I agree, there's no way we can compete with screens for student attention. I use DeltaMath a lot, and its main benefit is that instant feedback, but there are other ways to help students self check.
Anytime we do paper/pencil work that is not actually a quiz or test, I have at least some (usually all) of the answers posted on the back board visible to students. There is no reason to keep the answers a carefully guarded secret. I tell them that their job is to show me HOW to get that answer. I don't accept answers-only papers and they have to show their work to get credit. The benefits of having answers posted:
1. Students are more willing to keep working. Lots of students won't put in the effort to keep going if they lack confidence that they're doing it the right way. There's nothing worse than finding out too late that you did the whole assignment wrong, so a lot of them would rather do nothing if they feel unsure.
2. It lets them know when they get off track and need to ask a question.
3. It encourages them to figure out their own mistakes and starts great conversations with their partners...How the heck is the answer to number six 23?
4. It frees me up to help students who need help, instead of constantly answering the question, "Is this right?"
The basic principle is, Students need feedback, and the teacher does not have to be the sole source of feedback. Any way we accomplish that, that preserves students' focus as much as possible, moves learning forward.
Thanks for another great one, Dylan! I love your blog, it's a constant source of encouragement.
I like the idea of having them in the back of the room! Accessible, but with a tiny bit of friction so the answers aren't staring them in the face.
My solution has been a mix of mini whiteboards and lots of short chunks of practice so students don't go too long without feedback, but I want to incorporate more long assignments with students checking their work in the way you describe. Thanks for the comment!
I think student screens is a lure for teachers too. There is something intoxicating about seeing a progress bar fill up, seeing students "complete" work and lessons. Idle clickers is a whole genera of games -- paper clips taking over the universe.
Definitely. I've felt that myself. It's tempting to believe we can simplify learning down to that progress bar or cookie clicker but it's not that simple.
Love this. As a language teacher, I'm 100% with you. I liked how you described the pull to the open screen as "suction." I experience exactly the same things in my 8th grade classrooms.
I wanted to share a little tweak to your tilting or closing the screen transition to get their attention for whole class instruction. It's something I do that works well for brief discussions or instructions so that they don't get logged out and loose so much time. I simply have them turn their Chrombooks around--so the screen is facing me and not them. It's quick and easy to see when you have everyone's attention. And when you're done, they can just turn the computer around again and get back to work.
I like that idea! Will definitely consider adding it to my toolbox. Tilting screens doesn't work well because there isn't a clear line between a screen that's visible and not visible besides just being closed. But turned around is very clear!
Damn man. I think you're getting at something quite deep here, something that goes beyond just education. There's something about the incursion of screens and software that's messing with some deeper aspects of human connection and behavior. I've long pointed to Desmos as a tool that exemplifies the best of ed-tech, but if you are starting to move away from even that...I say again, damn.
I don't know, I'm skeptical it's that deep. One way to say all of this is that habits are hard to break, and more students (not all but more) are coming to school with powerful habits around screen use. But habits are rooted in context, and changing the context creates an opportunity to create new habits.
Some people love to talk about how screens are rotting kids brains. I think habits are a better way to understand all this and avoid being fatalistic. Are habits powerful? Yes. But they're also context-bound and possible to change.
Also I still use Desmos, just a bit less and a bit differently. I haven't totally given up.
I really like how you list out the rules. I see the same things happening in my classroom to. I have had much success using Desmos and BTC practices. I wrote this article about this topic. Thank you for sharing your thoughts in this article! https://robinkubasiak.substack.com/p/are-digital-tools-cultivating-learning
What about DeltaMath? I like to give students practice problems on delta so students can get immediate feedback as well as the example worked out.
If students did a worksheet he/she may not find out the answer is wrong let alone being given the solution to the problem they just completed.
My classes just finished Pythagorean Theorem. They did practice problems finding leg or hypotenuse. How can students get immediate feedback as well as a worked example just using paper and pencil?
I use DeltaMath, and I think it's the best math practice website out there. I agree about feedback, I think that's the best use of digital math tools. I have shifted the way I use DeltaMath, with regular short assignments and multiple types of problems per assignment. That's how I feel I get the most bang for my buck with online practice.
I do still have reservations. The way students often try to rush through assignments isn't great for skills that require showing your. Some students often try to google questions. I try to do a lot of checking for understanding before students start because if too many students are confused it's really hard to get the class back on track with the internet right in front of them.
And maybe I'm old-fashioned, but millions of people have learned math without computers to check their work. They're a useful tool, and I love DeltaMath compared to all the other math practice software out there, but I'm gradually increasing the practice students do on paper and decreasing online practice for those reasons.
