iLearn Technology

What it is: I love virtual worlds that go beyond just play and incorporate learning opportunities.  MinyanLand is a virtual world where students get to play games and make friends while they learn about earning, saving, spending and giving.  Best of all, it is free to use!  Students begin their time in MinyanLand with $50,000 in MinyanMoney and a condo.  They can visit the ATM in the MinyanLand bank to invest their money.  Each time students visit, they can check to see if their balance has gone up or down.  Students can earn more MinyanMoney by playing fun games, or doing real life chores or classroom jobs to collect a virtual allowance.   Students can  use their MinyanMoney to buy things for their home, add rooms, and move into a new neighborhood.

MinyanLand has it’s own newspaper called the MinyanLand Journal, it will keep students up-to-date with what is new every day.  Students can play games where they practice their math skills and test their knowledge about money.  Games include a Lemonade Stand, Guitar Mayhem, Paper Route, Concentration, Balloon Quiz, Fill in the Face, Fill in the Name, Catch the Money, Word Search, Money Sorter, Cluedoku, Boo Blvd., Where Did You Get That Money?, and Quiz Boxes.  Students will need to keep their virtual character healthy by fueling up at Ollie’s Diner.

The characters in MinyanLand are fun and varied, there is Hoofy the Bull, president of the bank; Boo the Bear, a retired dot-com millionaire; Daisy the cow, executive producer of MinyanLand’s TV station; Cassidy the Bear, a school teacher; Sammy the Snake, an administrator in City Hall; and Snapper the Turtle, the go-to guy in town.

MinyanLand is a fun way for students to learn about and interact with economic and financial concepts.  The economic system in MinyanLand can even take advantage of real-life pricing of general goods and services.  Students are encouraged to charitably give within MinyanLand.  The idea is to offer every child the opportunity and platform to be financially literate.   MinyanLand is ideal for students in 3rd-5th grade but younger students would enjoy it as well.

How to integrate MinyanLand into the classroom: MinyanLand is such a fun way to work toward financial literacy in the classroom.  It offers students a virtual economy where they can practice real-world skills of buying, earning, investing, and giving.  I love the way that MinyanLand ties the real world to the virtual by allowing students to earn virtual MinyanMoney for real chores and jobs.

Registering is free and easy enough for young students to register themselves.  A parent or teacher email address is optional for registration.  If students include a parent or teacher email address, they can earn MinyanMoney for chores or jobs that you assign.

MinyanLand is one of those sites that would be great as a year-long project.  Students can visit MinyanLand throughout the year in the classroom (and at home) to learn about money, investing, spending, earning, and the economy.  It is a natural fit in the math classroom where students are already working with money and numbers.  MinyanLand would be best in a lab setting where each student has access to a computer.  If you don’t have a lab for students, use classroom computers as a learning center.  Students can visit the center throughout the week to interact in MinyanLand.

Tips: Even if you don’t want to use the virtual money in class, consider letting parents know about the opportunity to tie household chores to learning.  Students can play in class and earn virtual money at home.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using MinyanLand in your classroom!

What it is: This has got to be one of my new favorite videos on YouTube.  I ran across this video and tweeted about it a few weeks ago, but felt that it deserved a blog post.  Doodling Stars (above) is a stream of conscious video about doodling in math class instead of  learning about factoring.  As the video unfolds, you quickly realize that she has learned all about factoring through her doodles.  I would have connected in some major ways to this video when I was in school (maybe that is why I like it so much now), it would have given me that “wait that was math?” moment.  Doodling Stars is a video by Vi Hart who has a blog where she has other great math videos.  Her other videos include: Binary Trees, Snakes + Graphs, Infinity Elephants, and sick number games. Explore the blog a little further and you learn that ViHart is serious about her math.  In addition to videos she has mathematical foods, ways to play with balloons as mathematical models, paper instruments (relating music to math), music boxes, bead work, and a variety of other math/music resources.  Vi describes herself as a mathemusician, dig into her blog and you will know why!

How to integrate Doodling Videos into the classroom: Math shouldn’t be a subject confined to a textbook, seen only in terms of equations and functions.  I think I was in college before I figured out that math was all around me.  I had truly never made the connection to the formulas I was learning and their applications in real life.  Oh sure, there were the “If you left Denver at 1:05 pm driving an average speed of 63.2 miles per hour and arrived at another point 12 hours later how many miles have you traveled?” But really? That is not real world…I have NEVER calculated any sort of trip that way, and anyway, now there is an app that will give me all of that information if I really want to know.  If someone had told me that math was in my doodles, in the music I listened to, in patterns of nature?  Now that is something I want to explore more.  I’m sure you have students who have never made the connections between the formulas they are learning and the applications that are all around them.  These videos will have them visualizing math in a whole new way.  Dig a little deeper into Vi’s blog and share her math foods, balloons, and paper instruments.  See if your students don’t start viewing math differently!  Use Vi’s blog as inspiration for your next math lesson.  Use the videos to help introduce or reinforce concepts, or have students complete balloon math models.

