Week Eight

Puzzle
I enjoyed creating a crossword puzzle of geometry vocabulary. I think vocabulary in math is often overlooked, but it is important that students use proper mathematical terms in their communication about math just as in any other subject. Crossword puzzles are a fun way for students to review vocabulary. I have used other crossword puzzle makers in the past; however, the APTE tool was easy to use and produced a nice-looking puzzle. I like that the program generates all possible permutations while displaying the number of clues used although it was slightly awkward to “catch” the variations with the most clues.

Test
I really loved the Easy Testmaker website. It is versatile and easy to use. I chose to make a matching test, and I had no trouble with it. A wonderful feature is that you can generate alternate versions for each test for security purposes. Another great feature is that you can store your tests and edit them. Creating a key was also very easy. The process of extracting our test and key to turn in was confusing, but that would not be an issue with a paid subscription. For the busy teacher who likes to create her how evaluation tools, Easy Testmaker would be well worth the cost.

Rubric
Of the web tools in this assignment, I thought Rubistar was the most challenging to get the hang of. First of all, I don’t normally think of using rubrics for scoring math. So, I decided to devise a rubric for scoring a group project where students solve a multi-step application problem and create a poster describing the problem and solution. That way there is more to the score than a right-or-wrong answer. Once I got my mind on the right track, the process flowed smoothly. I think Rubistar is a good tool for creating rubrics and keeping them consistent within a class. It would be more valuable for subjects that lend themselves to holistic scoring such as writing or social studies.

Trackstar
Trackstar was fun to use. I am always finding and using various resources from the web, but I never had a good way to keep up with all my treasures. Trackstar is perfect for that. In fact, I plan on using it in my GED class. When we study for the science part of the GED, I have students choose from a list of interactive websites to explore and report to the class. Now, I can have them go to a Trackstar track where they can read a summary and see a preview before making their choice.

Website Evaluation
I thought this exercise was useful because it spelled out many of the criteria to be considered in choosing web resources for classroom use. For a beginning teacher, it might be desirable to do such a formal evaluation for websites under consideration. However, an experienced teacher who knows her students and is knowledgeable about the web and what is available on it can size up a website relatively quickly without the need for documents such as these. Of course, that is just my opinion.
NOTE: To view the Web Evaluation properly you must download it. The preview provided by Google Docs is not accurate.