Maggie Forsyth-Deeds is the Coordinator of Speech and Language Services at the Rock Brook School in Skillman, New Jersey.  She has over 20 years experience working with students that have special needs and is dually certified as a Speech Language Pathologist and Teacher of the Handicapped.

Rock Brook School is a private, not for profit school for Communication Impaired and Multiply Disabled children from ages 5 to 21. Some medical diagnoses of children who have been helped by their program have included: Language Learning Disorders; Autistic Spectrum Disorders; Hearing Impairment; Seizure Disorders; Pervasive Developmental Delay and other disabilities secondary to various syndromes.

“I prefer an eclectic approach to instruction as it allows me to incorporate individualized programming for the unique needs of my very heterogeneous group of learners”.

Maggie works in what she describes as a very ‘tech savvy environment’. Each classroom is fitted with two personal computers, two iPads, a SMART Board; Lightspeed Technologies Redcat Audio Classroom amplification system and personal FM systems. There is also a dedicated Technology room with additional iPads, new laptop computers, as well as a touch screen personal computer.

“Although we have access to lots of great technology, the ‘challenge’ within a school like Rock Brook is finding the most optimum way for students to access the technology, engage with it and use it meaningfully. The overarching goal is to ultimately generalize the skills to other environments.”

Due to the nature of her job, Maggie is constantly on the lookout for current trends in technology and came across Biteslide during a research session online.  After a quick use of the demo version she says she was instantly sold with the service meeting the needs of her students as well as meeting the flexibility and lesson management requirements she has as a teacher.

“I found the interface to be colorful, engaging and capable of fostering my students in using the program independently over time. As a teacher, I found the dashboard to be exactly what I needed to manage my various classes, students and different levels of projects. It is a great tool for teachers as it’s flexibility allows it to be worked into almost any aspect of lesson planning, curriculums and/or classroom activities ”

Maggie found that Biteslide’s research tools removed the ‘daunting’ and sometimes ‘overwhelming’ nature of research, allowing her students to get instant gratification when compiling their images and videos through the web to put their work together.

“Biteslide provides the students with the tools to complete research without it really feeling like ‘research’. I quickly decided that Biteslide would serve my students best in creating and presenting their end of the year projects”

With its endless creative possibilities and user-friendly interface, her students are able to express themselves through the Biteslide platform with ease which is having a positive impact in the classroom.

“Its dynamic display fosters engagement in my students, helping to keep their interest and thereby increasing overall participation”

In the future Maggie can see an implemtentation of Biteslide into the newly created High School Program as way for students to create social stories and daily schedules related to the “Activities of Daily Living” that drive the High School programming.

And this is what Maggie’s class is saying about Biteslide…

“Biteslide is a fun project because you can choose any topic you like.”
Ian

“Biteslide is awesome. I like the Google images and video clips”
Dominick

“I liked making the Biteslides and using my own pictures from home.”
Kyle

“I made my Biteslide by picking pictures, backgrounds and text.”
Kris

Here’s a few examples of Maggie’s students’ Biteslide school project work:

• Rainforest Habitat
• Arctic Habitat
• Spiders

If you like think that Biteslide could help you and your students, please sign up for your 30-day free trial now.

At Biteslide we’ve made it our mission to help students develop the skills necessary to to face future challenges, and one topic that’s close to our hearts is digital citizenship.

To help you get to grips with digital citizenship, I would like to explain the key elements and tell you how Biteslide can be used to put digital citizenship into practice in your school.

Firstly, what is digital citizenship?

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) defines digital citizenship as “a framework for using technology responsibly and appropriately at all times in schools.” (http://www.iste.org/docs/excerpts/DIGCI2-excerpt.pdf)

They identify nine key elements in their framework: digital access, digital commerce,  digital communication, digital literacy, digital ettiquette, digital law, digital rights and responsibilities, digital health & digital security.

In all but one of these elements (digital commerce), Biteslide can be used to help teach digital citizenship to your students and I’d like to show you how.

1. Digital access

For most students, technology is an ever-present part of their lives.  This is primarily through websites, social media, games, apps, and instant messaging tools.

In an educational environment, schools have to ensure students understand their responsibilities when it comes to using technology, whilst at the same time finding an adequate balance to ensure students are able to embrace the opportunities that it brings to their lives.

Biteslide helps schools with digital access

Biteslide can be used by every teacher or student around the world via a laptop or PC at school and at home.