Tips: If you can’t access YouTube at school, use a tool like Kick YouTube or Keepvid to download the video for offline viewing.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Doodling in Math Class Videos in your classroom.

What it is: Sumdog math is a site with an outstanding collection of math games covering over 100 numeracy topics and split into 10 levels.  The games are free to play for home and school math practice.  Sumdog games can be used as an engaging anticipatory set for mental math, or to reinforce a specific math topic.  The games can be played individually or in multi-player mode.  Teachers can create school accounts and upload classes to the program.  For a low-cost school subscription you can also have detailed class and student reports, set up class competitions, and set a minimum level for a class.  The free features of this site are more than enough to get your class having fun interacting with math.  With 100 numeracy topics, you are bound to find games to help your students practice exactly the skill they are working on.  Topics range from ordering numbers, addition, subtraction, doubling, rounding, multiplication, and division, to positive and negative numbers, advanced number sequences, prime numbers, and adding and subtracting negative numbers.  Each game asks targeted questions based on the level chosen, provides immediate feedback to students based on their answers, allows students to review any questions they got wrong and lasts about a minute.  Multi-player games let students compete against their class or students online worldwide, and provide an option for playing solo or against the computer.  Students can play athletics where they sprint against players worldwide to get the most questions correct; Street Racer where they are head to head in a car race against other players to cross the finish line first, Alien Invaders where students compete against another player to see who can survive the longest against alien invasion; Penalty Shootout where students compete against another player in a soccer penalty shootout of math questions; Tennis Tie-break where students trade volleys with a real opponent; Talent Show where they answer questions correctly to please judges in a talent show (think American Idol); or Canal Clear Up where students clean up trash from a canal by matching questions to answers.

How to integrate Sumdog into your curriculum: Sumdog is a fun way for your students to practice mental math.  The 60 second time limit of each game makes it a great math center activity.  If you have one or two computers in your classroom, students can sign into their account, choose their level and practice mental math for 60 seconds; when they are finished with the game, the next student can rotate into the center.  In a computer lab or 1-to-1 classroom setting, students can save and track their progress as they practice with a variety of games.  Sumdog is a welcome break from timed worksheet exercises and flash cards.  It lets students compete with kids around the world in a safe environment while helping them with faster number recall.

Tips: Don’t forget to tell parents about Sumdog, they are always looking for new ways to help their kids with math fact practice.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Sumdog in your classroom!

What it is: MathMovesU is an interactive virtual world where middle school students can interact with algebra, geometry, decimals, fractions, and word problems through topics they are passionate about like sports, music, and fashion.  As students navigate through MathMovesU they will encounter math problems delivered through games, polls, and fun facts.  The site is a great supplement to curriculum and will help students practice and improve their math skills in a fun, engaging manner.

How to integrate MathMovesU into the classroom: MathMovesU is an innovative approach to math practice that shows kids how math is used in real life.  As students explore the MathMovesU virtual world they will collect points by discovering math and tracking solutions.  This site truly encourages students to discover more, dig deeper and think critically about math.  Start your own MathMovesU class competition for the school year where students work to earn the most points.  MathMovesU is a great alternative to worksheet practice.  It is best to use MathMovesU in a one to one scenario where each student has their own computer to work on.  If a one to one experience isn’t possible, use classroom computers as a center.  Throughout the year students can rotate through the center to earn points and practice.

Tips: MathMovesU needs a robust network, the site is highly interactive but can crawl if you have a lab full of students accessing it at once.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using MathMovesU  in your classroom.

What it is: Rags to Riches takes Lemonade Tycoon to a whole new level with simulated business.  In Rags to Riches, students are working to make their band a success.  Students play the part of a new band going on tour with a few new songs.  As they play the Rags to Riches game simulation, students must make decisions about what the band should do.  They have to decide which cities are best for them to play in, what venues to play, how much money to spend on publicity and how much to charge for tickets.  Students start out with $100 and must make wise decisions to continue in the simulation.  When they run out of money, the game ends and they must start again.

How to integrate Rags to Riches into the classroom: If you teach students like mine, breaking out Lemonade Tycoon in the classroom is met by cheers from some and with eye rolls by others who are “way too cool” for a lemonade stand.  For those students, Rags to Riches is in order.  The premise of the game is the same, but instead of selling lemonade, students are working to take their band to super star status.  This is a great game for teaching students about business, economics, and money.  This game is really best played in a computer lab setting where each student has access to their own computer, but if you don’t have that luxury, it could also be played as a class with an interactive whiteboard or projector-connected computer.  If you are playing as a class, give each student a roll in the band and set up rules together about how business decisions will be made.  After the simulation, come together as a class and talk about what decisions had the best outcomes and which led to downfalls.

