Google Slides for ALL

Wow, another year has started already, and I'm trailing behind on some posts! I can't believe it! Coming into the new year, I want to focus on helping transform technology from "what it does" to "what it CAN do."

THIS WEEK - GOOGLE SLIDES!

While on the surface, Google Slides is great for presentations. You can add text, backgrounds, embed videos, add GIFs for a bit of animation, and easily include interactive questions through Add-Ons like Poll Everywhere and Peardeck.

What if you wanted to collaborate across the globe or the room? Google Slides allows many authors and a quick revision history for constant adjustments. So why would this tool not be perfect in the hands of students in classrooms?!

How can we transform this "presentation" tool into a something more?

1. Individual Task - Students utilize copy/paste to create combinations of ice cream scoops. This leads them to discover a pattern. This can be for 5th grade up to high school where the formal combinations formula is introduced. This task is based on Jo Boaler's tasks from YouCubed. This could be shared via Google Classroom where every student gets a copy. This encourages students to quickly visualize math while making observations. Lose the glue and scissors - lose the mess! Provide students individual feedback using the [Comments] feature.

Add a Bitmoji to make your tasks more personal!

2. Whole Class Task - Students look at 4 numbers or expressions to determine which one doesn't fit the pattern. Student select the slide color that matches the one they think doesn't belong, which allows the teacher to quickly view which one(s) the students picked the most. Since all students are editing the same Slides, encourage them to add a comment on another peer's slide to increase collaboration. Check out more puzzles on this site!

Use Master Slides to create templates for students!

3. Discussion Board - Students add a response slide to a prompt. You can add your bitmoji to show what you think of their response or have students do this. Encourage the use of comments to provide feedback from all peers. Use the Grid View to quickly see how many comments each slide has!

This is from an online PD, but same idea!

4. Graphic Organizers - Encourage lots of student reflection by quickly sending a graphic organizer to them. Each student can add a new one every time you need. Creating Master Slides allows them to pick from templates ready to go! This allows students to include images, text, links, and videos to synthesize what they've learned. Share it with students in Google Classroom so you can check progress and provide quick feedback. 

Want your own copy? CLICK THIS LINK!

Don't be afraid to see beyond the tech tool and try something new! Think outside the box, and challenge yourself to see new uses!

A "functional" Transformation

One of the biggest topics in a secondary mathematics class is function transformations (horizontal/vertical shift, compressions, stretches, etc.) Usually students will memorize the rules rather than understand the reasoning. I needed a way to enhance the lesson to allow students room to investigate these concepts and draw their own connections and conclusions - time to spice things up with technology!

Topic: Intro to Transformations

Essential Question: How can I transform ANY function?

Materials:

• Desmos Activity - Make a copy if you'd like to make some adjustments! (link)
• Student Notes - Google Slides (link) Click [Use Template] to make your own copy in your Google Drive.
• 1 device per 2 students - I recommend a Chromebook/computer.
• Recommendation: a Google Classroom to share the notes with each student.

Student Notes (Google Slides) Preview

Teacher Notes:

1. Assign the notes in Google Classroom where each student gets a copy.
2. Go to teacher.desmos.com. If you don't have one, create an account! I recommend with a Google Account to make the sign-in easier.
3. Open the Desmos Activity (Intro to Transformations) above. 
4. Click on the teal [Create Class Code]. This will need to be copied on Slide 1 in the Google Slides. This is how students will access the activity.

   

   Desmos Activity (Preview)

5. Students will partner up and bring their computer/Chromebook. Each student can login so that everyone answers the activity questions and can take screenshots to add to their Google Slides for their notes.
6. Encourage students to take their time exploring each transformation carefully. They may struggle understanding shifting left and right. I related it back to the distance formula - (x - 3) moves RIGHT 3, not LEFT. 
   
7. The Exit Ticket/Reflection piece is on Flipgrid. Create a TOPIC in Flipgrid where students can respond.
8. TIP: I created a topic for EACH UNIT in my class so that students could see how their questions and reasoning improved as the unit continued. 

My Reflection:

• Since the remaining of the year (and future mathematics courses) depended on this lesson, I felt strongly about student exploring it on their own. I tried teaching the rules one year and it only set them up for failure later. 
• I'm currently reading Shake Up Learning by the infamous Kasey Bell of Texas. In her first couple of chapters, she stresses the importance of integrating 21st century skills into as many lessons as possible - hence, shake things up! Students will be asked to analyze critically and shoving rules in their faces wasn't accomplishing this and was NOT preparing my students for their future careers. Careers where thinking on their own and creating their own connections would be a requirement.
• One of my biggest fears with "shaking up their learning" is that my students won't learn the concepts "correctly". What if they misunderstand and I don't catch it?! In my mind, technology allows me to assess formatively more often, therefore I can check understanding frequently. When my concern of "learning incorrectly" snuck in to my mind, I forced myself to remember Jo Boaler - making mistakes is a learning opportunity. Even more so, making mistakes will make their brains grow. 

