Happy Pi Day! Well – almost. Pi Day is coming up on March 14 and I thought, “What could be a fun way to celeberate Pi Day with students?”

Enter…”Pi Day!” BreakoutEDU Digital!

The Topics:

In this BreakoutEDU, students will learn:

• About the number π.
• Trivia facts about the number π.
• About radius and diameter.
• How to calculate circumference and area.

Age/Grade Levels:

The above topics most relate to the 6th-8th grade CCSS Geometry standards.  However, I designed the game to be an introduction and contain very basic skills to allow more ages to participate, particularly students who have no knowledge of this topic.

Digital Tools Used:

In this BreakoutEDU, I have used the following digital tools and resources:

• Google Forms (of course!)
• Google Sites
• Google Drawings
• Hidden/Embedded Links
• Letter/Number Ciphers

Most of the BreakoutEDU requires students to answer problems on Google Forms but they do have to find the forms and/or break into the forms to solve the problems.

To access the “Pi Day” Breakout EDU Digital, click HERE.

Will you be celebrating Pi Day with your students? If so, what are some other ways that you celebrate this math-y day?!

It’s hard to believe that I am writing a blog post on techy ideas to start the school year strong.  Didn’t I just write a blog post on finishing the race strong?!

Nevertheless, the new school year is quickly approaching – like, in less than 48 hours.  Over the summer, I spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas for using technology to foster strong relationships and increase communication with parents and student to set a strong foundation for the school year.

Here are a few of my ideas:

#1: Personalize a Student Survey with Google Forms & FlipGrid

At the beginning of each school year, I have my students complete a “Student Survey” so I can get to know them.  In the survey, I ask questions to help me understand their academic ability, as well as their interests outside of the classroom.  It’s always been a great way to get to know my students.  The survey is created in Google Forms and is embedded to our classroom website.  I can view the results in Google Forms or in Sheets.  In the resources below, I have linked to the “view” form so you can experience it as a student, as well as a link to create your own copy.

One section that I added this year was a “Questions/Comments/Concerns” section that utilizes Flipgrid.  In this section, students will be able to go to our classroom grid and will respond to the following prompt:

Share any questions, comments, and/or concerns that you have about Math 8. Or, just share something fun! Remember, you can also view other student’s videos and comment.

Although I haven’t done this yet, I am hoping that it will open the door to some communication within our classroom.  In this Flipgrid, students can ask questions, comment on the classroom, share concerns, or simply share anything they want about their day.  In addition to this, students will also be able to view and respond to other students.  Overall, my goal is to increase communication and build a strong foundation for our classroom culture.

Resources:

• Student Survey Sample
• Copy of Student Survey

#2: Use Google Forms & YouTube to Create a Parent Survey

In the same way as the Student Survey, I have also created a “Parent Survey” for parents to complete in the first week of school.  In this form, I am able to gather parent contact information, ask questions about their student, encourage them to join Remind, and allow time to ask any questions and/or express any concerns.  In the resources below, I have linked to the “view” form so you can experience it as a student, as well as a link to create your own copy.

This year, I have added a couple of new features to the parent survey.  First, I have put in a section on photographic and video permissions, which also links to my blog and Twitter, so parents will better understand the purpose behind these permissions.  Second, I have created a YouTube video for parents that discusses the course, our classroom, and is a general introduction to the year.  For my Math class, my students are Honors students and I always want to create a strong line of communication since it tends to be a fast-paced and rigorous course.  In addition to this, I also want the opportunity to reach any parents that may be unable to meet or attend back-to-school night.

Again, my whole goal is to increase communication which, in turn, will create a strong foundation for a positive rapport and school year.

Resources:

• Parent Survey Sample
• Copy of Parent Survey

#3: Create a Remind Account to Increase Parent Communication

Remind is one of my favorite resources as a teacher.  Remind is a “communication tool that helps teachers reach students and parents.”  Basically, it is a safe and secure way to text students and parents information about the class without ever sharing personal contact information (i.e. phone numbers).  I started using Remind last year and it was a great way to send a quick message to parents if there was anything I needed to discuss.  As an example, if I saw that a student’s grade was dropping, I could send the parent a quick text.  If the student was upset or having a bad day, I could quickly inform the parent.  More importantly, I also found myself sending more positive notes to parents since I could quickly send messages through the app on my phone or my web browser.

This year, Remind is going to be (unofficially) mandatory for the parents of my students.  Obviously, if they do not want to join, I will not force them.  However, if they have not joined after two weeks, I will be personally calling parents to encourage them to join Remind.  Creating an environment of communication is crucial at the beginning of the year.

