M7 Games and Stimulations in Education

 

I teach 9th-grade Algebra, and it can be challenging to find a game that is suitable for the level and learning style. Our science department utilized Gizmos for high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. I never thought to look into it until now, to see if they did anything for math. 

I am going to look into two-step equations, which you can visit here https://gizmos.explorelearning.com/find-gizmos/lesson-info?resourceId=109

This Gizmo presents a virtual balance scale to model algebraic equations like 2x + 3 = 11. Students can add or remove weights and blocks on each side of the scale, physically seeing how operations affect the equation's balance. As they work, they begin to understand inverse operations and the goal of isolating the variable. It turns solving equations into a hands-on puzzle, helping students visualize what it means to “undo” an operation, something that’s often abstract or confusing in a traditional math setting.

I would use this Gizmo during a unit on solving linear equations, probably around the second week of instruction, once students have a solid understanding of basic operations and variables. I see this simulation as a great way to help students transition from hands-on tools like algebra tiles to more abstract problem-solving with symbolic equations. It creates a visual and interactive experience that helps make the math feel more meaningful and less intimidating.

I would begin the activity with a brief class demonstration of the Gizmo using the smartboard. Together, we would solve the first equation in the simulation, pausing to discuss the meaning behind each action, such as asking, “What does removing three blocks from both sides represent?” This guided discussion would help students make connections between the visual model and the algebraic process. After the demonstration, students would explore the Gizmo independently or in pairs, using the built-in Student Exploration Guide to support their learning and reflection.

To implement this activity, a few materials and setup steps are necessary. Each student or pair will need access to a device with internet connectivity, such as a Chromebook or laptop. The teacher should have a free ExploreLearning account to assign and track student progress within the Gizmo. Additionally, students will need either printed or digital copies of the Student Exploration Guide, which is provided directly through the Gizmos platform to support their interaction with the simulation.

Each lesson also comes with worksheets, such as vocabulary and a worksheet, so that students can have a copy of what they are learning. (Both shown below)

My assessments would be a mix of observation, formative, and summative. I would observe by walking around the classroom, making sure students are on task. Formative assessments, I can use the students' responses on the program, and also collect the handout that the students need to fill in. Summative assessments would be a quiz and a test to check for understanding.

Case studies Google Classroom and Padlet

 I would like to talk about two different digital tools and platforms that are used in K-12 setting. They are google classroom and padlet. We started using Google Classroom this year in our school. as an administrator, it is great because of the cost, as a teacher, many students know the program before coming to us or is easy to learn for both the students are parents. 

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a free learning management system (LMS) developed by Google, designed to help teachers create, distribute, and manage classroom activities digitally. It integrates with Google Workspace tools like Docs, Drive, Meet, and Slides. It is one place for organizing assignments, resources, announcements, and feedback in K-12 classrooms.

(Google Classroom Workflow and Organization Tips and Tricks, 2020)

User Engagement:

In Google Classroom, students engage by submitting assignments, accessing course materials, collaborating on group work, and communicating with both teachers and peers. Teachers use the platform to post assignments, schedule announcements, grade student work, provide individualized feedback, and organize instructional materials into topic-based threads for clarity and accessibility. Parents stay informed and involved through guardian email summaries, which highlight missing work, upcoming assignments, and important teacher announcements, helping them remain connected to their child's academic progress.

(Google Classroom Workflow and Organization Tips and Tricks, 2020)

Influence on Communication:
Google Classroom changes the way teachers and students communicate by providing an organized and flexible space to interact. Instead of just talking face-to-face, most communication happens through comments, private messages, and announcements. This makes it easier to keep track of important information and saves a record of everything shared. However, if there are too many messages and updates, it can get confusing or overwhelming, and some important things might be missed.

Information Consumption:
Google Classroom is able to have all the materials that teachers share, like links, PDFs, slides, and videos, in one place. This makes it easier for students to find and use everything they need for class. The stream layout helps students stay updated and encourages them to join in discussions with classmates. While this can help keep students engaged, it can also lead to feeling overwhelmed by too much information. 

Impact on learning:

Google Classroom has a significant impact on learning by making educational resources and communication more accessible and organized. It allows students to easily access assignments, materials, and feedback all in one place, which helps them stay on track and manage their learning more independently. The platform also encourages collaboration through comments and discussions, which can deepen understanding and engagement. However, its effectiveness depends on how well students and teachers use it, strong self-management skills are needed, and challenges like digital access can affect how well students benefit. Overall, Google Classroom supports a more flexible and connected learning experience.