A "Random" Post?

What is "random?" What does it mean mathematically to be "random"? Ask any person to pick a "random" number, and you'd most likely discover a pattern...wait, what?!

In Statistics and Probability units, students think they understand how random events work. They think they are sincerely selecting random numbers when asked. Funnily enough, this concept can be quite vague. In a previous post, I shared a lesson to help students understand the Law of Large Numbers.

In this one, I want to share a lesson where students understand when they pick a "random" number, it truly is NOT random. My goal with this lesson was for students to discover this definition by using inquiry. Students discover patterns and come to the conclusion that we don't actually pick "random" numbers - quite hilarious when you watch their eyes enlarge at the end of the activity.

Why I used technology:

• Students are engaged by using their own sense of intuition and curiosity. 
• Google Sheets allows them to quickly graph the the class information and find averages without the hassle of too many steps.
• Students log their observations on Google Slides, which they can reference later. 
• All links and materials students will need are in one location - Google Classroom on the Slides.
• Students choose which graph they want to use and explain their choice.
• Teacher can access all students Slides in Google Classroom and provide comments to students work without taking extra materials home.
• Students create their own examples instead of being handed them. To me, this allows the learning to be their responsibility.
• By sharing out definitions on a Padlet, students can share their thinking using various methods (text, picture, GIF, voice note, hand-drawn picture). 
• Students vote on their favorite definitions to develop the best one.
• Ultimately, this enabled the lesson to be student-centered!!

Topic: Simple Random Samples

Essential Question: How can I create a sample of items that is truly random?

Materials:

• Google Slides - Student Notes (1 per student)
• Google Sheet - Student Notes (1 per student)
• Google Doc - Federalist Paper word breakdown (1 for all classes)
• Padlet - create a padlet using the "Wall"style.
• Forensic Linguistic Article (link)
• Simple Random Sample Site (link)

Lesson Outline:

1. Warm Up: Students read a quick article about forensic linguistics using the link on Slide 1. They write what was surprising to them and how math was helpful in discovering the truth.
2. Activity: What is your Pseudonym? Students investigate the Federalist Papers to show how finding the average word length can determine authors. In this activity, students select their OWN 5 words they believe would best help them find the true average word length of the passage.
3. Students gather all the class data on the Google Sheet. Each student creates a graphical display of the data.
4. Now students use their calculator to select the 5 random words and calculate the average word length. Similarly, students gather all the class data and begin to compare the two rounds.
   
5. Expand: Students expand on their knowledge by investigating what a "simple random" sample is and create their own definitions to share on a class Padlet. 
   
6. Encourage students to vote on the definitions they believe are the best. Ask students to find pictures online as well or draw something they can take a picture of and post. 
7. IDEA: Have students grab a partner and submit one answer per team. If you want to keep their names, the definition that the class likes the most could win some prize?
8. Exit Ticket: As a closer, students fill out a Frayer Model with the formal definition, a picture, an example, and a non-example.

Take-Aways:

• When students developed their own definition, they could remember the concept at a deeper level throughout all the units following.
• Gather their examples (from Google Classroom) for the next day as a practice activity. Have the students organize the examples into 2 categories (Good/Bad) to see what they've learned. Discuss examples that students had difficulty classifying.
• Introduce other sampling methods as a follow-up activity. Students can compare and contrast the various methods and when to use each one.
• Students can find articles where simple random sampling has been used or why it was not used. 
• Check out the Mythbusters clip below where they check if yawning is actually contagious! Did Adam and Jaime use a Simple Random for their experiment?!

Challenging our PD!

After reading Chapter 8 of Carl Hooker's Mobile Learning Mindset (for coaches), I had lots of ideas for our professional development - mainly interactive learning challenges.

These challenges involve "no direct training on actual technology and apps" but "every challenge requires technology" (82). Teachers are organized into teams and there are various challenges throughout the day/conference/time. Teams all have a teacher who is considered "high tech" as well. The example Carl provided had 10 TOTAL challenges that teams could pick from varying in tasks: create..., listen..., draw..., eat..., etc. I think it would be cool to have teachers submit their challenges either on a Padlet or even through a Google Form (that way all the links are in one spreadsheet). His argument is that if we desire our teachers to create a student-centered lesson, why not model this in our professional development?! 

