money – Page 2 – iLearn Technology

Rags to Riches

July 5, 2010Kelly Tenkely8 Comments3695 views

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.

iboard: Shopping to a Budget

December 22, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment3073 views

What it is: Shopping to a Budget is another of iboard’s offering. Students are given a set amount of money to spend. They can choose to “purchase” a variety of candies to spend all of their money. This is a UK site so all of the coins are British (not US dollar). There are 3 levels of difficulty to choose from. With each level of difficulty, the amount to spend increases.

How to integrate Shopping to a Budget into the classroom: Shopping to a Budget helps students practice budgeting and counting coins. Shopping to a Budget gives students the opportunity to use and practice addition and subtraction. Students also practice using math language (“you’ve spent 10p, how much more to 27p? What is the difference?”) This is a fun little activity for practicing counting money, addition, and subtraction on the interactive whiteboard. Split students into teams and reveal the target numbers. Students can work within their teams to decide what their team would buy. Invite one team up to the board to demonstrate how they solved the problem. Other teams can offer ideas about how they solved the problem differently. Shopping to a Budget would also make a great practice center on classroom computers or in a computer lab setting.

Tips: iboard has a variety of activities for the interactive whiteboard that can be purchased. Shopping to a Budget is one of their freebie samples.

Leave a comment and share how you are using iboard: Shopping to a Budget in your classroom.

Math Nook: Counting Money

November 9, 2009November 10, 2009Kelly Tenkely5 Comments1830 views

What it is: Math Nook is a website with a collection of great flash based math games. Counting Money is a fun little game from this website. In this game students man a cash register and are given a target number to give change for. This game allows for multiple solutions. For example, if the target is ten cents, students could give a dime, two nickels, or ten pennies. Any of these answers would be considered correct. Target numbers are given in number and written form (0.10 and ten cents).

How to integrate Math Nook: Counting Money into the classroom: Counting Money would make a great math center on classroom computers. Students can take turns manning the cash register. Keep a class tally of the high score for this game and see how high the students can go. If you have an interactive whiteboard, students could take turns returning change. After the student at the board gives the solution, ask students what other coin combinations would have worked to solve the problem. You could also turn Counting Money into a whole class game by splitting your class into teams and keeping score separately.

Tips: Thanks to @cwebbtech for sending me the ad free version of this game! Update: The ad free version URL does not always work so I changed the links back to the ad supported version.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Math Nook: Counting Money in your classroom.

Number Nut

June 19, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2111 views

What it is: Number Nut is a site all about math. I love their catch phrase: “enough math can make anyone nutty”. This site certainly has enough math for that! Topics on Number Nut include: shapes and colors, numbers and counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, order of operations, dates and times, fractions, decimals, percent values, estimation and rounding, ratios, and money math. There is something for every math class here! Each topic gives an overview of the math concept (kind of like the break down students would find at the beginning of a new math chapter). This is followed by two interactives where students can practice their new found knowledge. Number Nut is standard aligned and has a great math glossary.

How to integrate Number Nut into the classroom: Number Nut is truly like an interactive math textbook, there are multiple pages for each concept and each page is followed by two interactive practice areas. I love this as an alternative to math textbooks because students get immediate feedback as they work. They know whether they have mastered the concept or need to keep working at it. With traditional math textbooks, a student doesn’t know if they understand a concept until they turn in their math worksheet and get it back a few days later full of red marks. Number Nut is good for teaching new math concepts on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector. Students can read along as you explain and demonstrate new math concepts. Then, students can practice on their own. Ideally, Number Nut would be used in a computer lab setting where every student is using a computer. This would allow students to work at their own pace and on the skills they need the most practice on. Number Nut could also be used as a math center where students take turns visiting and solving problems.

Tips: I learned about Number Nut from a tweet by @kellyhines she is full of great classroom resources and one of my favorite education follows! Number Nut does require flash so make sure that you have the appropriate flash plugins before using this site with your class.

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

Math Playground

October 8, 2008Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2649 views

What it is: As promised yesterday, today’s post is all about Math Playground. This is a great site packed full of games, videos, and puzzles all centered around math for elementary and middle school students. Math Playground features some great games touching on topics from money to graphing. The games are interactive and a fun place for students to practice those math concepts they are learning. The word problem sections are divided up by grade level, ensuring that your students are challenged at an appropriate level. The logic puzzle section contains some awesome online traditional logic puzzles (I love these!). The Math video section contains videos introducing students to math concepts (all I have used are very good). The Math Videos are generated after students submit a math question to be answered. Students can ask their own math question…who knows, their question may generate the next Math Video!

How to integrate Math Playground into the classroom: The more I use Math Playground with my students, the more I am convinced that no math class should be without it! Use the Math videos to help introduce or review concepts with your math class. Use the games and word problems as a center or whole class practice. The logic puzzles are fun to bookmark for year round problem solving and playing. We use the logic puzzles often on snow days or when students are finished with work early. Your students will enjoy the activities on Math Playground, my students often come to tell me the latest game or puzzle that they played at home. Voluntary math practice, what a concept!

