2009-11-19 SEEDlings with Colleen King

What were you doing on Thurs. evening? If you missed SEEDLINGS you missed a lot! Colleen King from MathPlayground.comwas our guest.
Colleen, explained how she came to be a programmer, sheer will and determination in order to share math concepts and games with students and teachers.Colleen is a do it yourselfer. She taught herself how to program, how to make math available. She had a dream and her dream is coming true, not just for her, but for all the teachers and students she is connecting with. Check out our podcast. We will be inviting her back.

 The show:
Join, Alice, Bob and Cheryl as we interview Colleen King, the brains and passion behind Mathplayground.com, and http://thinkingblocks.com/ and her newest and self-proclaimed best program and website:  http://www.MathApprentice.com
I spent one hour before the show playing at all her sites. You will be engaged and so will your students, this puts math in a whole new light. Colleen is a life long learner, has the passion that drives her ideas and is a mentor to all of us and our students. She does all this for us and our students. Let's help spread the word!

Geek of the Week Links

Chat

[19:30] <alicebarr> Hi Peggy
[19:30] <cheryloakesSeedl> sound check in 30 seconds
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[19:30] <alicebarr> HI Mrddi
[19:31] <@PeggyG> yes mrsdi!! same command--love it! couldn't remember which key to use with + on PC
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[19:31] freenode-connect [freenode@freenode/bot/connect] requested CTCP VERSION from alicebarr:
[19:31] <alicebarr> Hello Terry
[19:32] <alicebarr> How was the rollout?
[19:32] <@PeggyG> I'm hearing the stream :-)
[19:32] <@PeggyG> I'm listening in iTunes
[19:32] <mrsdi> I'm not hearing anything - what am I missing?
[19:32] <@PeggyG> click on one of the icons under ETT-A
[19:32] <alicebarr> Mrsdi Have you clicke on the Stream At EdTechTalk A
[19:32] <@PeggyG> I use the first one to listen in iTunes
[19:33] <@PeggyG> audio is very clear for me
[19:33] <cheryloakesSeedl> you hear all
[19:33] <@PeggyG> I'm only hearing Cheryl though
[19:33] <@PeggyG> Alice sounds like she's in another country--way far away
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[19:34] <mrsdi> Got it - thanks
[19:34] <@PeggyG> Cheryl is loud and everyone else is almost impossible to hear
[19:34] <cheryloakesSeedl> ok, just had to hijack again, give this 25 second
[19:34] <@PeggyG> great!!! hearing everyone now
[19:35] <cheryloakesSeedl> thanks PEggy, whew, new skype
[19:35] <cheryloakesSeedl> new nicecast
[19:35] == sheila [i=47a15f6c@gateway/web/freenode/x-gqaxunubixhppsti] has joined #edtechtalk
[19:35] <sheila> Hi all!
[19:36] <bobsprankle> can you hear us now?
[19:36] <@PeggyG> so sorry to hear you are sick!!
[19:36] <sheila> yes
[19:36] <mrsdi> Can hear all very well now
[19:36] <@PeggyG> so far so good for me :-) no flu!!
[19:36] <@PeggyG> hearing great Bob!! everyone coming through fine!
[19:36] <alicebarr> http://www.mathplayground.com/
[19:37] <@PeggyG> Colleen you're so modest!!!
[19:37] <@PeggyG> Saturday morning math would definitely be a challenge :-)
[19:38] <alicebarr> http://thinkingblocks.com/
[19:38] <alicebarr> http://www.mathapprentice.com/
[19:39] <@PeggyG> wow Colleen!!! Look at how far you've come with web design!!!
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[19:39] <@PeggyG> Hi tryingtostayawak :-) I can relate!!
[19:40] <@PeggyG> I hadn't heard that story before Colleen, but love it!!
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[19:41] <@PeggyG> I was sharing Math Playground with my teachers and student teachers way before I met Colleen and was so thrilled to meet her finally!!
