General Tech Tool: Geometer's SketchPad & SketchPad Explorer for iPad

Geometer's SketchPad is a tool I was first introduced to a few years ago, but shied away from because I had no prior knowledge and limited technology available to me at the time. While I still have yet to implement this in the classroom, it is one of the tools I am looking at using for next year as we build a more blended-PBL classroom style of teaching at our school. Since I am not as familiar with this tool, I will leave it to a classmate of mine, Terry C. to explain and evaluate. I'll cover the iPad version after!

Original CEP Post

Specific Math Activities using Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP)

Overview

Curator: Terry C

Name of Tech Tool: The Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP)

Brief Description of Tech Tool: The Geometer's Sketchpad is a dynamic, interactive software that supports the teaching of mathematics through the creation, visualization, and manipulation of geometric shapes, mathematical models and graphical representations relevant to geometry, algebra, and calculus. The software is developed and sold by McGraw-Hill Education.

Additional Information

A multitude of resources, ranging from lesson plans and activity guides to tutorials and professional development/training sessions are available for Geometer's Sketchpad.

McGraw-Hill Education maintains several sites that offer tutorials on how to use the software, free classroom activities, and an online community to share new ideas on how to use Geometer's Sketchpad in the classroom:

• Geometer's Sketchpad Resources
• Geometer's Sketchpad Resources Center
• Sketch Exchange - Online Community

A community of Geometer's Sketchpad users have also posted their own lessons and activities for the software on the web:

• The Math Forum @Drexel: Sketchpad Resources at the Math Forum
• Kutztown Unversity: Geometer's Sketchpad Lessons
• Math Bits: Working with Geometer's Sketchpad
• The University of Georgia: GSP Lessons
• Technological Education Consulting: Sketchpad Sketches
• Nate Burchell's Dynamic Geometry Site
• University of Virginia Center for Technology and Teacher Education

Numerous videos and video tutorials for Geometer's Sketchpad are also available on YouTube:

• Geometer's Sketchpad YouTube Videos

System Requirements

Geometer's Sketchpad Installation Guide and Licensing Agreement

For Version 5:

Windows system requirements:

Pentium-based system or equivalent

Windows XP or later

300 MB free disk space

Optional: Internet connection*, Adobe® Reader or Adobe Acrobat®

Macintosh system requirements:

Intel-based system (Note: PowerPC users may use Sketchpad Version 5.04 or earlier, available on the download page.)

Mac OS 10.4 or later

300 MB free disk space

Optional: Internet connection*, Adobe® Reader or Adobe Acrobat®

• An internet connection is required for downloading Sketchpad 5, deregistering Sketchpad 5, and watching Sketchpad Movies.

Geometer's Sketchpad currently is not compatible with iPads and Android devices. Sketchpad Explorer is available as a free iPad app in the iTunes store.

SketchPad Explorer

Curator: Kristen (Me)

Overview: SketchPad explorer is the iPad version of Geometer's Sketchpad. While it does not have all of the same capabilities, it does provide a good amount of activities to explore using this dynamic modeling software. 

Technical Costs & Considerations: Aside from owning or having access to an iPad, there is no cost to download this app. 

Additional Information: I have downloaded the SketchPad Express app and find that I am very much enjoying it and the flexibility it gives me to model mathematics and to play with the modelings they provide. This is a great resource to take advantage of the Representing and the Automating affordances of technology. The app is easy to use and a free resource for you to use in your classroom. After following a brief tutorial and exploring some of the cooler features of mathematics that SketchPad can demonstrate, you get the opportunity to browse through the library and find various activities already created just for this app. Topics include:

• Elementary Mathematics
• Geometry: Constructions
• Geometry; Ellipse Constructions
• Algebra: Dynagraphs
• Algebra: Slope
• Sketch Exchange Community Site
• The Sketch Exchange Community site allows you to browse lessons created by other SketchPad users that are specifically geared toward use with the iPad app. Simply browse with the appropriate search, and you'll find a vast treasury of activities to use.

