So compared to many other teachers I'm relatively new to live lessons. Thankfully the expertise of maths teachers on Twitter is already immense. Tweets about live lessons are constant and amazing, with teachers all over the world giving each other practical advice and inspiration. I thought it might be helpful to share some of that advice here for my readers who aren't on Twitter. I'm not featuring the well-known websites here - we are very lucky that there are absolutely loads for maths (Hegarty Maths, Dr Frost, Corbett Maths, MyMaths, Mathigon, MathsWatch, MathsPad, White Rose, Times Table Rockstars, Desmos and so on). Here I'm featuring tools and websites that might be less well-known. This should give you a starting point to investigate further if you are looking for a particular solution for your online maths lessons.
I don't work in a Google school but if I did then I would make use of @Philmaths314's free Self Marking Google Sheets. As the name suggests, these are sheets that mark themselves. The site is very easy to use: choose a sheet, create your own copy and then assign to your pupils. When they input answers, they get an instant score. I featured this resource in Gems 131.
Teachers - if you’ve got a few minutes to explore have a look at https://t.co/jl1gIE2BRE Easily turn a spreadsheet into flash cards, name picker, scavenger hunt, matching cards, bingo & loads more! @mrshawthorne7 @Arithmaticks @Mannermatics @mathsjem @beckyreedmaths @misschakera pic.twitter.com/08iXh2c18W
— Lucyjc1612 (@Lucyjc1612) January 7, 2021
In the first lockdown there were times when I wanted to set my students an independent practice task at the end of a topic, but they had already done all the tasks for that topic on Hegarty Maths. One option was to set them an exercise from a website like Corbett Maths, asking them work on paper and mark their own work. Another option was the use the free interactive tasks on the CIMT website. These tasks look a bit dated but still work beautifully. I love it that examples are provided before the exercises, so support is built-in for students. No login is required so access is quick and easy. The exercises are self-marking so students get instant feedback. The other thing I like is that there are no adverts. I can't stand it when there's advertising on student-facing websites. Here are the links:
I absolutley love @WhiteboardFi
— Kathryn MCCT 🙋🏼♀️ (@Arithmaticks) January 8, 2021
I love how I can see what the students are working on in (relatively) real time, and its helping me to address misconceptions straight away. I didn't think this was going to be possible teaching online. Bravo! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/Dngbxakizh
Loved using https://t.co/GtCd4hNPrh today. Made it feel like more of a classroom lesson! pic.twitter.com/h5MpDV1a4f
— Tomas Alley (@MrAlleyMaths) January 7, 2021
The online whiteboard tool on drfrostmaths.com is also very popular.
4. If you want to quiz students through Teams...
Good use of MS Quiz during live lesson to gather feedback from students. Posted in chat and watch the responses roll in LIVE...feedback given to students on incorrect answers using the whiteboard and in real time. Obviously, the quality of multiple choice question design is key pic.twitter.com/NlKLiaNXvL
— bryn cartwright (@wholehogmog1) January 8, 2021
I cannot recommend a ms forms enough. I do an exit quiz, it self marks, I leave a box at the end for comments. I get a nice overview of the class, it takes them 5 minutes, and it updates live for me to do quick AfL before setting them off on long tasks.
— Maths Locke (@mathsmuse) January 8, 2021
Today's MS Teams discovery...type @ forms (no space) into the chat/posts and you can generate an instant poll or quiz question. Love this! pic.twitter.com/TftFkUTxsX
— Helen Cox (@hcoxcrox) January 8, 2021
1/If you're using White Rose, I have made some check-ins in MS Forms for y7-10 for the next unit in the Spring term that you can duplicate to your area, modify if needed and set for your classes, answers are included. I will be making more...@mathsjem @mrbartonmaths @WRMathsSec
— Emma-Jane O'Neill (@EJONeducation) January 8, 2021
Feel free to add your own advice in the comments.
My husband works in a hospital so when I'm not in school looking after keyworker children, I'm home alone trying to homeschool my six year old and nine year old whilst simultaneously teaching lessons, responding to hundreds of messages and attending dozens of online meetings. Stressful is an understatement! Many teachers are struggling at the moment, so it's more important than ever that we support our colleagues during this difficult time.
Well done on surviving a killer first week. It will get easier!