Resources:

• Remind

#4: Create an Interactive Classroom Syllabus with PearDeck

As I begin each school year, I provide my students with a paper (digital and/or physical) that contain classroom information.  I hesitate using the word “syllabus” but, in a sense, that is very much what it is.  And – it’s dreadfully boring to review.  However, there is some really good information to share with students and conversations that can be formed from it.

This year, I will still provide them with this information, but I want to integrate it into PearDeck.  I want to create a presentation that is interactive and engaging to students.  A presentation that asks the students question about what we have discussed, as well as opens the door for them to share their own ideas about how they would like to see their classroom structure.  Voice and choice are essential for student buy-in, so I want to use PearDeck in a way to introduce myself, the classroom, the course, and open communication among myself and my students.

Resources:

• PearDeck

#5: Review Classroom Information with BreakoutEDU

In the first week, the students are given so much information about what they can expect during the next year.  However…sometimes I worry that they do not always retain this information.  Again – it’s because it can be boring.

One goal I have this year is to create a BreakoutEDU Digital on the information my students receive in the first week – classroom and course information, school information, expectations, etc.  Not only would this be a fun end of the first-week activity, but it would also be a great way to solidify any important information that you would like students to remember.

Resources:

• Breakout EDU Digital

How do you use technology to foster relationships and increase communication at the beginning of the school year?  Share in the comments below!

To prepare for our end of the unit assessment, I assigned my students a BreakoutEDU Digital to review the concepts that we had covered throughout our Geometry unit.  Before I created the BreakoutEDU, I asked my students for ideas on the “theme” of the next BreakoutEdu.  One of the most interesting ideas that I heard from my students was to create a gameboard instead of a story – I loved it!

Enter…The “GeoWorld” BreakoutEDU Digital!

Little did I know, that the gameboard that I was creating aligned with Dee Lanier’s smashboard idea for his Google Innovator project.  Also, I encourage you to check out his smashboard idea in the EdTechTeam Blog: How to Smashboard.

The Storyline:

Unlike my other BreakoutEDU Digital activities, this one did not have a storyline.   At the beginning, it is a bit tricky because the Google Site is not organized as I have done in the past.  Instead, the students are given a series of choices (yes/maybe/no) that will lead them to the “gameboard”.  If they choose “yes”, they are immediately taken to the gameboard.  If not, the students are taken on a journey that…well, it basically leads them nowhere.  Once they get to the gameboard, students are challenged to answer a variety of Google Forms and see how they are all used together to break the code.  Certain spaces match other spaces, so these concepts and answers tend to go together.

In this BreakoutEDU, students will:

• Calculate the area of rectangles, triangles, circles, and trapezoids.
• Calculate the area of combined and shaded figures.
• Calculate the surface area and volume of three-dimensional figures.
• Calculate the missing angles of shapes.
• Use their knowledge of area to solve word problems based on real-life scenarios.

Digital Tools Used:

In this BreakoutEDU, I have used the following digital tools and resources:

• Google Forms (of course!)
• Google Sites
• Google Drawings
• Hidden/Embedded Links
• Jigsaw Planet
• EdPuzzle

Most of the BreakoutEDU requires students to answer problems on Google Forms but they do have to find the forms and/or break into the forms to solve the problems.

To access the “GeoWorld” Breakout EDU Digital, click HERE.

Final Thoughts:

At this point, I have made several BreakoutEDU Digital activities for my students.  Now, I want to put it in their hands.  Over the next few weeks, my enrichment groups will be working on building their own BreakoutEDU Digital on concepts that they have been taught during this school year.  Several groups have already started and it is amazing to see how quickly they catch on to all of the technology tools that they need to use.  I cannot wait to see what they create!

Enjoy the activity and feel free to send me some feedback!

A couple of weeks ago, my students were asking when we would have another BreakoutEDU Digital in our math classroom since the last one we had done was in early February.  Before you begin thinking that I don’t like BreakoutEDU Digitals, I have to tell you – I absolutely LOVE using BreakoutEDU Digital in our math classroom.  The students enjoy it, their engagement is at an all-time high, and they are able to review and practice material from class.  The only drawback is that it takes me a few hours to make and the last couple of months have been very busy.  So, last weekend I told myself I would sit down and build a new BreakoutEDU on reviewing area of shapes.

Enter…The “Escape the Dungeon!” BreakoutEDU Digital!

The Storyline:

When I create a BreakoutEDU Digital, I try to create a story that my students will find entertaining.  Usually, that means that I will put their names into the story to create a greater interest in seeing what happens to the characters.

In this story, King Ethan’s kingdom has been taken over by the evil Queen Delilah – can you save break King Ethan out of the dungeon and save the kingdom?