Biteslide is a ‘walled garden’ which means that teachers can safely control the content students have access to and how they can share their work.

2. Digital communication

Social media, video, instant messaging apps, email and text messages are just a few ways that students can express themselves and communicate together.

This means it’s vitally important that students get to grips with what is appropriate to share via these channels and what is not.  They need to be aware of how they create a ‘digital footprint’ over time and that’s why they should think twice before publishing anything to the web.

Biteslide helps students to understand digital communication

Students can work on projects collaboratively by developing slidebooks together.  They can peer review work through the use of commenting tools and also interact with their teachers.

Biteslide is a safe place to learn the rules of the web and to understand that once you post something to the web – it stays there.  Of course on Biteslide, teachers are able to add, edit, and remove anything as needed.

3. Digital Literacy

Using different technology can be quite intimidating for some and a breeze for others.

This means that teachers can find it difficult to teach students digital literacy at a similar pace to each other.

A good way for schools to overcome this is to use common software and devices that every student is likely to have access to at school as well as at home.

Blended learning

The concept of blended learning has also been very effective in increasing digital literacy.

Lessons are typically a mix of traditional ‘chalk and talk’ teaching methods alongside the use of digital tools or services  that enhance student engagement and output.

This gives students the perfect opportunity to use technology in a collaborative manner and to successfully achieve their tasks.

Which information is relevant?

With so many resources available on the web, identifying a reliable source of information can be a tricky task.

One of the most critical aspects of digital literacy for students focuses on teaching them how to assess the legitimacy of web resources.

Giving students suggested websites to further their project learning is a simple and effective way to guide them to trusted places on the web where they can expand their knowledge of a specific topic.

Biteslide promotes digital literacy

Biteslide is used by thousands of teachers around the world to adopt a blended learning approach to teaching in their classrooms.

With smart research, creation, and presentation tools, students develop a broad set of 21st century skills that will support them for the rest of their lives.

4. Digital etiquette

Students should to be aware that different mediums require different ways of communicating and use language in different ways.

They should understand that their actions can have consequences, and may lead to serious repercussions for other individuals and that they have a responsibility to stand up for others who are being bullied online by reporting it to an adult.

Biteslide promotes good etiquette

Students learn about how using the internet creates a ‘digital footprint’ in a safe and secure environment where if they do make a mistake it will not be visible to those outside the walled garden.

They also learn how to work with one and another on projects, encouraging good communication skills and build confidence to talk to different groups of people.  Teachers are able to monitor their students online behaviour within the walled garden and correct any inappropriate action and educate the student as to why it wasn’t appropriate.

5. Digital law

For students, understanding the laws around content usage are particularly important.

With many resources on the web for inspiration and guidance, students must understand the fine line between citing content as a source versus plagiarising someone else’s work entirely.

This leads into the understanding of copyright law which protect content owners and the mis-use of their text, image and video content online which students should be aware of when doing online research and project work.

Biteslide introduces students to digital laws

Using Biteslide for project work means that students must abide by copyright laws when using images from Google or videos in YouTube that we provide access to in the platform.  Biteslide is also an excellent place to learn to properly cite content that has been gathered from the web.

If teachers are worried about copyright infringement for projects, they can upload project assets directly to a class project folder and restrict access to resources outside the Biteslide platform.

6. Digital rights and responsibilities

All digital citizens are entitled to share basic rights such as privacy, freedom of speech and so forth.

With these rights also come responsibilities and in some cases, severe consequences for exerting them in the wrong way.

For students this can require a lot of education to ensure they understand their responsibilities, including when to report instances that threaten their rights to friendly and safe communications.

Biteslide helps students understand their digital rights and responsibilities

All Biteslide project work is carried out within a private area shared by the class.  Students can always communicate safely and transparently with one another.  In this safe area students can learn their rights and responsibilities without the fear of making mistakes in public.

7. Digital health

Whilst technology brings amazing opportunities to discover ways to enhance their lives, it comes with many physical risks (e.g. eye health, repetitive strain injury) and psychological dangers (e.g.internet addiction, cyber bullying) if not controlled.

Students should be made aware of how to balance technology use with every day offline social and physical activities to ensure they don’t over-expose themselves to the digital world throughout the day.

Biteslide gives students control with respect to digital health

Teachers set the project work in Biteslide, which means individual projects can be time-boxed to ensure students maintain a healthy level of digital usage.   Students are also able to collaborate to split the workload or support one another.  Teachers can control access to a project and restrict access to it if so desired.