How this Supports & Supplements PBL/PrBL:

Geometer's SketchPad and it's iPad counterpart SketchPad Express both provide a dynamic workspace that allows students to get visual and study geometry synthetically (without coordinates), while manipulating their ideas to round out their reasoning. With Geometer's SketchPad, you have more freedom to create your own models than with the Express version, but the Express version has some very interesting lessons that require critical thinking and analysis to truly gain an understanding. In my opinion, I like Geometer's Sketchpad best for PBL because it allows for the user to create more independently and to model and play with their own thinking to draw conclusions. However, I like SketchPad Express a lot for PrBL as it provides solid lessons that are truly inquiry based placed into a dynamic environment where students can manipulate the tools and build their thinking.

Problem-Based Learning: NRICH

The goal in Project-Based Learning and Problem-Based Learning is to give your students a deeper and more meaningful experience with the content. At NRICH Mathematics, enriching activities is the name of their game. This website is accessible to students and teachers alike and offers both a rewarding experience to engage in deeper learning through interaction with their various mathematical tasks and lessons. On the student side, students can explore "live" problems designed for their desired grade level as well as weekly problems, videos and articles on mathematical thinking and strategies. On the Teacher Side you will find an amazing array of resources available to help you get your students thinking like mathematicians!

Why I LOVE NRICH:

• Weekly Challenge problems, complete with warm-ups
• The Trending Section to let you know what is hot right now
• Exploration activities to use with your students in the Current Section
• Right now is Dotty Paper, which is exactly what I'm using in a project for my classes this marking period!
• Curriculum links for "rich tasks" at various levels.
• Teacher Resource links as well
• STEM resources and STEM Mapping
• Cross-curricular works best with PBL

Problem-Based Learning: Mathematics Assessment Project

The Mathematics Assessment Project has been developed to help bring life to the middle and high school CCSSM through both formative and summative means. Available at the website are tasks, assessments, and lessons designed to facilitate 21st Century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking and foster creativity in the math classroom. The resources are free to visitors and can be downloaded at your convenience.

Reasons I LOVE Mathematics Assessment Project:

• Search by grade, type of activity, or best of all STANDARDS & PRACTICES
• Search, Click and be lead to an activity that suits your needs!
• Lessons are broken down into 2 categories: problem solving and concept development. Two critical areas to develop in Project-Based and Problem-Based learning!
• Activities are available for grades 6-12, but don't feel limited by the designed grade level, I've used 7th grade activities quite successfully in my high school classroom.
• Think of the differentiation possibilities! 
• Lessons I've used successfully in the classroom: 
• Applying Angle Theorems-7th Grade Conceptual Lesson
• 2D Representations of 3D objects- High School Conceptual Lesson
• Tasks are ranked from novice through expert for both middle and high school grades!
• MAP is supporting YOU with Professional Development Modules to learn how to use their materials and foster the kind of classroom atmosphere you want!
• Ready Made assessments that you can take in part or in whole, with answer keys

Project-Based Learning Math Resource: CurrikiGeometry

Curriki is an online host to free teaching and learning resources for educators everywhere. From lesson plans, to units, to entire curriculums, Curriki has something for everyone. For the Project-Based Learning math teacher, one resource available is a gold-mine: Curriki Geometry. Curriki Geometery is Curriki's own CCSS aligned Project-Based Learning math course designed around the principles of PBL. The site has both student and teacher access to it and contains 6 projects that can be used in any manner you choose.

Things I Love about CurrikiGeometry:

• The Comprehensive package of each project.
• Including lesson plans, pacing and differentiation ideas
• A list of websites and resources to use alongside the projects or as-is
• The materials available to help run a successful Project-Based Learning classroom
• The inclusion of technology tools
• Linking to other websites for engaging activities to support the projects

For those of you who may be just starting out or wanting to get your feet wet, taking an entire project may be beneficial to see how Project-Based Learning can work in your school. I always like to have a autonomy and ownership over my projects, so I don't love taking things wholesale, but if someone has a good idea, I'm always willing to tweak it and make it my own!

