Report from the Annual CMCN Math Conference by Beth Baker of Zane Middle School

by Colby Smart | Content Area, Math

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta A team of local math educators recently made the trek to Monterey to attend the annual CMCN math conference at Asilomar. (Cathy Sinnen, Becca Schuler, Jessica Frisk, Alysha...

Need a brain tickle? Try Math Pickle

by Colby Smart | Math

Several months ago I came across a tremendous little resource. Math Pickle is designed to get kids thinking about math by solving puzzles and problems.  The site’s motto is “Put your students in a pickle” and that is exactly what they do.  Standards...

5-Minute Film Festival: Building a Parent Toolkit

by Colby Smart | Content Area

Social and emotional learning expert and longtime Edutopia blogger Maurice Elias pointed us to a fantastic resource to share with parents. Produced byNBC’s Education Nation project, the Parent Toolkit website has comprehensive resources and minute-long videos...

4 Ways to Integrate User Generated Video in your Classroom

by Colby Smart | Cross Curricular Tools, Curriculum Development, E-Learning, Ipad and Tablets

1. Sub-Plans Video can be a fantastic way to remain in your classroom while a substitute manages the lesson(s) of the day.  Simply pick up your smartphone > launch the video app > and record.  The best way I have found to share the video is to upload it to...

“10 Apps for Math Fluency” Edutopia

by Colby Smart | Common Core, Math

This article comes from Edutopia.  A helpful list of Math Apps designed to improve your students’ math fluency. “There are so many ways to use mobile devices with students. You can create interactive textbooks for children to read, ask them to explain...