Teaching Through The Internet
– How I Leveraged this Abundant Learning Resource
As rightly quoted by Albert Einstein, “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.”
Teaching during a series of lockdowns with just PPTs did not strike me as effective and interesting. So, I researched on the internet for a few virtual tools that not only helped my students understand their subjects better, but also boosted their confidence, helped them grasp important concepts while keeping them engaged. It is not easy to retain a child’s attention for too long. If you look at today’s young adults, they are spammed with several digital distractions and social media. So why not educate them through the same medium, but with better and more fun ways? With the right online tools, we teachers can create a well-balanced learning environment for our students.
Below are some of the tools that I used to enhance my students’ interest in Mathematics, in a way that was non-daunting but instead, stimulating and exciting:
1. GeoGebra
https://www.geogebra.org/
It is a dynamic mathematics software for all levels and I have been using it for number, geometry and measure. This helps students to develop visual thinking, which is a learning style whereby the learner comes to understand and retain information better by associating ideas, key terms and concepts with images.
With the right online tools, we teachers can create a well-balanced learning environment for our students.—
2. ABCya!
https://www.abcya.com/
It includes a broad range of games that covers a variety of subject areas. It is grouped by grade level so that it is easily accessible to offer differentiation of instructions. These games give instant feedback and improve mental maths.
3. Toy Theatre
https://toytheater.com/
This includes interactive practice games for elementary students. It also has interactive manipulatives for teachers to support with maths learning in a fun way.
4. Khan Academy
https://www.khanacademy.org/
It provides a fun way to practise mathematical topics for reinforcement of topics.
5. PhET
https://phet.colorado.edu/
It includes interactive simulations and real-time visualisations that allows students to grasp concepts easily. I was able to have the students work on this while I was working with individual students. The students were engaged and stayed on task.
6. The Math Learning Center
https://www.mathlearningcenter.org/apps
It has free apps including fractions, clock, number frames, number lines, geoboard to name a few that helped my students to understand the concepts better.
7. Kahoot! and Quizizz
https://kahoot.com/
https://quizizz.com/
These are great options for formative assessment tools. They incorporate fun music to create an energised, game-like atmosphere for students.
So you see, Mathematics, if taught gently and with the right tactics, is not a scary subject at all..help your students step into the world of numbers, and watch them grow as they solve problems! I highly recommend my contemporaries to incorporate fun elements in otherwise serious subjects, that too, when teaching online.—
If you look at today’s young adults, they are spammed with several digital distractions and social media. So why not educate them through the same medium, but with better and more fun ways?
Rupa Rani Sinha is a middle-school Mathematics teacher with several years of experience. She is passionate about the subject and helps her students overcome their fear of Maths by using fun and creative teaching methods.