8. Digital security

Students should be aware of the importance of keeping their data and passwords private and safe, never sharing information that doesn’t belong to them and ensuring they log out of any accounts they sign into.

And for schools, it’s vital that schools are able to adequately protect the private information of both their teachers and students, and ensure that students browsing the web are able to do so in a safe way.

Biteslide can help students learn about digital security

Biteslide takes security very seriously, our website is a “walled garden” meaning that data and project work is stored privately and securely, and teachers always have full visibility over student online behaviour in our platform via a management dashboard.

Teachers and students have individual accounts on Biteslide and that means that students have the responsibility of looking after their login details.  This is much like any other e-commerce or social media website on the web and teachers young learners how they need to manage their security.

If you’re ready to start teaching your students about digital citizenship please sign up now for a 30-day free trial of Biteslide.

 

Developing interesting, engaging, and educationally valuable school projects is critical to improving student outcomes.  But to do this, it takes a huge amount of time and effort.

That’s why I’m excited to share with you the launch of Biteslide’s Project Kits – inspirational digital school projects covering topics across the curriculum. And the best thing – you can get started in the click of a button!

The project kits have been carefully designed with the help of Biteslide’s resident education expert, James Clements, and include a detailed guide about how each project meets the requirements of the US Core Standards and the UK National Curriculum.

Every project helps you teach the key 21st Century skills that your students need for their personal development: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity and digital citizenship.

Each Biteslide project kit includes:

• A beautifully designed slidebook to introduce the project to your students
• A project summary
• A starter activity
• Main activities
• Assessment criteria
• Project extension ideas

We are launching with three exclusive project kits:

• Exploring the Earth and Space – A stellar kit about the earth and space
• Digital Travel Brochure – A geography kit to create a fun and engaging city guide
• The Mayans – A historical kit that explores the marvellous Mayans

This is just the start, we’ll be adding new kits regularly so keep an eye out.

If you’ve got any feedback about the project kits or ideas for ones you’d like to see please get in touch – we would love to hear from you!

Click here to head over to the all new Project Kits

As the calendar year comes to a close most teachers are breathing a cool and collective sigh of relief. With their classrooms packed up for the winter break, they now have the opportunity to put their feet up and relax.

Or, let’s be real, create plans for the next year.

A teacher’s job is never complete and the winter holidays are often filled with reflection and general curriculum overhaul. With activities and field trips still fresh in everyone’s mind, teachers often find themselves asking, “Have my students really retained anything this year?”

Yes, motivation in those precious few weeks before the winter break can be likened to running a marathon in the mud. Thankfully, there are so many easy-to-use programs that can make cumulative review a fun team building exercise.

Biteslide’s platform is adaptable, making it applicable to a variety of curriculum areas. It is also easy to share meaning that students can work together in a variety of ways to create anything from peer reviewed test questions to projects for the students to look at the following year.

Here are three ways in which you can integrate both Biteslide and teamwork methods into your end of the unit (or end of the year) lesson plans.

1. Peer Reviewed Games and Test Questions

Reviewing for a test can become an insurmountable drag with incredible speed. (And not just for the students!) Of course you can load them down with the review questions at the end of the unit but do you really want to read hundreds of scribbly notebook pages?

Alternatively, Biteslide can be used by the students to create a pool of review questions that are tailored to their specific needs. Start by taking a pretest to identify particular areas of struggle.

After you have your target areas, assign particular questions to each student or group of students and have them create a shareable project that can be added together for a cumulative review session.

Encourage your students to find interesting bites – pictures and videos that make the presentation interesting and memorable. As the students develop their presentations, pull specific slides for test questions.

2. Writer’s Workshop and Story Building

Although we have touched upon this before, Biteslide is an excellent resource for writer’s workshop classes.

The slides are easy to save and share. For many students, the added ability to incorporate pictures into their slides makes the writing process fun and much easier to visualize.

English classes can use Biteslide to create progressive stories in which each individual adds to the previous slide so that they can build a unique story that can showcase a particular skill or strategy.

Bites are easy to search for and will add fluidity to the story. It is a fun exercise to tag on to the beginning or end of a lesson as part of a review.