Tips: Don’t hit your back button while you are in the simulation or your game will start over.  This is an important tip to pass on to students!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Rags to Riches in your classroom.

What it is: Crypto Kids is a website created by the National Security Agency all about creating and breaking codes.  This is a fantastic critical thinking website that also taps into math, linguistics, engineering, and analyzing skills.  I found Crypto Kids while I was hunting for an activity for students to learn more about codes as part of our Treasures reading series.  Crypto Kids turns out to be an excellent site for all elementary classrooms.  Students learn all about cryptology, the National Security Agency, and ciphers.  Students get the chance to meet the characters of Crypto Kids which include: Crypto Cat, Decipher Dog, Rosetta Stone, Slate, Joules, T. Top, and the leader CSS Sam.  Students can play logic games to test out their code breaking skills.  There are three levels of game play beginner, intermediate, and advanced.   As students play games, they will learn Morse Code, complete brainteasers that involve math and logic, create their own cipher machines, crack Yardleygrams and cryptograms, and learn some words in different languages.  Students can then learn more about careers that use cryptograms and code breaking at the National Security Agency.

How to integrate Crypto Kids into the classroom: Crypto Kids is packed full of thinking and logic games and activities, many of which involve mathematical problem solving.  Crypto Kids games and activities are a great way to get your students thinking critically before math class.  Put one of the brain teasers up on the projector connected computer or interactive whiteboard for students to solve as a warm up activity.  Crypto Kids games are short enough that they could be used as a math center activity on classroom computers.  Students can visit the center in pairs or small groups and work on solving cryptograms together.  The Yardleygrams are stories that must be solved, these are fun to solve as a whole class.

Since I was using this site to build background knowledge about codes with my students, we focused on what secret codes were, how they were used, and cracked some codes for practice.  As an extension activity, I had students read the descriptions of the characters on Crypto Kids and write a short story about the character.  These turned out great!  Students have to use the character qualities that are written and craft a story about the character, paying attention to how they think the character would act and what special skills they could use to solve a problem.

Tips: Check out the Teacher/Parent section of the site for some additional resources.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Crypto Kids in your classroom.

What it is: Danica McKellar (also known as Winnie Cooper of The Wonder Years) has written a book called Math Doesn’t Suck.  Danica makes her love for math contagious and helps middle school girls to realize that Math Doesn’t Suck.  On the Math Doesn’t Suck website, students can take a fun quiz called “Do You Hide Your Smarts (especially around guys)”, access a full solution guide to accompany the Math Doesn’t Suck book, learn more about the book, and get news and book signings.  

How to integrate Math Doesn’t Suck into the classroom: There is a large population of girls (particularly in middle school) who believe that they are no good at math, they have already convinced themselves that girls are not as good at math as boys.  They may believe that it isn’t cool or fashionable to be good at math.  Danica aims to change these perceptions with her fun book Math Doesn’t Suck. If you teach girls in middle school math, start the year off with the “Do You Hide Your Smarts” quiz.  It could give you great insight to what your girls believe about themselves in relation to math.  Start a book club or assign Math Doesn’t Suck as reading to start your year.  The book is a fun read that girls will connect with.   Help transform your students perceptions of math and begin the year with girls who believe that they can be successful and good at math.  The book includes

• A unique Troubleshooting Guide to help students get “unstuck” and overcome their biggest challenges
• True stories from Danica’s own life as a terrified math student, confident actress, and everything in between
• A math horoscope, math personality quizzes, real-life testimonials, and more!

Tips: In the trouble shooting section, students will find solutions to these common math problems:

• “Math bores me to death.”
• “When it’s time to do Math, I get scared and try to avoid it.”
• “I get confused and lost during class.”
• “I think I understand something, but then I get the wrong answer in my homework.”
• “At test time, I freeze up and can’t remember anything.”

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Math Doesn’t Suck in your classroom.

What it is: Math-A-Thon is an excellent math site with a good cause.  “Math-A-Thon is a volunteer-based fundraising program for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The program includes a free math curriculum supplement for grades K-8 that students complete after obtaining sponsorships from family and friends.”  Students work on math and comprehension skills, age appropriate math problems while building empathy and character.  By practicing math, students can raise money and awareness for St. Jude patients who are battling cancer and various other childhood diseases.  In addition to the free curriculum and math fun books, Math-A-Thon has entertaining online math games and math character profiles.  The Numerators are a math superhero team that is made up of Minus, Symmetry, Octagon and Fraction.  The characters have math super powers that will help students as they solve problems in their Funbook and work at defeating evil robots.   Each character has a fantastic character description (these remind me of the characters on Grammaropolis). Games on Math-A-Thon include Add Like Mad, Subtraction Action, and Bubble Bugs.  Bubble Bugs is an enchanting game where students catch bugs inside bubbles, they practice counting, mouse control, and fine motor skills.

