Electronic Math Slates Enable Teachers to Fully Engage with Students | Herald of Copperas Cove
It might not be a magic carpet, but SC Lee Junior High math teacher Rebecca Gulick thinks her new math list is as close as it gets. Copperas Cove ISD purchased 80 electronic and wireless math slates for Grade 3 Algebra I teachers using elementary and secondary school emergency relief funds.
“Math teachers were asking for wireless digital slates to present math problems from anywhere in the classroom,†said CCISD Director of Digital Learning and Innovation Dani Patterson. “The district responded by purchasing the slates and providing hands-on professional development for teachers on how to use the wireless slates in their teaching. Teachers received a wireless slate during the training and were able to connect the slate wirelessly to their teacher laptops.
Upon leaving training, Gulick used the math slate in his classroom the next day.
“The slate allows me to stand out from the front of the class while presenting my lessons,†Gulick said. “I am able to show how to solve problems while checking student work at the same time. “
Teachers can now stand at the back of the room and write on the slate, and as if by magic, what they write appears on the interactive whiteboard at the front of the classroom. Teachers can stand in front of a room full of students, showing them how to solve a math problem, and all the students can see the steps the teacher shares to solve the math problem.
Most importantly, Gulick said, electronic math slates provide the ability to provide immediate feedback to students.
“It allows me to be fully engaged with all the students instead of just being strapped to the front of the class,†Gulick said.
Thad Shumaker, a third-grade math teacher at House Creek Elementary, used the new math slate with his students immediately after training.
“Sir. Shumaker was able to walk around the room supervising his students while still being able to demonstrate math problems on the whiteboard,†said Jessica Bredwell, education coach at House Creek Elementary. “Using a digital slate wirelessly during his math class allows him to solve math problems anywhere in the classroom. “
The math slate wirelessly connects to a computer up to 52 feet away so teachers can share their steps to solve the math problem from virtually anywhere in the classroom.