[19:42] <@PeggyG> yes Swish :-) but don't know how to use it
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[19:43] <@PeggyG> I'd love to hear about how you decided what to include in your math games. That is what makes the site so successful!
[19:43] == susan__ [i=cfacb256@gateway/web/freenode/x-pnohyubgosmtlljt] has joined #edtechtalk
[19:44] <@PeggyG> how can you offer all of these resources and games for FREE for students and teachers??
[19:44] <cheryloakesSeedl> http://www.mathplayground.com/index.html   touring math playground
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[19:46] <cheryloakesSeedl> Number invaders, love it
[19:46] <cheryloakesSeedl> auto recall and fluency
[19:46] == andreahildreth [i=43a4438c@gateway/web/freenode/x-hijbanrarghkycqh] has joined #edtechtalk
[19:47] <@PeggyG> There was an awesome keynote presentation at FETC Virtual Conference about how important it is for kids to learn math facts!! All based on brain research!
[19:47] <alicebarr> Hello Andrea, welcome!
[19:47] <cheryloakesSeedl> hello all, Colleen is so interesting, I played on her site for an hour before a show
[19:48] <cheryloakesSeedl> Algebraic reasoning, Groundworks, good workbook
[19:49] <alicebarr> I just tried the rubik's cube. Amazing!
[19:50] <@PeggyG> the visuals really help them to understand better
[19:50] <cheryloakesSeedl> I got stuck on suduko
[19:50] <mrsdi> I have 6th graders making Weebly websites & they are doing Egypt research as a page - basically a digital research paper, but they are actually excited about it!
[19:50] <@PeggyG> suduko can be very addictive :-)
[19:50] <cheryloakesSeedl> mrsdi, can you share thepage?
[19:50] <sheila> Oh, I like it too Peggy.
[19:51] <alicebarr> Very cool MrsDi. Hope you can share them with us
[19:51] <cheryloakesSeedl> Mrs.di I bet they like it and are learning more
[19:51] <@PeggyG> Hi Sheila--didn't see you come in :-)
[19:51] <mrsdi> The pages are still in process, each student has their own website (Weebly gives me 40 student accounts for free).  Once they have some work done I'll post on Twitter (@MrsDi)
[19:52] <sheila> Listening and preparing a new lesson for tomorrow.
[19:52] <@PeggyG> I'd love to see it mrsdi! I really like Weebly!!
[19:52] <cheryloakesSeedl> thanks mrs.di please post at seedlings ning too
[19:53] <alicebarr> http://www.mathapprentice.com/
[19:53] <@PeggyG> Colleen can you also talk about what you have done on the Math 237 mathcasts :-) after mathapprentice!!
[19:54] <mrsdi> Sure thing
[19:54] <@PeggyG> I found MathApprentice to be very challenging but lots of fun--for ME!!
[19:54] <sheila> @MrsDi Are you presenting at McAuliffe?
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[19:54] <@PeggyG> Hi Jen
[19:54] <mrsdi> No, I need another year or so under my belt first (1st year teaching this), then I'll be out there!
[19:54] == Jen has changed nick to Guest50368
[19:54] <@PeggyG> what fun!!!!
[19:55] <@PeggyG> I think that was a brilliant idea to connect the math skills to such engaging real life activities!!
[19:55] <mrsdi> I'm sending the apprentice link to our math teachers right now.
[19:55] <cheryloakesSeedl> I would spend all day
[19:56] <alicebarr> This is amazing!
[19:56] <alicebarr> Talk about engagement
[19:56] <sheila> @MrsDi - Oh, we need to talk ...  :)  Think about it for next year!
[19:56] <Guest50368> how and why was myname changed
[19:56] <@PeggyG> what a painless, fun way to learn math concepts!!!!
[19:57] <@PeggyG> or a math-challenged adult can do it too!!
[19:58] <mrsdi> @sheila I'm hoping we will meet f2f at Christa - not sure yet what day I can go (hubby traveling & we have kids!)
