So as I am gearing up for my Chromebook Challenge, I figured I would go ahead and share how I use Chromebooks daily in my Geometry classes. When I started I couldn't find any information how to use them daily, so maybe you will find it useful. I have also included links to some tutorial videos I have put together.
So everyday I go ahead and type out some pre-notes (note template) for the days lesson. I leave spaces for the students to type in definitions or properties. I also try to find something on Geogebra that relates to the lesson. I upload to Google Classroom for the students to make a copy of. The benefit is that the students now have a permanent copy of the notes for the day. Here is a sample of notes that the students get. As you can see, they have space to type in their notes and there is a Geogebra activity for them to do. This particular activity had them investigating the relationship between arcs and angles.
I also put all the sample problems for them as well. I leave plenty of space for them to work them out as well. They can open the equation editor and work them out that way or use the picture to copy it down into their paper notes.
Students also have access to their textbooks online, so no more "I forgot my book." After the lesson is done, they open up their text book online and start their homework.
Every week we have a quiz on Socrative.com. They have the app on their Chromebooks, so they open and are ready to go in about a minute. If they forget their calculators, I have them use the Chromebook calculator and have them dock it on the screen. The Chromebook calculator was recently updated to include all the functions of a basic scientific calculator. Their quizzes and tests are returned within a day via Google Drive. Socrative creates individual PDF reports for each student. All I do is share them on Google Drive and they can see what they got right and wrong.
At the end of a chapter, we do some sort of extended response/performance task. We use Google Docs to have the students work in small groups to collaborate together on the assignment. When we first did this type of activity they were amazed to be working in the same document at the same time. Now it is second nature to them.
When I first started using Chromebooks I was afraid it would be difficult to use them on a regular basis. After 8 months of using them I can't see teaching geometry without them. Having students able to access Geogebra or other interactive apps helps the students understand better. Some were hesitant at the beginning, but now everyone seems to have adapted to it. It is a routine for them to come in and grab their Chromebook.
Next year, I will probably take a day to show the students how to use Chromebooks, like key board shortcuts, docking apps, and using split screens.
Thank you so much for sharing! I also teach students who have access to Chromebooks. I teach Algebra, though. I've also struggled with how to use them daily. I've flipped some of my lessons, which my students have liked. I'd like to do more though. Much of Algebra 1 requires steps for work. (Equations, factoring, completing the square, etc) I have found it is not easy, but rather cumbersome, to type the notes onto a Google Doc. I wondering if you use Chromebooks with an Algebra class or know of any teachers or websites that do?
ReplyDeleteI actually don't use them in my Algebra 2 class, except for quizzes and tests. For the same reason you stated, there are a lot of steps to solving equations. I will use them for conic sections and other graphing sections, but not daily like geometry.
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