3. A Letter for Next Year

For an end of the year project that will hopefully keep your middle schoolers from rolling their eyes, have the students create individual slides that can be put together for next year’s class. Slide ideas can include:

• Introductions
• Favorite projects
• Rules that are important to follow
• Favorite field trips
• Tips and Tricks for success
• What they will or will not miss about that particular grade level

Biteslide is a multi-use platform that can be bent and shaped to your classrooms particular needs. Whether it is the end of the year or the end of a unit, technology-based review that can encourage team-based projects is an excellent addition to traditional forms of review. It is easy for you to view and assess and allows students to really take ownership of their lessons and overall success.

Have any excellent ways that you use Biteslide for review? We would love to hear from you!

Kathryn Rose is a full-time educator turned full-time mom and writer focusing on parenting and educational topics. After completing her Elementary Education Certification through North Park University, she taught middle school Social Studies in Chicago, IL. She still teaches part-time and loves putting together engaging lesson plans and activities that keep kids engaged and moving.

Mathematics for young learners, could there be a more straightforward subject to teach?

I think it’s relatively safe to say that almost everyone who has had an average elementary school experience also has workbook memories. While other subjects seemed to require different reading materials and critical thinking skills, the handy dandy math textbook was always there in the back of your locker, like an old and trustworthy friend that had long since run out of ways to surprise you.

Thankfully, for the math-inclined student, many teachers and educators do not believe that math has to be dusty or boring. Math surrounds us and is integrated into many important parts of our lives!

Sure, workbooks have their place among many outstanding tools that are at your student’s disposal, but who says they have to be the end all? Programs like Biteslide are adaptable which makes them easy to integrate into a large range of curriculum.

Biteslide Can Enforce Basic Math Skills

Math literacy takes time. It also is built up around basic and foundational math skills- mainly addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. For students that are wired for visual processing, Biteslide offers both educators and parents the opportunity build slides based around workbook problems and a student’s particular interests. Below is an example of a basic slideshow that details a subtraction problem from a workbook.

As the student progresses in his or her understanding of a particular concept, it is okay to let go of the reins and ask them to build a slideshow explaining the steps they took to get to their eventual answer.

Biteslide Can Enliven Word Problems

Word problems are literally haunting. They show up in all levels of math curriculum and are generally assumed to be helpful when trying to explain to a student that, sigh, math is actually a subject that he or she will use.

Word problems are great ways to think critically. They can also seem very daunting.
Working through a word problem on Biteslide encourages students to use all facets of learning to solve every day problems. (Yes, you can draw a picture to solve an equation!) Slideshow presentations allow students to get creative while also zoning in on a particular task. The combination should leave your students feeling empowered to tackle word problems from several possible angles.

Below is an example of a slideshow that was started by a teacher and then solved by a student.

Biteslide Can Connect Math to the Every Day

After your students have a solid and foundational understanding of the basic mathematical concepts you are trying to convey, why not have them explore the everyday application of their newly acquired knowledge?
Biteslide is not only easy use; it is also easy to share. Breaking away from the textbook for exciting and interesting presentations is a good way to break up the week and to make students feel like their knowledge has applicable power. Here is an excellent presentation that uses basic math (addition and patterns) and applies it to Fibonacci’s sequencing.

Math doesn’t have to solely reside in between the pages of a textbook. Biteslide offers ways that for students to be involved in their learning process. Visual learners will benefit from the tactical nature of the program while learners of all varieties will have fun extending their newly acquired knowledge into a stunning and shareable platform.

Register now so your students can start their own math projects.

And please do get in touch to let us know the exciting ways are you using Biteslide to promote math skills.

Kathryn Rose is a full-time educator turned full-time mom and writer focusing on parenting and educational topics. After completing her Elementary Education Certification through North Park University, she taught middle school Social Studies in Chicago, IL. She still teaches part-time and loves putting together engaging lesson plans and activities that keep kids engaged and moving.

Jerry Guttman has been teaching Business Education for over 30 years at Manheim Township High School in Central Pennsylvania. She teaches Accounting and Entrepreneurship courses in a computer lab with 28 PCs to grade 10, 11 and 12 students.

Despite being a fairly affluent community, as times have changed, so have the demographics of her students.

“As we become more diverse as a school, so too do our teachers strategies. Instruction to diversified learners has become a challenge”.

Jerry’s main project for her Entrepreneurship course involves writing a business plan for a startup company of her students’ choosing. Students typically work in teams of two or three to research various sections of the business plan on the Internet. The students would collate their findings into a word document and at the end of the course present their finished plan back to the class.

