Reflect

I used this gizmo to help show the relationship between supplementary and complementary angles.  My students were able to see how the adjacent angles form a straight angle or right angle.  It was nice to be able to move the angles around.  I also liked the questions that it gave at the end.  I do feel that this is better as a presentation to help students visualize the material, than as individual activities for the students.

I used the adding and subtracting integers with chips this year since I couldn't use the physical chips in class. I found that the students were very engaged during the lesson once they got there. My s group in particular struggle with getting logged in and making it to the gizmo. 

The student exploration sheet is a nice bonus, but I did find that I needed to do some modification to it. It was wordy where it didn't need to be. I also think having to switch back and forth between the two tabs was difficult for students. We did this lesson towards the beginning of the year and I'm thinking it may now be easier since the students have had a lot more practice working with multiple windows. I'm excited to try the one-step equation stimulator in the next couple of weeks!

Students just wrapped up learning about electricity and have begun tying that knowledge into learning about magnetism. After joining my class, students explored the circuit builder gizmo and attempted to make a variety of circuits with varying numbers of batteries and lightbulbs. After, they experimented with magnetic attraction through a variety of materials. The kids really enjoyed this time. It was more about free exploration using their knowledge than a set task within given parameters. Their feedback was that they enjoyed doing a version of experimentation because it is not something they are able to do currently when we meet tin person. We use a lot more videos and live demonstration this year, so this gave them a hands-on opportunity. The only down-side of Gizmos is that signing up was a bit cumbersome. It does not give a sing-in with Google option, so students have to create usernames and passwords, then remember them. It does, however, give the teacher the ability to reset passwords if needed. I can see this being a great lesson enhancer within the classroom, both virtually and in-person.

I used gizmos in both LE and ES as well as AIS review. It was helpful for reinforcing certain concepts especially ones requiring manipulation of data.