Project-Based Math Resource: Mathalicious

Every time I hear the name I get the "Fergalicious" song in my head, so thank you Mathalicious for offering me a weekly blast from the past. Mathalicious' tag line "Finally. Math class is awesome." is completely appropriate to describe the content of the site. Mathalicious offers educators the ability to browse through lessons designed to be real-world focused and engaging for students of all ages. Not to mention, they've aligned their content with the CCSS, just an extra bonus for those of us out there who have to make the transition!

Why we LOVE Mathalicious:

• They offer a wide variety of lessons that are sortable by topic, CCSS "grade level" and exact standards, making it easy for you to incorporate into your planning!
• They offer free and paid-for lessons depending on your financial abilities.
• This is also an awesome offer so you can see what the lessons are like before deciding to make a purchase!
• Lessons appeal to a variety of students through age-appropriate lesson topics, like this XBox lesson!
• Lessons come with handouts, guides and project extensions, making it easier to incorporate into your unique teaching situation. 
• They have a variety of payment plans and can work with you if your district isn't helping to foot the bill.

Mathalicious may not be Project-Based Learning projects per-se, but my colleagues and I have been known to use their lessons as part of our planning: either as project launches, components in guided projects, or standalone lessons to increase engagement. Enjoy the exploration!

Project-Based Math Resource: The Learning Network

While we may not all live in New York, the New York Times is helping educators everywhere with The Learning Network, their online resource for teachers that connects content to real-world events happening now. The lesson plans include nearly every content you could hope to teach, here are a few: art, history (foreign and domestic), health, science, technology, and yes, mathematics. While this may not be explicitly Project-Based Learning focused, it is easy to see how you could incorporate the elements available here either in part or in whole into your projects. This is a great place to find project ideas that are of high interest to students and are happening in their real lives!

Why I LOVE The Learning Network:

• The Learning Network covers one of the biggest components of Project-Based Learning: Real World Authenticity.
• It is constantly being updated and supplying you with right now events that are happening and relatable to students. Follow their site or sign up for their emails!
• Their link-able and like-able lesson plans, frequently integrating text and video into the mix.
• These are easily adaptable to fit into projects or to be launching points for projects!
• The interactiveness with students.
• Let your students access the site and you'll notice they start showing you interesting things they want to learn.... voice and choice!

Project-Based Math Resource: RealWorldMath

RealWorldMath is a website that can be used by students and teachers alike to find real world math applicable projects and lessons designed to show the usefulness of knowing the material. I typically view this website for teachers and have enjoyed looking at their various lesson resources, from Concept Lessons to help my students develop conceptual understanding about various subjects, to Exploratory Lessons designed to show off some of the more interesting and less frequently discussed topics, there is something there for every teacher.

RealWorldMath

Things I LOVE about RealWorldMath:

• The emphasis on developing concepts with the conceptual lessons. These can be forgotten in a Project-Based environment, but are so essential to a PBL math success.
• The tutorials on how to use the technology associated with their lessons and projects
• The lesson outlines available to teachers
• Make sure you sign up for a password to access! It's free, so no worries!
• The blog that you can follow to stay up to date on interesting math connections going on currently in our real world!

Project-Based Math Resource: High Tech High

As I've mentioned in another post, High Tech High is a big inspiration for me. A few of my colleagues had the opportunity to visit High Tech High earlier this year and came back with nothing but raving reviews. So, we've been busy looking at our curriculum and theirs and seeing the strength and weaknesses of of our program and seeing what components we like best about theirs. One piece that we were really interested in learning about was the way they do mathematics. Many PBL schools have told us that while you can do some math via Project-Based Learning, you can't do all of it, so get an online system. High Tech High's math program seems to agree with this statement, as teachers on an individual basis choose online systems to support their learning. However, HTH has made some amazing math projects for the math that they can include.