“In an effort to make this project more educational for diversified learners, I went looking on the Internet for something new and different that would encourage students to use their creativity to apply what they learned from their business plan research.”

Jerry discovered Biteslide whilst adding apps to her Google Chrome homepage and after experimenting with slidebooks, knew that she had found the alternative to writing a business plan that would be valuable to all types of learners.

“Using Biteslide’s collaborative features, my students have been able to continue working in teams to research the different sections of the business plans. Instead of just writing about it in the traditional way, they have been able to create visually interesting pages about each of the sections which they can present back and share with the rest of the class. This provided more meaning and made learning more fun for my students.”

Biteslide’s project management features made it easy to track the progress of her students’ work throughout the duration on the school project.

“I found it really helpful to be able to provide comments and feedback for improvements to their projects, directly alongside their work.”

The change in the way her students undertake project research has not only enabled Jerry to better integrate students with diverse learning backgrounds into school project work, but also provided a way for her students to create work that they are proud to show off to each other.

“With visual business plans, I am now able to print them off and hang them on my class room bulletin board to share my students’ project work.”

Having successfully integrated Biteslide as a learning tool for her students, Jerry plans to use it for a number of other projects including:

• Classroom introductions to help students get to know each other in a visual and fun way;
• Visual Learning using pictures to demonstrate the understanding of various Accountancy topics;
• And as a Vocabulary Aid, building a collaborative class slidebook of vocabulary for various terms relevant to the course.

And this is what Jerry’s class is saying about Biteslide…

“I love how easy it is to use, and will definitely tell my friends about it.”
Amber

“Biteslide is a creative and easy to way to make a visual, more interesting report, versus a boring a written report.”
Aubrey

“Biteslide was fun and easy to use.”
Sara

“Easier to present and easy to navigate.”
Brett

“I like using Biteslide more than writing an essay because it gives you more options. You can use it anywhere and it allows people to edit the project. I think that’s really a good feature.” Sokhema

Here’s a few examples of Jerry’s students’ Biteslide school project work:

 

As a teacher, you live for the “light bulb” moments- the scattered bits of the week that allow you to turn inwardly for a mental, and sometimes physical, pat on the back.

Yes, you actually are making a difference.

As a parent, you live for the moments when you can say, “Yes, this school project actually applies to real life!”

Rest assured, your child will be a competent adult one day.

Textbooks are an excellent place for a child to begin their learning process. They cover irreplaceable knowledge that will help them thrive and grow in an increasingly complex world. It is easy to access and usually has built-in review questions at the end of each chapter.

However, those coveted light bulb moments seem to often happen when the book is shut and the students are ready to apply their newly acquired data to the world around them.

As his or her understanding of the world expands it is important to help your individual student acquire a set of skills that will help them self-reflect when it comes to the multitude of information that they can synthesize from a variety of resources. Technology certainly adds its own level of complications. With IPhones and IPads abound, compilation and evaluation skills are a necessary component to Internet-based research.

Tools like Biteslide make it easy to transition students from textbook learning to self-propelled Internet research. It is an easy tool that provides a safe and controlled environment in which students can integrate secondary resources into their growing knowledge base.

Basic researching skills can often be boiled down into five basics steps:

1. Defining the Task
2. Discovering Important Key Words
3. Using Excellent Resources
4. Evaluating Each Result
5. Compiling Important and Pertinent Information

Before your student even touches a computer, have them define the task at hand. For example, “I want to create a slideshow that exhibits several different owls that we did not learn about in class.” Keywords or phrases for this task might include: owls, species, birds, owls in North America, nocturnal birds.

It is always a good idea to have the student include a list of places where he or she could likely find reliable information such as zoo websites, university journals, museum guides, etc. Have them answer the question, “Who are the experts?”

After a small bit of reflection, it is time to find some Internet resources that will help your student accomplish his or her researching goals. If you choose to use a search engine, remind your child that he or she will need to evaluate each individual page. Programs like Biteslide often do much of the weeding out for you. While it will still yield plenty of results, it is easy to look at all the pictures and “bites” on one screen. You can easily assess which keywords were helpful and that pulled up results that will add depth to the overall presentation.

After your student has clipped out several “bites” using Biteslide’s search feature and has also evaluated them for their credibility and usefulness, he or she can compile their research into a slideshow that can be visually stunning as well as accurate and effective. Biteslide makes it easy to assess numerous sources and allows students to ask important questions such as:

1. How can I narrow down my search to get the results I need?
2. How can I find information that reaches out beyond my textbook?
3. How can I respect ownership?

