Young Mathematicians Need Technology!

Funded May 30, 2013

When our Samsung Galaxy tablet arrived to our classroom, my students were beyond excited. They watched anxiously as I opened up the packages and put the tablet into the protective case. You could hear the whispers all around the room and I could see silent clapping out of the corner of my eye. When I turned it on for the first time, they cheered and kept asking over and over, "When will we get to use it?!"

So far, we have loaded some math game apps as well as a QR code scanner. I have created some math stations that include a QR code that holds the correct answer to the problem. When they complete the work on the card, they check their answer with the tablet by scanning the QR code. This has opened a whole new world of technology to them that they had never seen or used before. Many students have seen QR codes but nobody could tell me what they are or how to use them. They absolutely love to use that basic piece of technology. The math games have helped to increase their math fact fluency by challenging them to fact races and encouraging efficient strategies to solve the problems.

In all, the inclusion of the Galaxy tablet has increased student engagement, allowed me to bring 21st century technology to students who do not typically have access to such technology, and brought excitement to our math station time. It is so great to see my students so excited about math and excited to come to my classroom!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Petrony