Introductions

When I joined it said to introduce myself to the group but I didn't see a place to do that so I am creating this one.

My name is Sheila Butler, I am an adult ed teacher in Indiana.  I am known for my math classes and though I do teach all 5 subjects, I do spent a lot of time teaching math and often we get down to where it is just math.

I love learning from and sharing with other teachers.

I am part of Cohort 2 for Teaching Skills That Matter as well.

Comments

Welcome, Sheila!

If we were in real life, I would tell you to pull up a chair, grab your favorite beverage, and let's talk.  In this CoP, we can virtually chat about experiences, challenges, or whatever.  So welcome!

Brooke Istas

I find teaching math virtually challenging primarily because digital literacy is problematic. I got a TI free online calcator emulator free for 6 months but that has lapsed. I needed to demonstrate on a calculator NdnI need it to be the one they will get. Trying to explain what they should benseeling and trouble shooting just uses so much time. I can't figure out digital manipulative. I use Google.classroom but my teaching this year seems to take up all my time.

Hi Sheila,

Welcome to the community. I teach at the CUNY Adult Literacy Program in New York City and support math teachers in our high school equivalency classes. I'm also on the board of the Adult Numeracy Network (ANN).

I agree that teaching math online is really challenging. There are so many different things to figure out. Are you teaching mostly asynchronously with assignments through Google Classroom or are you also meeting with students through video conferencing? There are different challenges and different possible solutions depending on how you're teaching.

There are a few online calculators that are pretty amazing.

https://www.desmos.com/calculator - powerful, easy to use graphing calculator

https://www.desmos.com/scientific - scientific calculator (maybe this is a useful substitute for the TI calculator?)

In terms of digital manipulatives, what kinds of tools are you looking for? There are lot of different ones available: number lines, fraction models, area models, etc.

If you tell us what math topics you're teaching, we might be able to share ideas.

Best,
Eric

Eric, thank you so much for replying. I keep forgetting about Desmos  I have not had a lot of time to try and learn that one.  I teach both in person and online at the same time. I have uploaded my normal work onto Google classroom and I usually have my best success if I teach a zoom.class. Currently I use a graphic tablet and just teach directly on a shared screen. My son tutors for me and he has found creating excel slides better with snip it tool. I will try his method. I created lecture videos years ago but people are not good at self study. I have to teach all 5 subjects but we spend more than 50% on math.  I would like it be more interactive. If  I hybrid the class I just have in-class come onto zoom with class computer so they can see my lesson.  When in person I use a lot more hands on math for concept discovery and I havent found a good substitute for that.

Hi, Sheila! I'm Jeniah. I teach adult ed down in Jacksonville, Florida. Although I also used Desmos in my DL classes this summer, I got more use from Google Slides and Sheets as it was easier for my students to access since most of them were accessing the online classroom through their cell phones. A shared document can go a long way.

Hi Jeniah.  I may get to visit Jacksonville in January if we stay on virtual - my husband will be on the naval base doing work and I could tag along and teach from hotel room and enjoy nicer weather than we get here in January. Not sure that will get to happen but I kind of hope it does.

I like all google products better and prefer google slides.  My son says that excel has built in writing tools, that is why he prefers that to teach with.  I like Google Slides because you don't have to own office products to use them and they are accessible from phones.  I haven't really mastered getting my class to write and use google slides.  It becomes way too much sit and get.  For the first time since I was a new teacher, I am having problems getting people to pass math - I am known for getting people through the math but this online thing is failing me - because I can't get buy in from students like I really wish I could.  I need them to DO the math not just watch it being done, be active.  I get that in the classroom but not online as much and they have distractions (like girlfriends etc).