8. Technology affecting learning

I use MathXL in my math classes.  What's awesome about it is that kids have to answer questions correctly, but they get multiple tries and there are tools that provide help.   It seems to keep students who would tend to be lower achieving more engaged. This is part of the topic of my research paper and I'm looking forward to researching its impact. 

4. Best Practices

All teachers love playing Jeopardy - at least some form of it.  I have finally figured out a good way to make it work that keeps all students engaged.  I randomly form teams of 3 to 4 students and play Jeopardy through a powerpoint presentation.  When a question pops up every student must work the problem on his/her own paper.  I use a countdown timer then each team flashes an answer on a whiteboard, and I award points accordingly.

I've always struggled with assigning students a grade for this .... until now.  Each student must work every question and turn it in at the end of the game.  Every student that does this will get a 50/50.  If their team wins I create a separate assignment and they receive a 100/100.  Second place gets 75/75 and third 60/60.  Everyone gets 100% but the winners get a bigger 100%, not awarding grades above 100% helps prevent inflation.   Awarding first second and third place prizes keeps everyone in the game even if one team jumps out to a lead.

The kids love it and I love it!