Below is an introductory example of a slideshow that a teacher could use when teaching students how to use Biteslide for researching purposes. It is simple and to the point. With any luck, your student will be able to use Biteslide to create their own full blown light bulb moment.

I hope this introduction to research skills using Biteslide has inspired you. If so, register now so your students can start their own school research projects.

Kathryn Rose is an full-time educator turned full-time mom and writer focusing on parenting and educational topics. After completing her Elementary Education Certification through North Park University, she taught middle school Social Studies in Chicago, IL. She still teaches part-time and loves putting together engaging lesson plans and activities that keep kids engaged and moving.

Schools are full of paper. If you are a teacher, you are well aware of the amount of time that can be spent standing in front of the copy machine. It can seem endless. Between practice sheets and secondary resources, it is easy for student work to get lost in the hand-to-hand shuffle.

While programs like Biteslide might not turn your classroom into a “paper free zone”, they can offer exciting new opportunities for students to showcase portfolios and archive their work. The best news is that Biteslide can be used across many different classes and curriculum areas making it easy for students to share their work with other students, teachers, and their parents.

Basic Portfolio Example

The simplest way to create a portfolio using Biteslide is to scan and gather student’s work into useable “bites”. The students can then use their bites to create a slidebook portfolio.

Below is an example of an art portfolio that showcases a student’s different art projects as they learned about folk art.

Progress Portfolio Example

Don’t let the title fool you, this type of slidebook is just as easy to create as the basic portfolio. Biteslide can be used to mark a student’s progress on a specific project over time. The beauty of this method is that students can go back and explain their problem-solving process. They can document both their successes and their failures and explain to others how their arrived at their final product or conclusion.

Below is a portfolio example of a Biteslide presentation that documents a team of students as they work on an egg drop project for science class.

“My Favorites” Portfolio Example

Biteslide projects can be used for reflection. Much like the folders that students prepare for their parents during parent-teacher conferences, Biteslide can offer children a chance to look back on a unit or period of the school year and collage projects, interesting facts, and relevant material into a unique presentation portfolio.

It is easy for students to send the final project to their teacher which is, in turn, easy to store and share with parents and other interested parties.

The following is an example of an Ancient Egypt “favorites” portfolio.

Student-led Conference Portfolio Example

Parent-teacher conferences are time-consuming and stressful. If your school allows or requires children to be present, students can feel shy and put on the spot. Biteslide can really help students prepare for the upcoming conference.

Have your students answer questions such as:

• What have been my favorite units so far?
• What subject is easy for me?
• What subject is hard for me?
• What projects am I really proud of?
• If I could change one thing about the classroom, what it would be?
• If I could ask my parents/teacher one thing, what would it be?

When they have completed their answers, let them spend time putting together a portfolio slidebook and then have them present it at the conference. It will give them a way to interact and to be involved in the conversation. And the bonus – it’s all done online so there is no need to shuffle papers across the desk.

Biteslide offers teachers and students the unique opportunity to showcase student portfolios digitally. The program is easy to use and the projects are easy to share. With minimal (and fun!) work, students can create beautiful portfolios that are both informational and attractive.

I hope these student portfolio examples have inspired you. If so, register now so your students can create an amazing student portfolio of their own.

For many, math class brings back workbook memories of nights huddled around the kitchen table frantically checking the evened numbered answers with the back pages. It seems rather repetitive. A child must be taught a concept, shown how to do it, and then bludgeoned over the head with examples. How else will they learn?

To add insult to injury, there is the inevitable math class back row critic who raises his or her hand and slyly asks the question, “So when are we ever going to use this is real life?” Yes, mathematics can feel like it has barely graduated from the era of dusty chalkboards and one-room school houses.

But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

With some creative energy and a bit of classroom participation, Biteslide can transform an incredibly important life skill and class into projects that feel relevant and fun.

Here are three creative ways to start using Biteslide in conjunction with your Math curriculum.

Biteslide Helps Students Visualize And Create Word Problems

In terms of real life problem-solving, word problems are an excellent way to bring the importance of mathematics into every day situations. Often riddled with numerous operations and superfluous information, word problems offer children the chance to put their workbook skills to practice. However, for some students, internally visualizing word problems can be a problem all its own.