Things I LOVE about HTH Math:

• Their planning expertise and willingness to share: Unit Planning Guide &Project Planning 101
• Their range of coverage: 6th-12th grade mathematics!
• The thoroughness of their planning
• Alignment with CCSS Math Practices and Standards (Grade 6 Example)
• Started/Complete Unit Planning ideas for each grade level following their proposed Integrated Sequences
• Their Transparency in their alignment to help you better understand their units
• Standards Alignment 10th grade
• The Projects that are linked in their units: great as is or as a jumping off point for your own project design!

General PBL Resource: HTH PBL Resources

When it comes to big names in the Project-Based Learning world, one school is always at the top of the list: High Tech High. They've been working on developing their Project-Based Learning schools (yes, plural! Check out just how many schools they have!) for over a decade and have even developed their own graduate school to train teachers in the methods of their madness! So it just makes sense that when you run out of Google-able options for PBL Resources, you turn to others who have spent years finding the best of the best... enter: HTH PBL Resources.

This site, developed by some of HTH's finest is home to many things you wouldn't even think you needed to know about in Project-Based Learning until you needed to know.

Things I love about HTH's PBL Resources:

• Their focus on product
• Sure, anyone can create a poster, but what makes a final product special? How do you even know if it is "good"?
• Their focus on student-staff culture development.
• Everyone know's the first few days matter most. Find out how they create a positive vibe on their campuses!
• Their Project-Development freebies
• They've been working on development for years... their freebies are a gold-mine!
• Their focus on Project Tuning... it can always improve!

High Tech High was a big inspiration for those who wrote my charter and is still a big inspiration for those of us living out that charter day-in and day-out. There are a lot of great Project-Based Learning schools' out there, who have a lot to share with the world. HTH just happens to be my current favorite. Check them out, I'm sure you'll see why!

General PBL Resource: Intel Education

When you are starting out in the PBL world, nothing is more daunting than thinking about trying to design your own project. Sure, you are probably psyched to be doing PBL, because you have awesome ideas that are sure to engage the students. So you start planning out your project and realize it is missing pieces. Frustrated, you search the internet for similar projects to see if you can beef yours up, or adjust an already designed project. Enter an organization-lovers PBL Project Resource: Intel Education.

Intel Education has a lot to offer the educational world and is worth exploring as a resource in and of itself. However, I'm going to focus on the Project-Based aspects it addresses in their Designing Effective Projects section. In addition to giving an overview of Project Based Learning, Intel Education Project Design and Thinking Skills--those skills that are critical to success in PBL.

Reasons I Love Intel Education:

• Intel Education takes project planning to an entire different level with their focus on questioning and it's importance. For PBL in particular, you can focus on the curriculum framing questions, originally brought up by Wiggins-McTighe. 
• Units/Projects broken up into smaller increments (9-10, 11-12, instead of 9-12 and using your best judgement). You can also select by subject, as with most PBL project warehouses. 
• The organization and freebies associated with their projects!
• As an incredibly organized person, I can't stress how nice it is to have such a clean template to be looking at for the project overview!
• As an incredibly frugal person, I am in love with having free resources like rubrics, assessment ideas and examples at my disposal!
• The Differentiation suggestions
• Many projects lack explicit differentiation, however at the bottom of each unit's main page, I've been able to find prerequisite skills, and differentiation for resource, gifted and ELL students. Quite the find!

PBL General Resource: The Project Approach

The Project Approach website is one that is new to me this year in terms of project planning, but it comes from a name I've seen a multitude of times in connection with successful PBL: Sylvia Chard. The website covers a specific aspect of Project-Based Learning and is more focused on integrating a project approach with systematic instruction. This idea was new to me, as I was more focused on the idea of PBL as a whole-school curriculum. It was fascinating to me that many of the examples found at this website were conducted at one of the biggest names in Project-Based Learning: High Tech High!