I agree, there's no way we can compete with screens for student attention. I use DeltaMath a lot, and its main benefit is that instant feedback, but there are other ways to help students self check.
Anytime we do paper/pencil work that is not actually a quiz or test, I have at least some (usually all) of the answers posted on the back board visible to students. There is no reason to keep the answers a carefully guarded secret. I tell them that their job is to show me HOW to get that answer. I don't accept answers-only papers and they have to show their work to get credit. The benefits of having answers posted:
1. Students are more willing to keep working. Lots of students won't put in the effort to keep going if they lack confidence that they're doing it the right way. There's nothing worse than finding out too late that you did the whole assignment wrong, so a lot of them would rather do nothing if they feel unsure.
2. It lets them know when they get off track and need to ask a question.
3. It encourages them to figure out their own mistakes and starts great conversations with their partners...How the heck is the answer to number six 23?
4. It frees me up to help students who need help, instead of constantly answering the question, "Is this right?"
The basic principle is, Students need feedback, and the teacher does not have to be the sole source of feedback. Any way we accomplish that, that preserves students' focus as much as possible, moves learning forward.
Thanks for another great one, Dylan! I love your blog, it's a constant source of encouragement.
I like the idea of having them in the back of the room! Accessible, but with a tiny bit of friction so the answers aren't staring them in the face.
My solution has been a mix of mini whiteboards and lots of short chunks of practice so students don't go too long without feedback, but I want to incorporate more long assignments with students checking their work in the way you describe. Thanks for the comment!
I think student screens is a lure for teachers too. There is something intoxicating about seeing a progress bar fill up, seeing students "complete" work and lessons. Idle clickers is a whole genera of games -- paper clips taking over the universe.
Definitely. I've felt that myself. It's tempting to believe we can simplify learning down to that progress bar or cookie clicker but it's not that simple.
Love this. As a language teacher, I'm 100% with you. I liked how you described the pull to the open screen as "suction." I experience exactly the same things in my 8th grade classrooms.
I wanted to share a little tweak to your tilting or closing the screen transition to get their attention for whole class instruction. It's something I do that works well for brief discussions or instructions so that they don't get logged out and loose so much time. I simply have them turn their Chrombooks around--so the screen is facing me and not them. It's quick and easy to see when you have everyone's attention. And when you're done, they can just turn the computer around again and get back to work.
I like that idea! Will definitely consider adding it to my toolbox. Tilting screens doesn't work well because there isn't a clear line between a screen that's visible and not visible besides just being closed. But turned around is very clear!
Damn man. I think you're getting at something quite deep here, something that goes beyond just education. There's something about the incursion of screens and software that's messing with some deeper aspects of human connection and behavior. I've long pointed to Desmos as a tool that exemplifies the best of ed-tech, but if you are starting to move away from even that...I say again, damn.
I don't know, I'm skeptical it's that deep. One way to say all of this is that habits are hard to break, and more students (not all but more) are coming to school with powerful habits around screen use. But habits are rooted in context, and changing the context creates an opportunity to create new habits.
Some people love to talk about how screens are rotting kids brains. I think habits are a better way to understand all this and avoid being fatalistic. Are habits powerful? Yes. But they're also context-bound and possible to change.
Also I still use Desmos, just a bit less and a bit differently. I haven't totally given up.
I really like how you list out the rules. I see the same things happening in my classroom to. I have had much success using Desmos and BTC practices. I wrote this article about this topic. Thank you for sharing your thoughts in this article! https://robinkubasiak.substack.com/p/are-digital-tools-cultivating-learning
What about DeltaMath? I like to give students practice problems on delta so students can get immediate feedback as well as the example worked out.
If students did a worksheet he/she may not find out the answer is wrong let alone being given the solution to the problem they just completed.
My classes just finished Pythagorean Theorem. They did practice problems finding leg or hypotenuse. How can students get immediate feedback as well as a worked example just using paper and pencil?
What do you think?
I use DeltaMath, and I think it's the best math practice website out there. I agree about feedback, I think that's the best use of digital math tools. I have shifted the way I use DeltaMath, with regular short assignments and multiple types of problems per assignment. That's how I feel I get the most bang for my buck with online practice.
I do still have reservations. The way students often try to rush through assignments isn't great for skills that require showing your. Some students often try to google questions. I try to do a lot of checking for understanding before students start because if too many students are confused it's really hard to get the class back on track with the internet right in front of them.
And maybe I'm old-fashioned, but millions of people have learned math without computers to check their work. They're a useful tool, and I love DeltaMath compared to all the other math practice software out there, but I'm gradually increasing the practice students do on paper and decreasing online practice for those reasons.