Some concerns that I will address with my team are:

1. How can we share new, up-coming apps to teachers?
2. How can we support teachers who would like the one-on-one tutorial?
3. How can we empower our teachers to create something similar if they believe it "takes too long to make"?
4. Could we run these challenges (one per semester) for teachers to earn PD hours?
5. Could we have teachers pair with other campuses? Create a Google Classroom for all these challenges?

Created in Canva

One of my favorite parts of the book that caused me to pause and reflect was The Learning Pyramid. It made me breakdown previous sessions that I've provided and I came to the conclusion that a lot of my sessions were more passive - OH NO!! I think when we create PD that is more passive, teachers may not see the actual value of the technology or ideas that we present. We aren't providing them time to play, create, and brainstorm with their peers about what we're showing them! How can we expect them use this technology effectively if we don't provide them this time?!?

Based on Chapter 9-10, I have some additional thoughts moving forward, especially since our Elementary schools will be getting class sets.

• Provide opportunities for parent education/parent nights to address concerns
• Promote the learning of every technology staff member - how can I continue growing in my coaching skills and my technology competence?
• Identify staff members that have a desire to incorporate technology meaningfully by meeting with admin and instructional coaches
• Create campus-specific PD opportunities ('Appy Hours)
• Continue using FutureMe to send monthly goals and reflection questions throughout the year.

My BIGGEST take-away from this book: MODEL WHAT YOU PREACH!

My #BookSnaps

So how many licks...?

Everyone knows the famous question that's plagued children and adults for millenia...

How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie center of a Tootsie Pop?

One of my absolute favorite lessons in AP Statistics was the Tootsie Pop Lab. This lab emphasizes how to estimate the ACTUAL average amount of licks it takes to get to the center. Will this question ever be answered!? Non-Statisticians would tell you "nah", but the real Statisticians would use inference mathematics. In this realm, we can get pretty close to the actual answer by providing a range of possible answers that could be true - what Statisticians call a Confidence Interval.  

A big idea running through the veins of Statistics is the idea of an unknown parameter - the ACTUAL population value. Example questions we could answer that have these unknown parameters would be...

1. What proportion of the world is covered in water?
2. What is the average life expectancy in the United States?
3. What is the average number of books teens read?

Clearly they were into it!

Clearly, it would be a challenge to find the ACTUAL percentage of the world covered in water or the actual average life expectancy, but we can get reallllllly close by taking sample measurements and drawing conclusions from there - i.e. finding a statistic! 

In Statistics, it's about getting on the dart board - not the bull's eye!

This lab teaches students this very idea! We may never really know the answer, and THAT'S OKAY! Using inference to draw conclusions is what mathematics can yield - and even better, we can provide plausible answers! It's a rare glimpse into the power and insight that only mathematics can provide. 

Activity: Tootsie Pop Lab

Essential Question: 

How can I estimate the true average amount of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

Materials:

• Tootsie Pop Presentation - Google Slides (click Use Template for your own copy!)
• Tootsie Pop Analysis - Padlet (click Remake if you want to use it!)
• Student Notes - Google Sheet (click [Make a Copy] and now it's in your Drive!)
• Flipgrid - create 1 topic in Flipgrid where students can post their reflection asnwers

Possible Student Google Sheet

Provide students with the directions about licking their lollipop and remind them to lick in the SAME SPOT. You'd be surprised how into it your students get. I recommend putting them in partners, especially if you have a student who doesn't like lollipops.

As students begin to find their center, have each student enter in their number of licks on the Google Sheet. I highly recommend using Google Classroom to help you share information with students. You'll be sharing the Sheet, Flipgrid, and Padlet with them.

Teacher Presentation (other slides included)

PRO TIP: In Google Sheets, type "=" to get the formulas to work. For example, "=average(...)" and then students can select all the trials at once. It works similarly for the others.

Take-Aways:

• The "homework" for the evening is not practice problems at all! It's all about reflecting on what they discovered in class. Students recalled previous information to see how it fits in to their new content.
• Students LOVE candy (surprised about that?)
• Students enjoyed working with REAL DATA! It's not made-up numbers from a textbook or internet. It was personal. They were the data.
• Putting them in partners helped them find formulas in Google Sheets quickly and allowed them to process their ideas out loud.
• Why I used Padlet: helps students collaborate all at once in an easy way. Students can add voice notes, drawings, text, links, and photos for everyone in the class to see. This allows students to express their learning in a variety of ways that best fits them.
• Why I use Flipgrid: Students can post their reflection questions after the lessons and hopefully hear from other students. This way, students can respond to each others questions and really utilize peer feedback. This develops a community in the classroom, because we are all learning together.

