I love when I am able to see effective technology integration in classrooms. This is achieved when the use of technology supports curriculum goals and enhances student learning experiences. Ultimately as educators, we want to “design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity”. (NETS·T © 2008 International Society for Technology in Education: Teacher Standards)
Fourth grade students at Bates recently spent time discussing how to order groups of fractions along a number line with landmark numbers. Their interactions, use of manipulatives and genuine “math talk”, while placing groups of fractions on number lines in a book created for them with the app Book Creator clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of technology integration with the iPad as a learning tool.
Book Creator is an app that allows you to create ebooks that can be shared in a variety of ways. Book templates can be created ahead of time for students and then shared with them to personalize. In this case, students had an ePub file shared with them that contained pages with specific groups of fractions and identified landmarks along a number line at the top of each page. Fractions could then be dragged to the number line in the order students thought they should be placed according to their size. Later students selected one fraction on each page to orally justify their conclusions with detail. These explanations were recorded and later shared with their teachers providing opportunities for teachers to hear mathematical thinking from each student in the class.
Common Core Standards
Extend understanding of fraction equivalence and ordering:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NF.A.1
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NF.A.2