MATHS - Geoboard App for the iPad

John was using this app when I came to see him teach and it is available on all the school iPads. It is called Geoboard and is basically an electronic version of a real life board that, with the use of pegs and elastic bands, you can make a variety of shapes on. This is great to teach topics such as area and it is both visual and kinaesthetic.

Now what the app does, is that it takes away the fiddly nature of the Geoboard and also the temptation to flick the elastic bands and as a result removes any possible disruption. In addition - packing away is as simple as clicking a button!

Learners simply stretch bands by selecting them at the bottom and dragging them to a peg. Once attached to a peg , the band and then be stretched in any direction and attached to another peg to create a shape.

 

 

You can then choose a colour for the shapes and also annotate alongside them. Particularly useful for showing working out and pupil understanding. John used this a springboard to the main activity and I was impressed with how efficiently it was used and that how he planned to ensure that this did not eat up too much of his lesson.  

 

 

 

 

Now, iPads can  never replace the teacher, but it's clear to see that apps like Geoboard can greatly enhance teaching and offers great differentiation for those of differing learning styles. 

Thinking outside the box

Before the half term break, Pippa notified me that something 'out-of-the-box' was going to be trialled down in Nursery that day and urged me to go have a look.  I was intrigued and so popped over in one of my free periods, and this is what greeted me:

Sue Michaels came up with the idea to develop gross and fine motor skills by attaching the normal paintbrushes that they use to a helmet!

I thought this was brilliant and the children were obviously enjoying themselves at the same time as being challenged! You know it's a great teaching idea when you want to have a go yourself!

 It is ideas like this, that push the boundaries/ mix things up a bit and make teaching and also learning more enjoyable and effective. Sue was worried that it may have fell flat on its face, but she ploughed on regardless and turned out to be a great success!