[19:58] <alicebarr> I think you can change your name by saying nick and then your name
[19:58] <@PeggyG> and you get to vote on future businesses to explore on the site :-)
[19:59] <@PeggyG> you hit on the key Bob!!! helps kids understand why it's so important to learn those math skills
[19:59] <mrsdi> I tweeted Math Apprentice
[20:00] <cheryloakesSeedl> http://www.terc.edu/
[20:00] <@PeggyG> @Colleen--I really want you to come on Classroom 2.0 LIVE to spread the word about Math Apprentice--you can visually demonstrate on Elluminate and people will be hooked!
[20:00] <@PeggyG> My grandkids all got hooked on math with Zoombinis!
[20:00] <mrsdi> Oh yes, an Elluminate session would be great!
[20:01] <sheila> @mrsdi I'm there all 3 days! I'll look for you too! NHSTE reception on Wed 4 pm ish.
[20:01] <mrsdi> What about the ning http://edupln.ning.com/ ?
[20:02] <@PeggyG> I've already asked her but her Saturdays are very busy with teaching!!!
[20:02] <cheryloakesSeedl> peggy, can you invite Colleen!
[20:02] <mrsdi> @Colleen, are you out on Twitter?  Great PLN and networking opportunities
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[20:02] <cheryloakesSeedl> colleenK=twitter
[20:02] <@PeggyG> Wow! that is exciting Colleen!!!
[20:03] <@PeggyG> Once we get Colleen on Classroom 2.0 LIVE the recording will be archived in LearnCentral and many people will learn about it!!
[20:03] <sheila> Can't imagine all the time it took you to pull it all together.
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[20:04] <alicebarr> http://thinkingblocks.com/
[20:04] <cheryloakesSeedl> good job alice
[20:04] <alicebarr> Thanks
[20:04] <cheryloakesSeedl> thinking blocks and similar to Singapore
[20:05] <cheryloakesSeedl> the tutorials are wonderful
[20:06] <mrsdi> Tweet or get in touch with Larry Ferlazzo - he does the "best of" series and get Math Apprentice looked at.  Maybe he'll put it on his lists which are globally known.
[20:06] <@PeggyG> word problem solving is a challenge both for students and teachers
[20:07] <@PeggyG> it is incredible that all of these resources are free to use!!
[20:07] <andreahildreth> I love the name "math playground"
[20:08] <@PeggyG> yes andrea!! math playground is so "user friendly"
[20:09] <andreahildreth> omg
[20:09] <sheila> Wow! 350,000/day!
[20:09] <@PeggyG> and the name Math Apprentice really captures the idea of math as it relates to real world application and careers!
[20:09] <@PeggyG> that's incredible!!! 350,000 hits a day on Math Playground! Maybe you need to put a survey or something on that site that entices people into Math Apprentice because they will love it once they know about it!
[20:10] <cheryloakesSeedl> good point Peggy
[20:10] <@PeggyG> that's why online webinars are so fantastic!!! you don't even have to be on camera :-)
[20:11] <@PeggyG> I'd love to hear her talk about what she has done with mathcasts in Math247
[20:11] <mrsdi> Larry Ferlazzo blog at http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/
[20:12] <@PeggyG> she has contributed to it though
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[20:13] <andreahildreth> I seem to be hearing a lot of talk about math and science being vital to our global success as an economic leader - anyone else?
[20:13] <@PeggyG> I knew it was Tim Fahlberg's program and he has done an incredible job with it!! Lots of teachers have been inspired to use Voicethread for mathcasts since he started that
[20:14] <@PeggyG> I'll get the link
[20:14] <@PeggyG> you can start here: http://math247.pbworks.com/Presentations%20about%20mathcasts
[20:14] <cheryloakesSeedl> http://math247.pbworks.com/
[20:15] <@PeggyG> these are Lisa Parisi's contributions to mathcasts
[20:15] <@PeggyG> http://math247.pbworks.com/South+Paris+Collaborative%27s+Mathcast+Portfolio
[20:15] <cheryloakesSeedl> thanks Peggy, this is helpful
[20:15] <@PeggyG> we had him on Classroom 2.0 LIVE too--awesome show!!
