Thursday, February 7, 2019

Paperless Math Class? But How???

We are newly 1:1 24/7 district for our 6-12 graders and 1:1 at school for K-5. We use touchscreen Lenovo 300e series Chromebooks. They're amazing. The screen can actually be written on with a graphite pencil, so text can be handwritten. 

Check out this video from The Verge to see the screen writing capabilities.



Students also use stylus and even their headphone jack works (weird, but it does). Last week while I was teaching in a science classroom, a student with an iPhone 7 made a comment about her phone not having the auxiliary port. Guess what? The charger jack also works on our screens!


hdr, headphone jack, headphones


I've worked with our algebra teacher quite a lot this year on how to incorporate the use of technology with math. She's been completely on board from day 1. We are a Google District, so all of her assignments are posted on Google Classroom. She uses Kami integrated into her Google Classroom. When she posts an assignment, it is posted to force copy for all students, and students open the assignment with the app/extension Kami. They use the paint/draw tool to hand write and work out problems. Students also use the text box feature to type notes and responses that require longer worded answers. 












All work is automatically saved in Kami; and, with Kami's Google Classroom integration the work shows up on the teacher side of Google Classroom making grading with Kami a breeze. Teachers are able to correct problems using a different color and make comments using text boxes. Teacher-student feedback is fast and easy. Teachers are also able to see student work, notes, and who is NOT taking notes in class in real time.

Several teachers have begun to use Kami in place of making paper copies for every student. Not only does it cut back on paper consumption, using Kami also helps students keep track of work. And there's never the excuse of "I lost my paper" or "I didn't get that assignment".

To see a step-by-step of how to create an assignment using Kami, check out my post here.

Assigning Work in Google Classroom with Kami


First, install the Kami extension from the Chrome Web Store.

In Google Classroom, create an Assignment.


Enter the title of your assignment and any directions. I like to include for students to complete the work in Kami (just so there’s no confusion). Make any adjustments to due dates and points possible.


Attach from Drive the PDF you are assigning to students. In this case, I’m assigning students a word search puzzle. Yes, I called it a crossword puzzle (oops). Change the file to Make a copy for each student! This is important. Each student needs their own copy of your PDF assignment to edit; otherwise, every student may end up editing your original.


Crossword puzzles, dot-to-dots, and word searches are an easy option to use to practice assigning work using Kami. Students can practice opening the PDF and Kami’s features without worrying about classroom content.


What the student sees.....
A new assignment has posted in their Classroom.


Students will open the assignment with Kami. If they do not have this option, make sure they’ve installed the extension. I’ve also had some students that need to open in a new window in order to use Kami. *I think they may have had an OS update.


To open in a new window, click the three dot menu in the top right corner, and then Annotate with Kami.

In this case, students had directions to use the Box Highlighter or Paint Brush tools.



When writing small features such as working out math problems or entering grammar and punctuation corrections, I have students use the smallest font. You’ll notice on the plotting assignment picture in my post Paperless Math Class? But How?? the plot points are large. The student increased the font size and just made a dot.



After students have complete the assignment, they’ll return to the assignment post and click “turn in”.


Meanwhile back in the teacher's view of Google Classroom

I can track who has turned in their work.


Click the assignment to view individual student work.


You can automatically see the work they've done, even if they haven't turned in the assignment!


Open with Kami to mark directly on the student's work, make corrections, or leave comments. Enter the grade in Google Classroom and return the assignment to the student!
Alternate option: assign work directly from Kami into Google Classroom.