Tessellations are repetitive patterns of shapes that cover a surface without overlapping. With Excel (or another spreadsheet program), you can create tessellations by arranging shapes in a grid and using formulas and formatting options to make the patterns visually appealing. Here’s a step-by-step lesson plan to use Excel or another spreadsheet program to teach tessellations:
(more…)

Wondering how to get your students upbeat about learning math? Read how math teachers use modern tools, technologies, and techniques to teach the subject, from one of our Ask a Tech Teacher contributors:

How To Boost Student Engagement: Modern Tools for Math Teachers

Prospective teachers researching online teaching certification and hoping to learn all they can about being a math teacher will do well to include tech tools in their quest for knowledge. Modern educational tools make it possible to add a practical edge to math lessons, as students can observe math structures at play in the real world and see how people apply these formulas to solve common challenges.

(more…)

Here are popular online resources to teach about Geometry (for updates to the list, click here):

(more…)

Excel makes graphs simple and easy for beginners. Even my parent helpers are amazed at how much students can do with a simple F11 shortkey and a right click. This lesson plan works just as well with Google Sheets though you may have to adapt a few of the instructions.

If the lesson plans are blurry, click on them for a full size alternative. (more…)

Technology has been part of math education for decades, mostly as rote drills and a replacement for worksheets, often to assist in memorizing tables. But it’s grown up since those early days. Check out this article from one of our Ask a Tech Teacher contributors addressing why tech+math are good partners and where that will go in the future:

The Future of Math Education: Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Introduction

In today’s digital age, it is increasingly necessary to integrate technology into the classroom. This inevitable change is particularly true for math education, as interactive math lessons for kids are becoming more commonplace online. Therefore, traditional schools should change their mindsets, adopt tech and adapt it for the classroom or risk getting left behind in the race to enhance students’ math learning experience. But to encourage school administration boards to make this integration, they must first know the advantages of tech in math education.

(more…)

Two math celebrations are coming up on March 14th: Pi Day and World Maths Day

Pi Day

Pi Day is an annual celebration commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 since 3, 1, and 4 are the three most significant digits of π in the decimal form.

Daniel Tammet, a high-functioning autistic savant, holds the European record for reciting pi from memory to 22,514 digits in five hours and nine minutes.

(more…)

This is one of the most popular lessons I teach to Excel beginners. It is relevant, instantly usable and makes sense from the beginning. Click the images below to enlarge them for viewing.

–from 55 Technology Projects for the Digital Classroom

Copyright ©2023 usna.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.

Grade Level: 5th (or whichever grade you are teaching arrays)

Background: None. This is an intro to MS Excel or spreadsheets

Vocabulary: Excel, cell, rows, columns, paint bucket, borders, arrays, resize, formulas

Time: About 30 minutes

Steps:

(more…)

I’ve updated Ask a Tech Teacher’s list of ten math tools we posted in 2016 to be shorter and with a new option. The new one is larger and in the #1 position. I think this will better reflect what’s going on today in our classrooms:

It can be difficult to teach math, but with the proper tools, it can often be made easier. This article will discuss some of the best tools for tutoring math online, and the way they can help teachers to improve their student’s skills. The 5 best tools for tutoring maths online are:

1. ByteLearn.com – Digital math teaching assistant for teachers

ByteLearn is a platform that helps teachers spend less time preparing materials and still gives each student individualised training. Using ByteLearn, teachers can track students’ development, keep tabs on their performance, and adjust the curriculum to suit each student’s needs. With just one click, teachers may produce 7th Grade Math worksheets like Combining Like Terms, Grade 7 Math quizzes like Distributive Property , Seventh Grade Math unit tests, and 7 Grade Math Practice Questions on Distributive Property etc.

Give ByteLearn a try in your classroom today!

Pricing: Free for teachers and students

(more…)

After you’ve checked out our favorite STEAM resources, here are some of those that teachers use to teach STEM and STEAM:

Science

Technology

Engineering

Art

Math

(more…)