Biteslide can offer children an opportunity to watch or recreate word problems for easy solving. Below is a simple example of a word problem slide show.

For a child, breaking down word problems into bite-sized ideas helps them think in sequential steps. The best part about Biteslide is that it can be used to introduce a problem that will be covered or it can be used by the students to work through a problem that is already troubling them. The bites can be collected together by the teacher ready for the students to use. All the student has to do is drop the bites straight onto their slides.

Biteslide Can Help Students Learn About Daily Mathematics And Current Events

For the class skeptic, Biteslide can a fun and engaging way to apply the class math lessons to every day events. Learning about percentages? Have the students track the price increase of various products such as gas, food items, and school supplies using an interactive slide show presentation.

Use the YouTube tab in the slidebook to find videos about bridge construction and trigonometry. It can even be used to present the context in which certain mathematical principals were contrived.

Below is an example of a short slidebook presentation that uses a video bite to explain the Pythagorean theorem.

Biteslide Can Create Interactive Problem-Solving And Review

One of Biteslide’s best features is the ability to share presentations with other teachers and classmates. This opens up a world of opportunity concerning both review strategies and interactive problem-solving.

Consider, for a moment, a multi-stage math problem that can be solved by creating a slidebook presentation that gets passed around from student to student. The slidebook can then be presented to the class and, if there is a mistake, corrected on the spot.

The problems can be passed amidst one class of students or shared with other classes for both review and fun competition. Students can submit slides with questions and concerns, review problems, or images and clips that have helped them understand a particular concept.

It is a completely different way to review for a math test and it can center around very specific and problematic areas. The best part is that students can participate in building slides and sending ‘bites’ that help others learn. Who could argue with that?

Math doesn’t have to be a dusty subject – especially since it is so relevant to our daily lives. Interactive programs like Biteslide can entice students to take responsibility for their own learning process. With Biteslide the possibilities are endless and the effort will certainly be worth the result for you and your students.

If you don’t already have an account on Biteslide, what are you waiting for? Register for your free account here.

Social Studies and Geography open up a child’s mind to the many cultures, climates, and people in our world. With technology, students are able to talk to people from and see pictures of places that once seemed impossibly far away. Biteslide can offer teachers and students an opportunity to create “road maps” and “travel journals” that help students review special places they have learned about while also increasing their contact with the cultures, histories, and people they have learned about in their textbooks.

Common Core State Standards covered by this project

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1
  Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3
  Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7
  Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.10
  By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2–3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2
  Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.6
  With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.7
  Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.10
  Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3
  Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.7
  Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.9
  Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.6
  With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.8
  Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

Materials Needed For This Project On A Weekly Basis

• Access to a Computer Lab and Biteslide.com
• Relevant Textbooks/Social Studies Notes
• Writing Utensils
• Optional: Cheat Sheet of Relevant Questions

Activity

The students can work alone or in groups to create a yearlong “travel journal” that highlights different geographical locations that they have learned about in their classroom. The students should be able to extend their textbook knowledge into secondary websites that are informative and appropriate. The teacher might want to include or create a “cheat sheet” that the students can use all year to help them pursue decent and relevant information. Questions on the cheat sheet could include:

1. 1. What types of animals live here?
2. 2. Does this city have any special buildings?
3. 3. If you had only one hour, what would you visit and why?
4. 4. Was something invented here?
5. 5. Is someone famous from here?

While the students are clipping and creating slides, the teacher should supervise and discuss proper sources and crediting for photographs.

At the end of the year, the students should be able to present their travel journal to the class and to their parents. As an extension, teachers should print out individual slides to pull together a bulletin board that can be changed throughout the year.

Modifications

For students with special needs or who need extra monitoring, it is easy to add editors to any individual slide show. Students can collaborate with one another to produce the best results.

ESL students should be encouraged to add words that they understand into the slide but they can also convey what they have learned with well-placed pictures and collages.

Biteslide makes it easy to store and retrieve yearlong projects. There is no classroom clutter and the project is easy to integrate into computer class and testing weeks. With so many voices crowding the Internet, teachers can use programs like Biteslide to help their students become responsible web-based researchers.

If you don’t already have an account on Biteslide, you can sign up for free here.

Kathryn Rose is an full-time educator turned full-time mom and writer focusing on parenting and educational topics. After completing her Elementary Education Certification through North Park University, she taught middle school Social Studies in Chicago, IL. She still teaches part-time and loves putting together engaging lesson plans and activities that keep kids engaged and moving.