Virtual Learning Network

It was great to meet you all at the NZAMT14 Conference workshop today. Here's the Google doc with all of the tips and tricks you shared at the workshop - feel free to add more in the comments below!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZkM8n9ih5ZKdHgoqEBqWv18vQy5LpbU8QW2-TOC5Kv0/edit?usp=sharing

NZQA have announced that they want to phase out pencil and paper external assessments across the board, and they are starting with a pilot "e-MCAT" this year in some schools. Check out this blog post for full details and links to the original announcements.

Online external assessment is coming! What does this mean for our teaching programmes? Share your thoughts below. 

Ideas shared during the BYOD forum at the NZAMT-13 Conference, Friday 4th October 2013. Add your own suggestions in the comments below, and tell us about your experiences with the tools already listed.

• Scanning apps: CamScan/ScanCam, JotNot, Genius
• uBoard or Mimeo: portable interactive whiteboard
• MyScript calculator app (Apple or Android): freehand calculator (as opposed to buttons)
• Teamviewer, Reflector or Splashtop: allows you to show your tablet or phone on the projector, or control your computer from your tablet or phone.
• Dragonbox: "Secretly teaches algebra to your children!" - game app
• myimaths: tutorials, lessons and games
• Puffin and Flashfox: allows you to play flash videos on mobile devices
• fluidmaths: handwritten maths. Similar to MyScript calculator app in principle, but much more functional - algebra and graphing etc as well as simple calculations.
• Socrative and Poll Anywhere / Poll Everywhere: Running a quiz in class without a class set of clickers. Also check out these links: Embedding into Moodle / Embedding into Prezi
• Desmos (Browser): Graph functions, plot tables of data, evaluate equations, explore transformations. You can add sliders to graphs to change coefficients. Similar in functionality to Geogebra, but prettier
• Inspiration Maps: mind mapping. Useful for unit planning, or for students to do brainstorms etc, mindmaps to summarise a topic for revision
• Fraser Speirs: follow his blog for technology in education
• List Selector: select from a list. Useful for choosing student groupings etc. Please add your suggestions below for this one, the tool suggestions were flying thick and fast at this point of the discussion and I missed the other suggestions for how to use List Selector!
• thatquiz and quizlet: online quizzes. Create your own or use a pre-existing one.
• educreations (cross-platform browser, or iPad app) and showme (iPad only): collaborative whiteboard apps that allow you to record audio while writing/drawing. Useful for teaching students OR for students to create their own to share with fellow students.
• voicethread: recording voices to show working - particularly useful for collecting evidence for Numeracy portfolios, or for bridging the gap between students making observations and students writing observations (eg in Multivariate Statistics)
• quickkey: formative assessment tool - saves you hours of exit tests and populating rollbook spreadsheets!
• elevated maths: app for teaching maths. Free to download, $2.59 per topic as in-app purchases
• starter of the day: different starter for every day of the calendar year, or you can search for a starter on a particular topic
• btwaters.com - probability games
• Using clinometer apps in practical activities
• WolframAlpha app (Apple, Android, Kindle, Nook): Amazing. It knows everything and can calculate everything. Requires network connection.
• PocketCAS app (Apple only): CAS calculator. less powerful than WolframAlpha but works offline. Also good for a quick BEDMAS calculation that needs more than the built-in calculator
• Quick Graph app (Apple only): powerful graphing app. Does 2-D curves or 3-D surfaces. 

The Maths & Stats ICT Network has had a makeover! It has been rebranded as the Maths & Statistics ICT Community. While I like the mathematical connotation of the term "Network", I think that "community" is more appropriate for our group. Communities share together, make mistakes together and learn together. That's us 

There's also a new logo* for the community (to replace the generic grey man!), and a re-design of the community's VLN Group page. The aim of this was to make the group more accessible for new members and make the group identity more recognisable. The logo will be used throughout this site, in presentations/workshops, and as a logo link on other websites.

On another but related note, I'm planning to publicise this group at the NZAMT-13 conference next week in Wellington. I'm running a workshop on ICT in the Mathematics Classroom, and there are several other ICT and e-learning related workshops happening that week. Check out the Group calendar for more details. If you find yourself at the conference please come and say hi, I'd love to meet you/see you again! And of course please continue to share this group with your colleagues. 

*The new logo was designed by graphic designer Christy Butterick, check out her work here. I highly recommend her services!