As you can see, this creates some great conversation between the students.  They love hearing that they and their friends are a part of the story.  Next year, I will probably go back and adjust the names to include the name of my new students to continue increasing student engagement.

Math Concepts Covered:

In this BreakoutEDU, students will:

• Calculate the area of rectangles, triangles, circles, and trapezoids.
• Calculate the area of combined and shaded figures.
• Use their knowledge of area to solve word problems based on real-life scenarios.

Digital Tools Used:

In this BreakoutEDU, I have used the following digital tools and resources:

• Google Forms (of course!)
• Google Drawings
• Hidden/Embedded Links
• Caesar Cipher
• Unicode

Most of the BreakoutEDU requires students to answer problems on Google Forms but they do have to find the forms and/or break into the forms to solve the problems.

To access the “Escape the Dungeon!” Breakout EDU Digital, click HERE.

Final Thoughts:

It doesn’t matter how many times we do a BreakoutEDU in our math classroom – the students still love it!  I love the engagement and the excitement as they solve the problems.

In addition to this, I saw a huge improvement in their knowledge of the material.  I had given my students a short quiz the week before and many students struggled.  After completing some in-class tutorials and our BreakoutEDU, nearly every student received a 70% or higher on the retake quiz that I offered.  It was a huge increase from the previous week.

One more thing…If you ever create a BreakoutEDU Digital, please make sure that you find someone to test it out for you.  I have to give major props to Aubrey Yeh (@Ms_A_Yeh) for testing out my BreakoutEDU.  If not for her, it would have been a hot mess the next day in class.  There were quite a few errors and permission issues that would have caused some problems for my students.  So – make sure you find those awesome people to test out your BreakoutEDU Digital if you create one for your students.

Enjoy and have a great day!

It’s been awhile since I have had the chance to sit down and build a new BreakoutEDU Digital, but my students were begging that I create another one for our current unit.  It’s amazing to see how much these students LOVE the BreakoutEDU Digital games that I have brought into the classroom.  As I’ve mentioned before, it is an excellent way to challenge students to think critically, collaborate, and communicate.

The focus of this BreakoutEDU is “Writing Linear Equations”, such as writing equations given slope/y-intercept, a point, two points, as well as rewriting linear equations.  Obviously, the content that is within each BreakoutEDU is critical to making it a meaningful and purposeful activity – but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have some fun when building it!  In addition to wanting to play another BreakoutEDU, my students really wanted to be characters within the story.  Everyone builds their BreakoutEDU Digital games differently, but mine always need a story to guide it.  In this story, the students are trying to “Save the Uber Driver” by helping him find the lost pickup times for his passengers.  Throughout the story, the students are introduced to a variety of characters (the passengers) that the Uber driver must pick up on time to save his job.

In addition to the story, I was able to incorporate a lot “edtechy” tools into this BreakoutEDU Digital.  Here are some of the tools that I used:

• Google Forms
• Google Slides
• Google Drawings
• Google Maps
• EdPuzzle
• Jigsaw Planet

To access this BreakoutEDU, click HERE.

Each time I build a BreakoutEDU Digital, I find myself getting more creative with the resources available online.  If I keep it the same each time, the students begin to get bored and the puzzles become easy to solve since they recognize the pattern.  However, if you are planning on building one, I suggest starting small and working from there.

As I presented on BreakoutEDU Digital a few weeks ago at the EdTech Team Summit in Pomona, many of the attendees to my session asked me how long it took to build it.  For myself, it takes two to three hours to build the BreakoutEDU Digital, including designing time.  It’s a process, but it does take time.  After awhile, it starts to get quicker and easier, but try to look past how long it takes to build it.  Look into how much your students enjoy the activity and learning/practicing the concepts from the subject area.  Once you do that, you will see that it is worth it and the amount of time it takes to build one does not matter.

If it’s good for kids, if it inspires and engages them – just try it!

Here We Go Again!

Digital BreakoutEdu is my student’s favorite thing – hands down!

Recently, I did a classroom survey to determine their favorite activities in Math class and this was at the top of the list.  They love the competition and the feeling that they get when they “unlock a code”.  More importantly, they enjoy the Math behind it!  A couple of days ago, one student said, “I really like those activities. It’s so fun I even forget that I am doing Math!”

Not only do my student’s love the activity but it promotes critical thinking skills and content knowledge – the best of two worlds!

SoCal Road Trip Digital BreakoutEdu

In this Digital BreakoutEdu, the students will be helping the Kelly family find the destinations of their road trip.  The content focus of this Breakout is on “Applying the Properties of Exponents”, specifically on using the product and power rule of exponents.

