Teaching Mathematics (Free Online Assessment Tool and 3 Act Tasks), Content Chunking in eLearning, and a Virtual Tour through a Cave... in Education Today

If you are interested in these topics--virtual tours, teaching mathematics, and/or content chunking--then you may find useful ideas in these posts.

Hang En Cave 6 / Hugh Derr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Take a Virtual Journey through Vietnam's Massive Son Doong Cave
http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/30/8691739/son-doong-cave-vietnam-tour
May 30, 2015

Lizzie Plaugic
http://www.theverge.com/users/lizzieplaugic

National Geographic created a virtual tour of the Son Doong cave, one of the world's largest caves. This cave is so large that clouds can form inside it.

The tour uses text, a site map, sound, zoom, and sharing. You can manipulate the 360-degree image to explore inside the cave. Be sure to also click on the link to the video shot inside the cave by a drone.

Math Wordle Bulletin Board / Enokson / CC BY-NC 2.0

Tap into Teen Minds
https://tapintoteenminds.com/knowledgehooks-free-gameshow-assessment-tool/
May 30, 2015

Kyle Pearce
https://tapintoteenminds.com/about-me/

Check Out @Knowledgehook’s FREE Gameshow Assessment Tool!
A Free Gamified Clicker Tool With Ready-Made Content!

Pearce explores this free online assessment tool that can be used as a game show with questions already prepared... or with questions that you have customized. He shares screen shots and pros and cons of this product that is in beta production. Using your own questions is one of the pros; the fact that only Canadian provinces are listed at this point is one of the cons. He believes this product has much potential.

I tried playing the game both as a teacher and as a student. It was easy--as a teacher--to modify the questions. It was fun--as a student--to play on my smartphone. In the classroom you can project the questions and possible answers for all to see. Students can play as long as they have access to a web browser.

This assessment tool is promoted for reviewing mathematics. However, I agree with Kyle Pearce. There is very good potential here for other subjects as well.


Also... while you are visiting Kyle Pearce's blog, be sure to check out the 3 Act Math Tasks at https://tapintoteenminds.com/3act-math/. Scroll to the bottom of the page to access more than 100 3 Act Math Tasks and related resources. (For more information, see a previous post I wrote about 3 Act Math Tasks (http://teachinginadigitalworld.blogspot.com/2014/09/3-act-tasks-in-classroom.html).)
 
These resources are enough to make me wish I were teaching mathematics again!

Chunking / Phil and Jo Schiffbauer / CC BY 2.0

6 Advantages of Content Chunking in E-learning -- An Infographic
http://blog.commlabindia.com/elearning-design/advantages-of-elearning-content-chunking-infographic
May 29, 2015

Chinthakunta Krishna
http://blog.commlabindia.com/author/krishnac/

Krishna explains what content chunking is and then presents an infographic to list the importance of using it in elearning (or online learning). Is an infographic necessary to list six items? No. But, it is a good visual tool if you are sharing the idea with others... and I think it's a good reminder to myself to take advantage of chunking when I'm creating online courses.

3 Act Tasks in the Classroom

Wooden Chest / Brenda Clarke / CC BY 2.0

Do you know the formula for the volume of a rectangular prism? As a mathematics teacher I was not concerned with my students’ memorizing the formula because we could just figure it out when we needed it. But it has been a few years (OK… it’s been a long time!) since I taught volume in my classroom. So, I decided to check out a video that I found on Twitter. The video was created by Kyle Pearce, a mathematics teacher in Ontario.

Pearce uses Keynote presentation software with animations to illustrate why the volume of a rectangular prism is determined with the formula V = lwh. His use of animations is not fluff but instead it enhances the explanation. The result is a video that is professional in style, simple to follow, and—most importantly—effective in helping students to understand the concept.

I explored his site a bit and then followed a link to his video about the volume of a cylinder. It’s interesting and useful… just as the first video is.  While there I found a link to Dan Meyer’s Hot Coffee 3 Act Math Task. This task is interesting to me… and it would be interesting to students. Is it a word problem? Yes. But this task is real. And it will seem so to students.

It's Easy As... / Mike Kniec / CC BY 2.0

I definitely needed to learn more about 3 Act Math Tasks, so I visited Meyer’s website to look for a good explanation of 3 Act Math Tasks. I found his description of The Three Acts of a Mathematical Story. And Teaching with Three-Act Tasks… with links to all three acts. He also publishes his task bank of 3 Act Math Tasks on his site. Lots of good resources to learn about and to use while you start experimenting with creating your own 3 Act Math Tasks.

When I returned to Pearce’s site I discovered that he also shares a list of 3 Act Tasks that he has created.

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So what lessons can be learned from my explorations at these sites?

1. Rich teaching resources can be found through Twitter,
2. Many members of your PLN may freely share excellent ideas and resources,
3. Storytelling can be effectively used in classrooms,
4. Keynote (and other presentation software) can be used to create helpful videos for students, and--most importantly--
5. The lesson plans from Pearce and Mayer are designed for mathematics classrooms; however, these ideas are not limited to mathematics education. The 3 Act Math Tasks storytelling strategy could be effectively used in history, language arts, science, and many other classes.
6. And, of course, Twitter, your PLN, and presentation software can all be used well in other classes.

Have you tried creating a 3 Act History Task or a 3 Act Language Arts Task? Or something similar in your classroom?

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Resources from this post...

Kyle Pearce
@MathletePearce
https://twitter.com/MathletePearce
http://tapintoteenminds.com/
tapintoteenminds.com/2014/09/05/visualizing-the-volume-of-a-rectangular-prism-formula/
 
Dan Meyer
@ddmeyer
https://twitter.com/ddmeyer
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/2011/the-three-acts-of-a-mathematical-story/