Tag Archives: Mathematics

Recommended Ed Tech Tool: FunBrain

In browsing the top 50 e-learning sites, FunBrain is a very simple website with both content and games for grade school children.  The information is divided into basic categories for viewing books where you can sample a chapter or two online, follow comic strips and select from a variety of skill building games. It is just another tool that can be used to continue to facilitate learning. As a component of the Family Education Network, Pearson Education, it is a free  resource that does not require registering a user name and password to access the online information.

Some rights reserved by Reliv International
Some rights reserved by Reliv International

Math Blogs = Teaching Tips

Math Dance. Image by Dylan231. Retrieved on Flickr. Used under Creative Common License.
Math Dance. Image by Dylan231. Retrieved on Flickr. Used under Creative Common License.

Do you often have teachers requesting new tools to help teach math? Richard Byrne, a blog guru, showcases his top five blogs for math teachers looking to make their curriculum stick!  Meeting challenges to how traditional math instruction can be delivered electronically to students is not easy.  This 1 site adds 5 possibilities for teachers. CMLE is giving it five stars-it just adds up! Each day this week he will highlight a different subject area for interested teachers. For a complete list of his top blogs go to http://tinyurl.com/b85mb99.

Girls + Games = Success in Math and Science

scienceResearch about girls and video games shows that girls tend to prefer games that include problem-solving, collaboration and real-life elements. Designers of educational technology have found that math and science-based games are most popular with girls when the concepts have some connection to real-world situations and can lead to a solution that supports a “social good.” KQED.org/Mind/Shift blog (1/14)

Librarians/Media Specialists and the Common Core

An article from Education Week titled Common Core Thrusts Librarians into Leadership Role is getting a lot of press and discussion lately in libraryland … and beyond. The article highlights the important role media specialists can (and should) play as their schools usher in this new phase in education. Namely, media specialists must be prepared to provide the necessary resources and learning opportunities for implementing the Common Core State Standards in their schools. The argument is that librarians/media specialists are natural “inquiry-based” teachers and practitioners, and are perfectly suited to model this way of thinking to other professionals as well as students. Additionally, the article highlights some of the ways libraries of all types are  impacted by the Common Core State Standards.

What impact do you see the Common Core State Standards having on your school and in your media center programming? Currently, Minnesota has only adopted the Common Core English Language Arts standards as a base, and has not adopted the Mathematics standards in any way. Since Minnesota has not adopted the Common Core Mathematics standards (citing our state’s superior standards and high testing performance for math), how might this separation or distinction from other states impact math education in the state? On the other hand, Minnesota has adopted the English Language Arts standards as a base, so how are you preparing for those standards in your schools? How are you taking part in this conversation, and what role are you playing in your school?

Additional information for those in the know! At this time, the NGA [National Governors Association] Center and CCSSO [Council of Chief State School Officers] will not be developing standards in other subjects and are focusing on implementing the standards in ELA and mathematics. However, other groups are working on standards in the arts, world languages, and science. To find out more, visit the section titled Why are the Common Core State Standards for just English-language arts and math? at www.corestandards.org/frequently-asked-questions.

Visit www.corestandards.org/ to learn more general information about the Common Core. Also, for a refresher on Minnesota’s K-12 Academic Standards checkout http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/EdExc/StanCurri/K-12AcademicStandards/.