UPDATE (1/31) – I have created two versions of this Digital Breakout.  The “easy” version includes basic exponents and the “difficult” version includes properties of exponents.

Click HERE (Easy) or HERE(Difficult) for the link or click on the image above.

If you use this in your classroom, I would love to hear some feedback on how it went – Enjoy!

Enter Twitter…! (Have I mentioned how much I love Twitter?)  On Twitter, I was able to find an AMAZING Digital BreakoutEdu that was ready to go.  The BreakoutEdu was designed by Tom Mullaney (@TomEMullaney) and his colleagues at Gravelly Hill Middle School.  Click HERE to check it out!

The discovery of this Digital BreakoutEdu came at just the right time.  Our Math department had a planning day, so myself (I teach Math 7 Honors) and the 8th Grade Honors teacher spent about 15-20 minutes trying to “breakout” of this challenge.  It was a lot trickier than we thought it was going to be.  In fact, we needed a few hints (Thank Tom!).  However, it was so important for us to go through the process before introducing this to our students.  After we were able to “breakout”, both of us talked about how fun it would be to combine our two Honors classes and create a giant Digital BreakoutEdu challenge.  So…That’s what we did!

We were able to combine 2 of our classes, since we each teach AVID at different times so not all of our classes lined up.  We had the students create teams of 4, which had to include two 7th grade students and two 8th grade students.  We gave them about an hour to work together to complete the BreakoutEdu and walked around offering hints to help the students.

Here is what we were able to take away from this experience:

• Our students have strong content knowledge, but this doesn’t mean that they have strong critical thinking or deductive reasoning skills.
  • Our students have a strong foundation in combining like terms, using the distributive property, and solving equations.  However, it took them the entire hour to work on the Digital BreakoutEdu.  They are so used to being told exactly what they need to do.  Giving them a complicated puzzle, such as a Digital BreakoutEdu, taught them to slow down, think about what they are being asked to do, and to think outside of the box.
• Some of our students have perseverance, some of them do not.
  • We definitely had mixed reactions from our students during the activity.  For the most part, all of them really enjoyed the challenge.  Every time that the Google Form told them they had a correct answer, they were thrilled!  However, some of our students found this challenge to be frustrating and overwhelming, particularly my 7th grade students.  Again, our students are used to being told what to do in Math and how it should be done.  In the Digital BreakoutEdu, they were given very little direction on how to solve this challenge.  The students that showed perseverance would continue to work and analyze the problems and pages to determine what they needed to do.  The students that did not have perseverance would give up or put their hands in their heads.  For me, it taught me that I need to help these students understand that struggling and failure is okay – it’s how we learn, grow, and succeed.
• Teachers – Complete the Digital BreakoutEdu first!
  • This is a must!  If we hadn’t completed the challenge first, we would have had no idea what the students were being asked to do.  There are so many parts to this activity, such as different Google Forms, sites, and videos, that it was critical that we understood where and what are students were doing.  Take some time and go through it with some fellow teachers.
• Small and large classes are fun, but it is especially fun to work with another teacher.

  

  • During two of my Math classes, I was able to combine with an 8th grade teacher.  During my last class, I just had my group of 7th grade students.  Both options work!  It was really entertaining to watch the 7th and 8th grade students try to work together.  We often focus on collaboration and communication in our classes, but what happens when you combine two grades levels of Math classes?  Well, some students worked really well together and some did not.  I think some of the 7th graders were a bit shy and some of the 8th graders didn’t feel like the 7th graders always pulled their own weight.  However, if we do this again, we now know that this is something that we need to work on with our students.  Also, it is really fun to be able to share this experience with other teachers.  When we had our combined classes, we were able to come up with so many ideas for the next time we do a Digital BreakoutEdu, as well as ways we could share this with our staff.  It

    

    was great teacher-teacher collaboration!

• Digital BreakoutEdu would be great for teachers, whether as an ice-breaker or professional development.
  • I really enjoyed working on the Digital BreakoutEdu with another teacher during our department collaboration and this is an activity aimed at students.  This has the potential for being such an amazing activity for teachers!  First, it would be a great ice-breaker activity at the beginning of the school year.  It would be an amazing way to team up new teachers with veteran teachers to create relationships that may last the entire year.  Even more important though, I think that this would make a great professional development activity.  This is a fun and engaging activity for students that requires them to think critically and develop perseverance.  However, neither of these traits are always natural for our students.  I think that this could be a great conversation starter with teachers on how to help our students develop their critical thinking skills, as well as their perseverance and grit for solving more complex problems.

Overall, the Digital BreakoutEdu experience was a success!  Our students enjoyed the challenge, even though it was often a struggle, and it is definitely something that we would do again in our classrooms.