[20:15] <mrsdi> http://mathcasts.org/
[20:16] <cheryloakesSeedl> http://www.mathtrain.com/
[20:16] <cheryloakesSeedl> with Mr. Marcos
[20:16] <mrsdi> mathtrain is awesome!
[20:16] <mrsdi> http://mathtrain.tv/
[20:16] <@PeggyG> This is the link to the Elluminate recording and tons of other links related to mathcasts from our CR20LIVE show: http://live.classroom20.com/1/post/2009/05/mathcasts-special-guest-tim-f...
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[20:17] <mrsdi> I want to use Jing and have kids create screencasts of their own
[20:17] <@PeggyG> this is the page with student created mathcasts on Math247: http://math247.pbworks.com/Mathcasts%20By%20Students
[20:18] <andreahildreth> I wonder what there is about math and economics
[20:18] <@PeggyG> Tim has some great tutorials for creating mathcasts that include Voicethread but also other alternatives on his site
[20:20] <@PeggyG> just an FYI: TERC began as Technical Education Research Centers and now everyone just uses TERC :-)
[20:20] <cheryloakesSeedl> thanks Peggy
[20:20] <andreahildreth> Is anything on SL for future teachers to find and learn from?
[20:20] <@PeggyG> I agree Alice about the use of data--they may know how to collect it but don't know what to do with it after they have it
[20:21] <mrsdi> cross curricular is nice... here is one where geography & maps come together through Google Maps http://edte.ch/blog/maths-maps/
[20:21] <andreahildreth> YES - make stats, data, econ more friendly
[20:21] <@PeggyG> there are some awesome things being done with Google Earth related to math
[20:22] <mrsdi> visualization is a big buzz word right now.  Anything that can be done with that?  
[20:22] <sheila> @Colleen  - Have no fears! Your work and explanations are great!
[20:22] <andreahildreth> Colleen, I am too shy to turn on my microphone - so I understand
[20:22] <@PeggyG> I think it was Justin Karkow who did a great presentation on Google Earth/math applications in the DEN Fall Virtual Conference
[20:22] <alicebarr> http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_on_a_Stick
[20:23] <@PeggyG> I always love Geek of the Week!!! :-)
[20:23] <cheryloakesSeedl> http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/grade_g_1.html  My favorite National Library Virtual Math Manipulatives
[20:24] <colleenk> Thank you all for the encouragement! Much appreciated.
[20:24] <mrsdi> visualization - datamasher http://www.datamasher.org/ mash up govt data
[20:24] <@PeggyG> @andrea--I definitely agree about the cross curricular approach--Colleen has done a great job of that with Math Apprentice!
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[20:25] <mrsdi> Yes, math apprentice is a great cross curricular approach... it makes it easier for me to get this to teachers and have them use it in the classroom.
[20:25] <cheryloakesSeedl> http://image-swirl.googlelabs.com/
[20:25] <@PeggyG> Hi carolteach4! great to see you
[20:25] <carolteach4> hi, just got home from conferences at school - no audio
[20:25] <cheryloakesSeedl> hi carolteach4, we have audio i think
[20:25] <cheryloakesSeedl> http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2009/11/curator-of-month-michael-wesc...
[20:26] <@PeggyG> @carolteach4--use ETT-A first icon for listening in iTunes
[20:26] <andreahildreth> I LOVE Michael Wesch
[20:26] <cheryloakesSeedl> http://sixrevisions.com/resources/the-history-of-the-internet-in-a-nutsh...
[20:26] <@PeggyG> Michael Wesch has such awesome resources available for us!!! He is so inspiring!
