access it from your smartphone.

3 out of 5 stars

I just discovered this option on Thursday, 7/7 on Twitter! (Thanks to @thenerdyteacher aka Nicholas Provenzano for the link.)  There is a free option and a yearly subscription option.  The big reason this gets 3 stars is because it appears you can only print from here with the paid, yearly subscription.  This is a big deal for me, as I must have printed plans at least once per week (and at the moment, I don't have the money to pay for anything extra).  However, it does have some features that balance that.

First, PlanbookEdu is a web-only service. Nothing to download, accessible from anywhere with an Internet connection. For some, this will be an advantage. Second, the Common Core standards are ALREADY IN PlanbookEdu.  You just click and there they are.  A bonus is you can add your state standards (which only took me about 15 minutes to put in all of math and most of reading.)  This will be handy this year as NC begins to make the transition from our Standard Course of Study to the Common Core. I'll be able to put both sets of standards in my plans without giving myself a headache.

I liked how easy it was to set up a template. You can choose to have something show up for a single day, repeat daily, weekly, etc.  I was quickly able to plug in the required elements for our lesson plans (Essential Question, Bloom's Verbs, Activities, Assessments) and have them show up in every segment for the entire year. You can completely customize what your template looks like (mine is already set up). It does seem to lean toward block scheduling, but should be easily tweaked with to make it work for you.

Like I mentioned before, there are a few drawbacks.  The biggest for me is that it looks like you can only print through a paid account.  Also, you can only have multiple plan books with a paid account. You can share your planbook and it does look like they are fairly responsive to issues that arise.

I'm fiddling with PlanbookEdu so I can share it with colleagues.  However, I really think, for now, I'll be going with Evernote.  I really can't decide! I like the ease of adding standards in PlanbookEdu but I like the flexibility of Evernote.

What are your thoughts?  What do you do to make lesson planning as quick and as painless as possible?

Technology Conference Week: Dynamic Document Cameras

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I LOVE my document camera! It has changed the way I work with students in my classroom.  I'm no longer putting my back to them to write on the board (or not often) and I no longer have to worry about troubles with my overhead projector.

My set-up isn't ideal - but it is better than nothing.  I have the document camera connected to a computer which is then connected to a 42" TV that is mounted to the wall, up near the ceiling.

I've been able to set up my room so that when I use the camera I am facing the students.  This allows me to be monitoring comprehension as well as behavior during a lesson.  Also, since I am sitting at a desk as well, students have said they feel less "threatened" and more like we are simply having a conversation.  I made a point this year to have the same notebooks as the students (I teach 4th grade.)  So when it was math time, we all had math notebooks - they could see my notebook under the camera - or the textbook, or manipulatives.

In the session I attended about the document camera, I learned some interesting things! I can't wait to get back to school to try them out.  Here they are, in list form, as I noted them.

• Use both the USB and Serial cable to connect the camera.  Connect the USB directly to the computer and the Serial to the switcher that controls the computer/TV.  This way if the computer is in use, the document camera can still be used.  (Super! I had problems with that this past year.)
• Video capture mode will capture audio as well if a mic is connected to the computer.
• Use Image Capture to save an image of an item. Then save that item and use it on assessments - what an authentic assessment that would be!
• There is a "time lapse" feature in the Advanced Settings-Capture menu.  This would be useful over the course of a day or even overnight (if you can be assured the computer will be left alone.)

There is now a flash interface that will allow the document camera to be controlled from within a program like the Smart Notebook (that is my understanding.) I am extra excited to try this out.  We don't have Smart software but we have software and tablets from Interwrite.

Do you have a document camera?  How do you use it?  I'm always looking for new ideas!

Technology Conference Week: LiveBinders

So, today I want to share what I learned about LiveBinders.  This is another super cool site - I've seen some awesome binders and I can't wait to play around and make some of my own.

LiveBinders is (in my understanding) an online 3-ring binder. You can add whole websites, documents, video clips, pictures.  It is especially nice for teachers - you add a site to a binder and students can access the whole site, without ever leaving the binder.  It reminds me of the old days of web tech when some sites used "frames." The frames divided the screen and allowed the main page to always be there while other content showed as well.  That was annoying - this is anything but!

In our quick overview, we looked at setting up a binder, sharing a binder, and embedding a binder.  I'm thrilled that it looks like I can embed the binder into my district provided website (that I am required to update monthly.) This would be an easy, interactive, fun way to have updated content on my site without having to struggle with the SharePoint web program too often.

Another task I'm thinking about will be to develop a LiveBinder for my grade level to share.  This might be a way I can organize all our lesson plan documents for Science and Social Studies.  (Those lesson plans are already completely made for the whole year, I might add!)  It could be a great reference for whomever teaches 4th grade with me next year.  And as they find additional materials, they could add them to the binder.  We would all benefit.

One additional great thing about LiveBinders is their LiveBinder It tool.  This is a browser add-on that lets you add things to your binder without leaving the page you are on.  You find your content, hit the "LiveBinder It" toolbar, and click your options in the pop-up window.  Simple!  The next time you open your LiveBinder, the new site will be there.  You can move it around however you like.

I'll end by sharing one of my binders - it is very basic for now, but you get the idea. It is public, so as I add to it and make changes, you should see them reflected.

NC History – 4th Grade

Do you have a LiveBinders account?  What binders have you created?  Any additional tips and tricks?

Technology Conference Week: Wordless Wednesday

My district created this poster. So I have no idea who to give credit to. Ideas?