Tips: Math Playground usually has one banner advertisement. As I have mentioned before, I use advertisements on websites to teach students about how to spot an ad and why sites feature ads.

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

WizIQ

August 26, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2121 views

What it is: WizIQ is a virtual classroom platform where you can teach and learn. You can teach for free or earn money teaching. The WizIQ is free to use, has no downloads (it runs in your web browser), and works on Macs, Windows, and Linux. WizIQ provides a place to find, share, or upload PowerPoints on educational subjects and topics. The sessions are intuitive to use and can be scheduled for individal students or a group. The virtual classroom provides a place to teach and learn live online. Everything launches in a few clicks with…NO downloads! With WizIQ you can network with students or teachers, send a personalized invite to your contacts right from WizIQ. Share educational content in the form of slideshows, pdf, and online. When you start a session with students, you have access to a shared whiteboard space, live audio, video, or both, flash file sharing, and text messaging. Sessions can be recorded and saved for students to view again and again.

How to integrate WizIQ into the classroom: WizIQ is a great place to start experimenting with virtual classrooms. It has a simple to use interface, requires no downloads, and is free. Record lessons that you are doing with your class so that they can go back and review the lesson online at their lesiure. This puts students in control of their own learing. Interact with students during live virtual sessions. WizIQ is also perfect for students who were absent, have a long term illness that prevents them from being at school, or students who know they will be attending your school for half of the year.

Tips: You can make money by setting up and teaching in a virtual classroom (and lets face it, we could all use a little more of that!) Your classroom will be visable by search engines and open to students from accross the world. Don’t let the technology scare you, this is simple to use (even my fellow elementary teachers can get in on this one!)

Leave a comment and share how you are using WizIQ in your classroom.

ict Numeracy Games

August 25, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment1902 views

What it is: ict Numeracy Games are created by educator James Barrett. These flash games are excellent for primary and beginning secondary elementary students to practice math. You will find game themes for number facts, counting, bridging through ten, time, shape and measures, greater than and less than, multiplication and rounding, money (this is UK money), addition, subtraction, odd and even, place values, doubles, and equivalence. Each math or numeracy theme has several games to play for practice. Each is interactive and has instructions for integrating the game into the classroom. All great ideas!

How to integrate ict Numeracy Games into the classroom: The ict Numeracy Games are perfect for use with an interactive whiteboard or projector and whole class instruction. Several of the games are also great practice for students working on individual computers. The games are all very engaging. They teach and provide practice for basic math skills. This is a great stop when you are looking for an interactive activity to practice a math concept. The descriptions next to the game are very helpful and you are bound to find new ideas for integrating technology into your classroom.

Tips: There are advertisements on this site but they are unobtrusive, your students probably won’t even notice. The games are high quality enough that this shouldn’t be a deterrent.

Leave a comment and share how you are using ict Numeracy Games in your classroom.

Moneyopolis

May 5, 2008May 5, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment17543 views

What it is: Moneyopolis is an awesome game for teaching kids money and math! Each math question in the game is correlated to specific standards for grades 6-8 (although I think the site can be used with 5th grade students very successfully as well). The Moneyopolis game tracks students progress via their “scorecard” for the game. There are some great additional site tools which include a budget gadget that helps students set financial goals complete with an online worksheet to help students keep track of spending habits, a library with articles and links to other sites focused on math and money, a glossary for students to look up unfamiliar words and phrases, and a calculator to help students calculate math problems.

How to integrate Moneyopolis into the classroom: Moneyopolis is the perfect way for teaching math and money skills in a way that will catch and hold your students attention. Students can go through the game during class at their own pace, play in groups to compete against one another during class, or as an extra-credit activity that can be completed outside of class. Students can go through the game section by section based on what lessons you are teaching, or all at once at the end of a unit. Since the game keeps track of each students progress, they will be able to exit the game and come back to work where they left off.

Tips: Work through this game in student mode before introducing to students…you will be entertained! The teacher section of this site has some great lesson plans to use with Moneyopolis. I learned about the site on Larry Ferlazzo’s blog and I have to say, it is a winner!

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

Technorati Tags: math, money, finances, budget

Hands on Banking

September 14, 2007October 5, 2007Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment1599 views

What it is: Hands on Banking is a free, fun financial education program that presents the basics of smart money management in an easy to use format game. Topics include budgeting, the importance of saving, bank accounts and services, borrowing money, establishing credit, investing, and more. The curriculum is appropriate for 4th through 12th grades.

How to integrate Hands on Banking into your curriculum: Use the Hands on Banking site as an extended learning activity for the economics or math classroom. Activities can be customized for each age group. The site works best in a computer lab setting because it takes time to get through the entire game. Use this activity at the end of an economics or money unit as a culminating activity.