Back in the classroom and more math videos
Posted on Monday October 9, 2006 by Betsy Weber
I was back in class last week and I had a blast! I was at Bentley College visiting Professor Mark Frydenberg. Remember him? We did a screencast earlier this year which you can see here.
Mark teaches a really cool class called IT 101, where they cover everything from PocketPCs to blogs and wikis to videos! (It's right up my alley - gadgets and technology.) Last week his students were teaching each other about PocketPC programs they had chosen to try out. He'll have them using Camtasia Studio later in the semester to show each other about PocketPC technologies. He plans on having them record the screen with a webcam and then with Camtasia Studio.
He also gave a talk at the Harvard Law School last week about podcasting. If you're curious how someone is using podcasting in the classroom, you can listen to his presentation here.
After sitting in on Mark's class I visited Colleen King. To remind you, I showed off her great Camtasia Studio videos for SAT prep here.
You might also know Colleen from her popular math website, Math Playground or her blog. Colleen tells me that in a year, there will be a few hundred math videos that answer questions sent in by students. The videos will be categorized by topic and will be interactive - thanks to Camtasia Studio's the quizzing component.
She's come out with a new set of video lessons. Check out Thinking Blocks. Here you will find a multiplication program. Simply click on one of the colored cubes here to load a program.
Camtasia videos are used to demonstrate each individual module. There are also more than 100 video lessons in the practice section of the program. The videos help students transition from modeling with blocks to drawing models on their own. There's another complete program on the site dedicated to addition and subtraction word problems with its own set of videos.
Word on the street is that she is developing a ratios program that should be ready in November.
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to make a screencast with Colleen. But then again, you all don't have to suffer watching me stumble through math. I think we're both lucky on that account.
And, that reminds me...If you'd like to use Camtasia, SnagIt, Morae or UserVue in your classroom, I'm happy to support you. You can request materials like eval CDs for your class here. We also have a great newsletter and whole area of our Web site dedicated to Education.