Things I love about The Project Approach:

• The Project Approach considers the social and emotional well-being of a child and related theories to support PBL
• The Project Approach offers Planning Resources
• Planning Resource overviews (free and online) and Print Resources (paid and digital or print copies available), along with a study guide to understand The Project Approach!
• The Project Approach offers a limited project archive to exemplify their unique perspective on PBL. Here is one of my HTH favorites:
• This New House

PBL General Resource: Buck Institute for Education (BIE)

As a beginning Project-Based Learning teacher, the Buck Institute for Education's website bie.org was my go-to site for training on what Project-Based Learning was and resources I would need to begin becoming an effective Project-Based Learning teacher. In my three years as a PBL teacher, I have found that BIE is continually adding new content and features to help novice and experienced PBL-ers alike.

Features I just LOVE about BIE Online:

• BIE offers a complete overview of PBL. What is it and why do we should we do it?
• BIE offers an insane amount of resources for teachers, here are a few I have used:
• Planning Resources
• Rubrics
• Student Forms
• BIE hosts all kinds of projects for you to browse through!
• Visit the Project Archive, where you can search by grade level, content, and even CCSS alignment!
• BIE is interactive!
• There are constantly Webinars, Hangouts, Twitter chats to constantly engage with other PBL teachers just like you!
• BIE wants YOU to succeed!
• BIE has put together their own Project-Based Learning University (PBLU), of which I am a proud graduate of both course types that they offer--learning how to teach in a PBL atmosphere and learning how to author your own PBL projects and curriculum. 

Once you've spent a few hours on the bie.org website like I have, you may just be craving more from them. Never fear, BIE offers print products (PBL books!) for those times when you aren't with internet access, and they offer services and trainings in various formats, like the online PBLU listed above!

Entering the Battlefield: Classic to Contemporary Culture

Today, I finished my entry event for the Cyrano's Funk project I am implementing in my colleague's classroom. Based on my own thoughts, and having discussed the project with the hosting teacher, I've come to believe that this went over well with the students; perhaps not for the content of the project, but for the structure. Students at our school were more or less thrown into PBL, as were us teachers; and everyone has been in survival mode since. Let's break down my seeming success a bit....

"In general, how effective was the Entry Event in terms of student excitement and your delivery? Would you do anything differently next time"

For the Entry Event, I used the project packet as a guide, rather than as a script; so I was free to interpret it a bit more and make it more relevant to my students. I took into consideration the students that I would be working with, and discussed some of their interests with them ahead of time to try to reach as many of them as possible. We talked about their likes/dislikes as well as their interests in pop culture. With this information, I was able to come up with a rather large powerpoint that reached my students through some of their favorite facets: Funny Clips-Tosh.0; teen movies; music videos/song writing. While I knew that a powerpoint in general is not necessarily the most engaging, it was the medium I was most comfortable with using and I did not want my inability to use a technology to hinder my students' interest in the project. So, I made the best powerpoint that I could, using the information I was given from them.

Instead of just having students search Shakespeare on Twitter, I created a powerpoint that included short videos (a rap battle between Shakespeare and Dr. Seuss) and had students analyze how the characters were represented (without their names having been said or seen in the video via "Who is this character? How did you know?"). After that hooked the students in to caring a little more about Shakespeare and authors in general, we went through some of their famous movies and as they would shout out the name, I would shoot them down. For example, when looking at one movie poster a student said "10 Things I Hate About You," to which I quickly changed the slide and said "No. Taming of the Shrew". This went on with a whole series of their favorite movies and lead to a brief discussion on how all current movies and themes draw from classic inspiration. Many were surprised that "The Lion King" was really "Hamlet". We also discussed some of their favorite musical artists and pulled out lyrics that were drawn from classic literature, ending with the ever-popular "Love Story" by Taylor Swift.

Students seemed excited by this and almost challenged to come up with their own original work and prove to me that there were plots and story lines that had not already been created. I felt excited that they wanted to prove me wrong, because it showed they were starting to care about the event--and possibly the project!

