Statistical Software for education has typically been divided between expensive, good looking software and free code solutions. A free solution like R might be good for computer science students, but too complex for entry-level Health Sciences class. A point-and-click statistical
Read MoreTeaching in Teams has given me the ability to mirror my in-person experiences online and even enhance my classrooms. Students ask to work together “in the classroom” between classes, and by default Teams meetings to allow participants to arrive early
Read MoreIncluded in MyOpenMath is a LivePoll assessment type. It is similar to Kahoot! or Mentimeter, but with extensive support for mathematics. They all work by having the instructor to open and close each question, and give statistics on what students
Read MorePacking for a big trip is possibly one of the most important parts. It can take a bad trip to good, and a good trip to great. Having the right things when you need them can make all the difference.
Read MoreA cornerstone of traditional math class are the tests and exams. Making the test is a lot of work, although some parts can be recycled every semester. Marking the paper test though, is always a long slog. Marking scales almost
Read MoreMath testing is traditionally a pencil and paper affair. Lots of hand written work, lots of marking, and lots of time handing back those tests. Digital testing is changing that. MyOpenMath offers the standard multiple choice, matching and numerical questions
Read MoreSo you’ve got your test set up in MyOpenMath. Maybe you’ve giving them an all day window to finish the two hour test. Many students have started to write the test, and some have even finished. You could wait until
Read More“Solve 2+2, Show your rough work.” Being asked to “show your work”, “justify your answer”, or “write every step down” is a staple of education, and for good reason. For essays, a draft copy or outline can be used to
Read MoreThe main goal of this class is to learn algebra by doing. The purpose of this course is to equalize the mathematics knowledge of all incoming students. Some modules may be new for some students while old and review for
Read MoreCalculating statistics for any but the smallest datasets requires software. This means that a professor must choose a software package to pair with a statistics course. Subsequent professors, and other courses, will most likely use the same package so it’s
Read MoreModern textbooks, especially in STEM fields, are no longer just a book, but a package of resources. This package generally starts out with a book, and then bundled with instructor resources and often an online assessment system. Together these three
Read MoreYou’re live-streaming your class from your tablet, everything is going great, but then it dawns on you… “Have I trimmed my nose hair recently?” Because that’s the view the students are getting. You could turn your camera off, but you
Read MoreThere are two camps when it comes to due dates. One holds firm that no matter what “in the real world there are no extensions”. These happen if you’re applying for a government contract, or even just buying a house.
Read MoreHybrid teaching is when remote students are included in a live-stream of an in-person class. In some cases this is deployed with expensive hardware and preparation, but often as teachers we just want to make it available for students who
Read MoreSo you just got a new iPad! Exciting! Here are a few things you can do as a teacher to get started. Note that the first steps will take some time, so make sure you are ready to spend at
Read Moreaka Technical Math 1 The purpose of this course is to equalize the mathematics knowledge of all incoming students. Some modules may be new for some students while old and review for others. By the end of the course all
Read MoreA “technically wrong” answer on an assessment may not show a lack of content knowledge, but rather a misunderstanding, a mistake, or a technicality. These other errors can, in places, be important as well, but often take the student’s focus
Read MoreOne of the most famous bug bounty systems was the Knuth Reward Check. Donald Knuth sent out reward cheques for finding typos and other errors in his books. The idea being to reward those that found and provided helpful suggestions
Read MorePeer evaluations can be an effective tool for encouraging collaboration and improving submitted work. Peer evaluations are especially useful in an online environment as in-person students typically trade and discuss paper assignments handed back in class, but this opportunity rarely
Read MoreStudents have been doing homework in classes since the dawn of education. It’s a way for students to work through the types of problems presented in class on their own, and train their mind to recognize and apply a technique.
Read MoreMyOpenMath is a free open source platform for learning and assessment. As the name implies, MyOpenMath was originally designed for math content, and shines where mathematics are needed in the question text and/or the final answer, but can be used
Read MoreSometimes we meet our students in classes but online. Virtual classes can be used to record synchronous content for students, with the added benefit of an audience and real-time feedback. The goal when teaching online is to keep as many
Read MoreTeams is a rich video and chat collaboration platform and has a number of features available that can be used with external partners and live-streamed classes. These standard and advanced features in Teams can be roughly grouped into either communication
Read MoreAs well as being a fantastic way for groups to work together within your organization, Teams can also be used to meet and collaborate with those not signed in to your organization through the use of link sharing. This link
Read MorePanopto is a screen recording and hosting service that works securely inside the eLearn platform. It works as a stand alone desktop and mobile application, a website Panopto.com, and has the ability to embed content directly into the LMS. The
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