[20:26] <carolteach4> got it - I'm on a new computer -still figuring out configurations
[20:27] <alicebarr> @andrea We do too. Did you hear the show we did with him last April
[20:27] <carolteach4> I hear Bob -Yeah!
[20:27] <@PeggyG> great carolteach4!!
[20:27] <cheryloakesSeedl> he is incredible
[20:27] <sheila> Wow, great links tonight!
[20:27] <cheryloakesSeedl> Bob and Michael Wesch
[20:27] <cheryloakesSeedl> play along
[20:27] <cheryloakesSeedl> bob is going trivia
[20:28] <andreahildreth> Yes, I did hear mr Wesch - he is a brave guy
[20:28] <@PeggyG> oh oh--trivia questions!! :-)
[20:28] <sheila> Quizzes!
[20:28] <andreahildreth> 1999
[20:28] <@PeggyG> hmmm--first web page created??
[20:28] <@PeggyG> 1990?
[20:28] <sheila> 1994
[20:29] <cheryloakesSeedl> 2nd question, when was the first emotiocon
[20:29] <@PeggyG> woohoo Colleen!!! 1992 :-)
[20:29] <@PeggyG> first emoticon on internet?
[20:29] <sheila> In between us peggy
[20:29] <andreahildreth> 1999
[20:29] <sheila> 2003
[20:29] <mrsdi> 1990
[20:29] <@PeggyG> I'm waiting to answer until I see everyone else's :-)
[20:30] <sheila> No way! 1979?
[20:30] <@PeggyG> this is really fun Bob!!
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[20:30] <andreahildreth> the guy looking over the fence?
[20:30] <sheila> mosaic
[20:30] <@PeggyG> netscape??
[20:31] <cheryloakesSeedl> yes, guy over the fence, who is that?
[20:31] <@PeggyG> what was the right answer? mosaic or netscape?
[20:31] <sheila> 1995
[20:31] <cheryloakesSeedl> mosaic was first
[20:31] <@PeggyG> I can't google fast enough :-)
[20:31] <cheryloakesSeedl> good for you Peggy for trying
[20:31] <andreahildreth> Iggy?
[20:31] <sheila> I threw my answers off just you throw you all off . . .
[20:32] <@PeggyG> @Colleen--you should put some trivia questions on Math Playground that can be answered on Math Apprentice :-)
[20:32] <sheila> I remember gopher
[20:32] <colleenk> Cool idea, Peggy.
[20:32] <carolteach4> I remember buying early printshop software - expensive - to get a very pixelated image on my dot matrix printer, and I was so thrilled
[20:32] <@PeggyG> funny Sheila!!!
[20:33] <sheila> That was fun! Thanks all!
[20:33] <colleenk> Thank you for coming!
[20:33] <andreahildreth> so nice to hear all of you!
[20:33] <@PeggyG> Colleen you are fantastic!!!! I love your sites!! and I especially love hearing you talk about them!
[20:33] <sheila> @Colleen Will you be at McAuliffe in Nashua?
[20:33] <mrsdi> Yjsmld = rmkpurf yjr djpe@ G
[20:33] <carolteach4> Sorry to be so late; will be looking forward to listening to the stream and viewing the chat log with the links.
[20:34] <mrsdi> OK, dark on the keyboard and I kept typing anyway... just think of it as coded trivia...
[20:34] <colleenk> No, Sheila. Would love to meet you some day.
[20:34] <cheryloakesSeedl> thanks to the chat room, you make our show
[20:34] <mrsdi> Thanks for a great show - enjoyed it!
[20:34] <carolteach4> Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
[20:34] <@PeggyG> I wish your shows started a half hour earlier because they always conflict with Future of Education interviews. such hard decisions!!
[20:34] <sheila> Definitely!
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[20:34] <sheila> Thanks so much all!
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[20:34] <sheila> Showing my age?
[20:35] <cheryloakesSeedl> Excellent!!! Night
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[20:35] <@PeggyG> Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! See you in December!
[20:35] <sheila> Thanks for shout-out!  Next year for sure!