Interested in the answer my students found? Check it out!

Before my district had Chromebooks for every student, I used Fathom to gather all of the data from my classes last year. Here is what we've discovered!

My students were really surprised that both classes had an average close to 330 licks.

Our Class Average amount of licks: 333.629 licks

My Class Data (2016)

A New Mindset

In one of my book studies that I'm participating in, I'm forced to reconsider the way mathematics is approached in the classroom. Dr. Jo Boaler is a professor at Stanford University for Mathematics Education. Her passion involves helping math teachers ACTUALLY TEACH mathematics. She strives to encourage teachers to move away from "sit and get" styles to pattern-investigation methods.

"When textbooks introduce only the simplest version of an idea, students are denied the opportunity to learn what the idea really is." Dr. Jo Boaler from Stanford University

What I'm reading

She is breaking down the wall and suggesting new, innovative ways to improve EVERY student's success in maths. She does not support the idea that you have a "maths" brain. She explores various research studies that show any student can learn maths if taught using some of her strategies which can include:

• Show examples and non-examples of definitions
• Rethink homework assignments to be reflection based instead of problem based
• Have students explore different methods and compare and contrast
• To reinforce concepts, have students use the concepts in different ways
• NO memorization - but utilize BOTH sides of the brain
• REMOVE timed-testing and math facts

I know what you're thinking...how can I do this? How can students learn maths if I don't show them the best methods and those precious shortcuts?! 

One of my toughest lessons in Algebra was Completing the Square. Students didn't understand for one thing, why it was even called that! They couldn't remember "all the steps" and couldn't make a connection what was really happening. Students memorized the steps and continued on their year which eventually lead to a brain dump to make room for the next memorization event.

Jo discusses the idea of "compression" in our brains. She explains, "when you learn a new area of mathematics...it takes up a large space in your brain." Once you play with ideas and dig deep, you can "file" them away and "compress" them. My biggest "Ah-ha!" moment was when she states, "Notably, the brain can only compress concepts; it cannot compress rules and methods." 

This allowed me to re-create my lesson on Completing the Square utilizing Algebra Tiles to help students explore the concept and build their own connections. If you've never used Algebra Tiles, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Student Notes (Google Slides)

Students build the polynomial using the tiles to literally make a square and determine how many 1's would it take to "complete" it. Throughout the process, students are reflecting on their learning and creating their own solving steps. For the extension exercise (i.e. homework), they will discover the Quadratic Formula! WHAAAA?!!?! Additionally, they will respond on a Flipgrid about their learning.

Student Reflection assignment

Materials:

• Notes: Complete the Square (1 copy for each student) - Google Slides
• Khan Academy Video (already in slides)
• Flipgrid: Create a Quadratics Topic for students to post their thinking
• Bitmoji: Students add bitmojis on their exercises to show how they feel

My Take-Away: 

Every student felt successful learning this new method. I had students make connections to other topics (graphing quadratics using the vertex) and even preferred this method OVER factoring! I couldn't believe the positive energy that was occurring and for once, the students were the ones doing the thinking! I became a guide for the day and my students didn't feel the need to have 20 identical problems for homework. 

Questions you could ask them for reflection exercises (consider using Flipgrid):

1. What kind of number for "b" makes completing the square easier? Explain your thinking.
2. What do you think would happen if "a" is not 1?
3. Do you think this method could work every single time? Defend your position.
4. Is there a time that this method works better than another? Explain by creating your own example.
5. Compare this method with factoring.

Taking a Chance!

Taking a chance on lessons can bring about anxiety...even more so when it's a concept that students struggle with based on your experience. This is how I felt constantly when teaching probability.

Probability is not just the science of chance but also the science of overthinking - at least in my students' eyes. They could understand visually what was occurring, but throw in expected value, standard deviations, random variables, and the eyes begin to aggrandize.

Instead of fighting the uphill battle of "why use these formulas" and the "why did you subtract from 1?" questions, I chose a different approach and created an activity going back to the probability basics - throwing some die around and making some "money".

Sample Student Work

Activity: Bunko! 

Rules of the Game: Bunko is a game of 3 colored die. Based on what the students roll, you could receive "money". Assume that the die are fair.

• If you roll the dice and end up with exactly one die showing a “1”, you win $1.00.
• If exactly two dice show a “1”, you win $2.00.
• If all three dice show a “1”, you win $21.00.
• If all three dice show the same number (any number from 2 to 6) you win $5.00.
• Any other outcome results in $0.00. 

