Lucid Chart

Lucid Chart

In my math teaching, I sometimes like to introduce the idea of a flow chart to help students understand more complex processes of solving certain types of math problems.  One example is factoring polynomials.  There are several methods students learn to use.  But beyond learning the different methods, they also need to learn how to apply them the most efficiently.  Some methods are quicker and easier than others and we prefer to use them first, if we can.

So it's at this point that I explain the use of a flow chart to break down complex multi-decisions into an organized thought process.  Enter Lucid Chart.

There are a lot of programs out there which can be used to build basic flow charts (I've used a few others myself previously) but I've found Lucid Chart works really well for several reasons:

• It's really well polished with a great interface
• It's popular and thus benefits from so much use
• It's fairly thorough in it's offerings for student needs
• Google sign in enabled
• Google Drive connected

There's a free and paid versions of the software.  The free side though is really generous with what is offered and all the pay options seem unnecessary for education purposes.  It also provides enough design and properties options to differentiate a student's chart to look beyond generic.  However, it's got enough options to warrant a warning to students to follow good design principles so as to not hurt their chart's effectiveness.

As mentioned, it not only uses a Google sign in process for quick log ins, but it also can tie into Google Drive and save student work on Google Drive in conjunction with being saved on the website.  This also enables the sharing of files through Google Drive to the teacher rather than going through the share interface built in.  Students just need to make sure they've enabled the chart to be shared indefinitely. Otherwise, the teacher may try to open it later and find the chart invitation is no longer open to them.  The sharing feature also allows collaborative work between students even in different locations.

The resulting charts can be downloaded in a multitude of formats to suit the needs of teacher and students.  There is multiple pages support within the documents as well in case you wanted to have a massively shared file for a larger set of students.

The program also cross ties into Lucid Press, a publishing tool I'll get to in another post.  You can share resources between the two.

Pros:

• Free for what is needed
• Great interface
• Plenty of options and potential
• Google connected, including Drive
• Popular and hopefully continued to be supported well
• Multiple formats to save to

Cons:

• Sharing seems a bit complex or flaky at times
• Too many options can lead students down bad design paths
• Can be a bit complex for students without some direction on what to focus on

Example chart to demonstrate to students the concept of a flowchart

Example chart to demonstrate to students the concept of a flowchart

Types of boxes to use.  Some of these are standard for certain concepts.

Other types of containers or shapes.

General quality options that are pretty standard.

Tool bar for more complex features available.

Actual student made chart

Current app list

While I will eventually get into discussing all of these apps, here is a the list of the most frequently used free apps I currently use for my teaching:

Math

• Desmos
• Khan Academy
• Geogebra
• Lucid Chart
• sketchometry

Graphic Design

• Pixlr
• Janvas
• Lucidpress
• 3dtin
• tridiv
• SVG Edit

General Teaching

• ClassDojo
• Remind
• Common Curriculum

Google sign in

One thing I tend to look for in an online app is a Google sign in option.  All of my current students use a Google account as we're under a Google domain for education environment (which I totally endorse, but that's a whole other post).

One if the reasons I like the Google sign in is often that allows the work that students do or create to be saved back to Google drive.  That then allows for a way to share their work to their teacher.  Also, this is often a signal that work can be saved and come back to later.

It also streamlines the login process and removes another account setup to remember and have to enter in.  Additionally, I take it as a good sign about how well the creators' product is if they've manage to integrate a Google login.

Sometimes the button to log in with Google looks like a Google+ login, but it's still a regular Google account login option.  

There are other login types out there, such as Facebook, but I like keeping it tied to the student's school account if you have the domain setup correctly.

sketchometry

sketchometry

I've been looking for a good geometry sketching tool lately to use with my 7 grade classes as we've gotten into more geometry related material under the Common Core than I used to under the old CA standards.

I've used GeoGebra before but I found it had some limitations.  The text I'm using (GoMath) mentioned using a geometry software program and proceeded to explain what to do in such a program.  I found that GeoGebra was lacking in some capabilities that were expected from the program. (Specifically the ability to specify line segment lengths and connect their end points together.  This was for a lesson on triangles.)

So I spent a few weeks Googling away for something.  As usual, I did several searches at various different times with not much luck.  And then this last Monday I somehow hit the right terms in the right order and voila, sketchometry.

Pros:

• clean and intuitive interface; it didn't take me long to figure it out
• saving of previous works
• multi-platform: web, Chrome Store, iOS, Android, Windows, OSX, Linux, you name it (even FirefoxOS!)
• measuring tools to help students analyze what they create
• being currently developed further and improved upon
• many aspects that can be changed (color, size, opacity) to help differentiate
• excellent documentation

Cons:

• I've found the web reliability can be a bit hit and miss (freezing, trouble loading, slow to respond)
• Lacking or nonexistent in some areas that Geogebra does have (3D for one)

I haven't used the program extensively yet, but I'm looking forward to trying it out more with my classes as we hit more of the geometry standards through the year.  But I did want to share it out there for anyone looking for such a beast.

Creation Tools:

Measuring Tools:

Properties Tools:

It begins... (an intro)

Hi.

Me
I am a current middle school math teacher.  I've been teaching 6th-8th grade math for 6+ years which entails 6th grade standards all the way up through Algebra 1 standards.  I've also taught and been involved with teaching graphic design tools and principles to middle school students. I am also a major tech nerd/geek both in school and outside of it.  I love technology and I love using it to further my students' learning and understanding.

I've previously taught 4th grade and 7th grade life science.

This Blog
I am creating this blog to share my thoughts, discoveries, opinions, and other ideas about using technology to educate.  I've spent a good amount of time doing professional development for integrating technology into education.  I'm always looking to find more and improve too.

I also read a fair amount of other education tech blogs to find good ideas and resources and wish to pay that back by doing some myself.

The Technology
I tend to focus on web based and free to use apps.  I like the idea of using tech that is independent of platform and can be accessed anywhere by a student with a connected device.  My primary focus will be on tools related to math education (and some graphic design too) but will touch on others things I find or get some experience with and I think are good.

I've found that what's available to use online has exploded in the last 5 years and the quality is going up all around.  It's an exciting time to be utilizing these types of tools.