How to integrate Math-A-Thon into the classroom: Math-A-Thon is a website that will help get your students fired up and excited about math and helping others.  The games are available for play whether or not you sign up for the full Math-A-Thon challenge.  Students in kindergarten through eighth grade can work together to help other kids by working on their math skills.  Challenge your class or whole school to raise money for other kids using math as the vehicle.  Add Like Mad and Subtraction Action would be fun games for a math center on classroom computers or as a whole class game using an interactive whiteboard.  To play either game with the whole class, divide your students into two (or more) teams.  Team 1 lines up at the IWB, the first person in the line completes the first problem and then passes play to the next student in line relay style.  Teams try to clear the tiles in the least amount of time.  After Team 1 has a final time, Team 2 tries to beat it.  My students love this kind of friendly competition.

Use the Numerators team characters to learn about math concepts and vocabulary.  There are four members of the current team, encourage your students to add to the superhero team with additional math team members.  Students can create character profiles and back stories about their math operation superhero.  Students could create individual baseball trading cards of their math superhero team member.

Tips: Download a free Funbook sample, these are high quality math workbooks that will have your students problem solving and having fun with math.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Math-A-Thon in your classroom.

What it is: The name Edistorm is a mash-up of the name Thomas Edison and brainstorm, it is inspired by Edison’s idea factories.  Edistorm is an incredible brainstorming and collaboration tool that, on the surface, reminds me of Wallwisher.  Edistorm has some additional features and abilities that make it very useful in the classroom.  Just like Wallwisher, you brainstorm and collaborate using virtual sticky notes.  Edistorm gives you a place to organize ideas in a real-time interactive wall.  Virtual sticky notes can teach have their own color and can be organized in vertical or horizontal groupings.  Edistorms can be created independently or with others in a collaborative effort.  Edistorm features an idea bot that works at the bottom of the screen offering suggested ideas based on what students add to the sticky notes in the work space.  There are a variety of bots including a rhyming bot, thesaurus, and related words. Public and solo Edistorms are free to create, premium accounts are available for  private Edistorms.  

How to integrate Edistorm into the classroom: Edistorm offers an exceptional opportunity for students to brainstorm, collaborate, and group ideas.  Students can use Edistorm to brainstorm ideas for writing, research, for grouping ideas, and collaborating on group projects. Create an Edistorm for your students and ask them to group like ideas, sort, and expand on thoughts.  This could be done for any historical event, literature, science concept, and even phonics.  Students could practice spelling by typing out their spelling words along with a sentence or synonyms on sticky notes.  Then, they can group words by spelling pattern or common phoneme blends.  Create an Edistorm of sticky notes with English words and sticky notes with a foreign language word on them.  Students can work together to group words with their meanings.   In math, create Edistorms with word problems on one color of sticky note and answers on another set of sticky notes.  Students can work to create groups of problems and their solutions.  Edistorm can be used for whole class activities using an interactive whiteboard, the class can brainstorm together and collect ideas or use the grouping feature in an activity created by the teacher or students.

Tips: Edistorm requires an email address for sign up.  If you teach younger students, you may want to create classroom Edistorm sessions that you have control over.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Edistorm in your classroom.

What it is: Chess Kid is a fantastic way for kids to learn to play the game of chess and then practice their game against kids from around the world.   The Chess Kid environment is safe and secure for kids, students have no contact with strangers.  A parent or a teacher manages all access and friendships online and can easily monitor all activity.   On Chess Kid students learn the rules and strategies of chess and work to improve their game, memorization skills, patience, and sportsmanship.  Students can train with tactic puzzles and exercises, view video lessons, practice tactic against the computer, or read chess articles.  Chess games can be played online against other kids from around the world, in online tournaments, blitz chess, or against the computer.  

How to integrate Chess Kid into the classroom: Chess is a great game that is packed full of skills that help students in other disciplines such as math.  Students must use problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, deductive and inductive reasoning, and the ability to make accurate judgments and estimates as they play.  Chess makes for a great mental workout and develops skills necessary for solving other problems.  Chess Kid is a place where students can learn how to play the game of chess, and then practice through play with kids from around the world or the computer.  Chess Kid can be used with the whole class for lessons and learning the how-to aspect of chess on a projector or interactive whiteboard.  Students can then play on classroom computers, as a math center, or individually in a computer lab setting.

Tips: The American Chess Foundation published that chess can improve a child’s visual memory, attention span, spatial reasoning skills, capacity to predict and anticipate consequences, and the ability to use criteria to drive decision making and evaluate alternatives.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Chess Kid in your classroom.