Many of my students were able to make deep connections to the discussion on themes throughout time. They were able to draw on their own experiences currently (especially loss, friendship and grief as many of them have just suffered through losing a dear friend), and find connections to movies, songs and writing from classic to contemporary. Students took this a step further when we did the social media exploration and were able to see that they were not alone in their feelings. Students were able to use these common themes/feelings as a springboard to open up and have discussions with students they had previously not had much experience working with; which is helping to build a community inside of the classroom.

In enacting this entry event, I think I would make changes to the groupings that I did. I simply counted off students as a way to get them to work with people they previously had not. However, I feel that this hindered some of the discussions that could have happend early in the process. The next time I implement this (as has already been requested by other teachers!), I would consider letting students choose a partner and then squaring off the partners with a new crowd. I think that this would give the students some support and confidence in speaking with their group, as they already know someone else feels similarly; which could help engender more thoughtful discussion.

"Were you satisfied with how you led the creation of the Need to Know List? Were you able to get the students to ask good, valid questions?"

This portion of the entry was absolutely my downfall. I've run Need to Know lists with students before, but always on a topic I was more familiar with. Not all students that were asked made the need to know list, as they were things answered directly on the spot (i.e. Do we need to dress up?). However, I think my students were able to come up with a list that helped them identify their shortcomings and how to serve them, as well as their interests.

My students struggle with reading decoding and comprehension and were inquiring about the style of the writing and if they were allowed to use Spark Notes. I've determined that they are allowed to use them independently to help them process their understanding of the play, but that we will be reading the true script together (and acting it out!) in class. This class is full of students who are very boisterous and will benefit from being able to enact what they read. Many of them are very excited about the ability to perform.

I was not surprised that the students did not ask me much in terms of English content involved (What is a theme? How do we identify a theme? etc), based on the discussions we had had earlier in class on identifying common themes through various media throughout time.

Overall, I wish I had known more about the play and had attempted the project before I did the N2K with my students as I think that would have better prepared me for helping to prod them for questions. I'm also, by trade, a mathematics teacher, so while I'm good at helping students to make mathematical connections and come up with questions, I clearly faltered in the English curriculum. When I do this again, I will be meeting with our English department chair to discuss questions that students will address through the projects and methods of getting students to ask these questions themselves.

"Did the students' questions adequately link to the content knowledge, skills and process required for the project?"

Again, having had good discussions earlier, I was not surprised that I did not have to adress any content knowledge questions with the class. However, I plan on going over various literary elements that they need to be on the look out for before each reading period. Students certainly adressed their individual skills, or lack of skills, when inquiring about the ability to use SparkNotes to help comprehend the text, as well as asking the the writing style that the text is done in. I was impressed with their ability to see their own weaknesses and ask ways to empower themselves throughout the project. Process questions were not directly adressed through the N2K process, however students did ask about the ability to work with partners and the types of mediums they could do their projects through. This information, however, was adressed through the powerpoint that the student went through with me.


Overall, I'm very excited to see my students' reaction to the project. They genuinely seem excited to be getting direct guidance working through a project and seemed pleasantly surprised at the connections they could make to their daily lives. I can't wait to see how things go next week when we begin reading/acting out the first Act! Wish us luck!

Diving in to Cyrano's Funk

Well, I finished all of my PBLU courses (pblu.org if you haven't taken them!) and I am VERY excited about this school year. I'm down to just my capstone left and I'm working with a colleague of mine to implement an English project into her advisory class!

Why English? I always wanted to be an English teacher. When I went off to MSU it was between Math & English or Math & Spanish. I chose Math & Spanish (or well, a coin chose for me!). So, I'm living out the flip-side of my coin through this project.

The project is called "Cyrano's Funk" and was developed over at High Tech High and I'm very excited and nervous about diving into this! It's been a long while since I've had to discuss literary elements with anyone, none the less try to teach them, so we'll see how this goes!


Other projects going on:

Working on developing "Life on Planet X" (not an original name, I know, but I'm technical not creative), with our lead science teacher here and I will be implementing that next week as well. Two projects in one week? Am I crazy? Yes. Yes, I am.