Materials:

• Activity: Bunko - Google Sheet (1 per student)
• Activity: Bunko - Google Slides (1 per student)
• Use this handout if your devices are limited (1 per student)

Concepts Addressed:

• Expected Value/weighted averages
• Combining Random Variables (multiple games)
• Law of Large Numbers

Student Directions:

1. Play 30 rounds of Bunko, recording your answers on the Google Sheet.
2. Determine how much money you would win and record it. Watch your counts begin to fill in!
3. Open the Google Slides and begin answering your questions.
4. Gather all the CLASS data and enter that on your 2nd Tab. You will watch the class counts fill in!
5. Create a graphical display of the class data for your Google Slides.
6. Go to the Google Slides and answer the remaining questions with a partner.

Teacher Prep: Assign the Google Sheet and Google Slides through Google Classroom where "each student gets a copy."

Student's Google Slides! Don't have Google Classroom? Change the link from ".../edit" to ".../copy" and share it with them.

TakeTake-Aways:

Even though throwing dice can seem trivial, students surprised me by getting so excited! They grasped the concepts at a deeper level and performed stronger on their quiz. Perhaps sharing candy for students who had the most amount of money, least amount of money, and which student had the most significant counts??

At the end, they would want to play more games and determine further probabilities! I used this idea and created a probability game day, where they gathered the experimental probabilities and calculated the theoretical probabilities at home. 

Possible Extension for AP Students: Have students run a chi-squared goodness of fit to determine if their individual data was significant using the theoretical probabilities they made on the handout.

Overall, I was thrilled to take a chance and have the students play a game rather than going through additional examples from their textbook. They were more engaged, required to think critically and make connections, and most importantly, they developed a stronger foundation of probability that made the rest of the unit smoother.

"Spreading" the Word

For this entry, I would like to "spread" the word about utilizing Google Sheets in any math course that has students measuring data. For me, it was in my Statistics course. It's a powerful tool that not just allows students to enter data but to analyze it in a way that communicates a story. In Statistics, my biggest push for students was to reach beyond the numbers and include some juicy context in their solutions.

If a student shared out an answer of "10" with eagerness, I would give a warm smile and then probe his answer...

"10? Do you mean 10 squirrels? 10 cakes? 10 Jacobs? What's the 10 mean?!" 

I would get a pause from, let's call the student Jacob, and would encourage a more exact answer that is more meaningful. A number is meaningless without context to give it meaning. 

I created this lesson for an AP Statistics course to review not only Chi-Squared Goodness of Fit tests, but also as an introduction into Google Sheets. If you're just wanting the Google Sheets, feel free to snag just that!

Lesson: Intro to Google Sheets

Essential Question: 

How can I utilize Google Sheets to create a meaningful analysis of data?

Materials:

• "Intro to Google Sheets" Teacher Presentation (Google Slides)
• Google Sheets 101 Reference for students (Google Slides)
• AP Stat: Statistical Rainbow Activity (Google Slides)
• About You! Survey (Google Form)

I Do (sorta...not really): This lesson involves students in every phase.

Begin class with students filling out a Google Form so that you can use real data in the activity. While they're filling out their answers, start this absolutely hilarious video clip from "That 70's Show" where a father and son are having a brief...misunderstanding?...of Statistics. Feel free to emphasize the importance of communication in any math course. 

We Do: 

When you're ready, share the "Responses" sheet from the Form with students so that everyone gets a copy using Google Classroom or by changing the sheet URL to ".../copy" instead of ".../edit". Students will open the "Google Sheets 101" reference guide. Walk through the following with students:

1. Creating a graphical display (pie chart, histogram, bar chart)
2. Calculating summary statistics (average, median, standard deviation, quartiles, min, and max)
3. Apply conditional formatting to highlight desired values
4. Apply alternating colors so that the rows are more distinct (plus, who doesn't like a splash of color in their spreadsheets?

You Do: 

Provide each student with one bag of snack-sized Skittles. 

1. Students will pour out their bag, organize by color, and then record their counts on a new tab on the same Google Sheet. 
2. Share "Statistical Rainbow" with the students via Google Classroom where "all students can edit". This activity is a collaborative so that students can comment on other's slides when they are finished adding their own. 
3. Students will create two slides (which are templates already made).
4. Click [Present] when you are ready to go over it as a class! Add comments to their slides later.

Other resources I used:

• Canva to make the backgrounds for my Google Slides. Use the 16:9 dimensions in Canva to make sure it fits perfectly!!