EDTC Post #3

My question is: How can develop projects that have students utilize a variety of electronic 
resources to help deepen their understanding of the content?

Teaching math the same day can be boring. I am a major proponent for direct instruction. 
However, I know the benefits of allowing for inquiry-based instruction to help students explore the 
subject more in depth. As Edutopia (2016) notes, "But the product isn’t the learning goal. Solving the 
problem andunderstanding the content is. The product is just the avenue to get there. So I strive to make projects 
that are open-ended that allow students to utilize different tools to create some interesting results. For 
example, I made a geometry logo transformation project. In it, the students are free to research what it
means to create a logo then they come back to design their own with transformations involved. Here 
are the finalists that all the classes decide whose logo will be the classroom logo for the year. I 
continuously create projects at the end or beginning of a unit to help students receive a deeper 
understanding of the topic. 

With the use of the iPad in schools it has opened opportunities for me to create projects that give 
a vast network of resources and avenues for students to construct projects. With it being so vast, there 
are useful and not so useful online resources that would be helpful. During my pursuit for the answer I 
found a few resources. The NWEA provided a list of useful online tools that the students and teachers 
can use to amplify the learning process. Apps like VoiceThread and iBrainstorm allows for students 
to create projects that can be open-ended and can easily collaborate with other students. This can work 
in my statistics classes where topics are research-based. A supplemental curriculum I found that would 
help deep a student’s understanding of mathematics is, edcurious. Students are given projects that are 
very interactive and have a mix of hands-on and online problems. Some examples include problems 
creating a playlist for Pythagoras, designing a math app, etc. It would be good for the students to have 
open-ended projects that allows them to be creative and utilize the tools to help deepen an 
understanding of the concepts. 

Resources:
https://www.nwea.org/blog/2018/the-ultimate-list-65-digital-tools-and-apps-to-support-formative-assessment-practices/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/voicethread/id465159110?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibrainstorm/id382252825?mt=8
http://educurious.org/