Safety:
Google for Education complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), providing a secure, ad-free environment when used through a school domain. Teachers can control posting permissions, and students are not able to share outside of the classroom unless allowed.

Required Literacies:

To use Google Classroom effectively, students need to develop several important literacies. Digital literacy involves knowing how to navigate tabs and links, upload assignments, and use integrated tools like Google Docs, Slides, and Forms. Information literacy is also essential, as students must be able to tell the difference between reliable and unreliable sources, understand assignment instructions, and make sense of the digital materials shared in the platform. In addition, time management and organizational literacy help students stay on track by using features like the “To-Do” list, calendar, and Classwork tab to manage deadlines and prioritize tasks. Finally, communication literacy is important for engaging in clear and respectful written conversations, whether in public comment threads or private messages with teachers.

Reflect on Implications:
Google Classroom directly supports blended and remote learning models, allowing teachers to extend learning beyond the school day and support diverse learners with flexible access. It encourages routine digital interaction, making students more adept at managing digital workflows, an important skill for college and career readiness (Trust & Whalen, 2020). Parents can act as partners in learning by checking summaries and guiding their children in staying on task and organized.

Padlet

I have used Padlet a limited number of times, but after researching and learning about it, I am going to dive deeper into it and figure out a way to use it with my students next year. My student created their own group chat using their phones. I think this would help them out a lot more. 

Overview:
Padlet is a digital collaboration platform that functions like a virtual bulletin board. Teachers and students use it to share text, images, videos, audio, and links on a scrollable canvas. It’s widely used in K-12 classrooms for brainstorming, feedback, reflections, digital storytelling, and group projects.

(How To Use Padlet And 5 Ways To Implement It Into Your Classroom - ClassPoint Blog, 2023)

User Engagement:

Students use Padlet to post responses to prompts, upload multimedia, comment on their classmates’ posts, and create digital portfolios that showcase their learning. Teachers can setup boards or walls for lessons, model responses, share resources, and give feedback through comments to guide students. When parents are given access, they can view their child’s work and class discussions, helping them stay informed and involved in thier child’s education. 

(How To Use Padlet And 5 Ways To Implement It Into Your Classroom - ClassPoint Blog, 2023)

Influence on Communication:
Padlet encourages communication through visuals, writing, and audio, moving beyond just text, encouraging discussions to allow for multiple ways of expressing ideas. Students can use emojis, leave comments, record voice notes, and work together on timelines or maps. This makes classroom communication more engaging and accessible, creating a livelier and more inclusive environment especially helpful for English learners and students who are usually quieter.

Information Consumption:
Students engage with and respond to content created by their peers in real time. Teachers can add external resources like YouTube videos, Google Docs, or news articles to enrich learning. These boards turn into collaborative spaces where knowledge grows and ideas develop with every student contribution.

Impact on Learning:

Padlet has several positive effects on learning. It encourages critical thinking and creativity by allowing students to express themselves in different ways, supporting diverse learning styles. The platform also enables real time formative assessment, helping teachers monitor student understanding as it develops. However, there are challenges to using Padlet effectively. Without clear organization, boards can become cluttered, and students might go off topic or share nonacademic content. To address these issues, thoughtful moderation and clear guidelines for participation are essential to keep discussions focused and productive.

Privacy and Safety:
Padlet offers privacy settings like password-protected boards, visitor permissions, and content moderation. Teachers can restrict access to students with specific logins or email domains, and approve posts before they appear publicly. 

Required Literacies:

Digital literacy involves navigating online platforms, uploading and embedding media, and solving access problems. Visual literacy is about understanding images and videos and creating visually appealing posts. Information literacy includes evaluating sources, citing them properly, and combining ideas from peers. Civic and communication literacy focuses on communicating respectfully, ethically, and inclusively in digital spaces.

Reflect on Implications:
Padlet aligns well with constructivist and student-centered teaching philosophies, promoting collaboration, inquiry, and creativity (Hobbs, 2017). It’s particularly effective for formative assessment, reflection journals, exit tickets, and group brainstorming. Educators should guide students in digital citizenship and media critique, while parents can help children think critically about what they post and how they interact online.

References 

Google. (n.d.). Google Classroom. https://edu.google.com/products/classroom/

Google. (n.d.). Privacy & Security for Google for Education. 

https://edu.google.com/why-google/privacy-security/

Google Classroom Workflow and Organization Tips and Tricks. (2020). Know Your Why! https://rechargelearning.blogspot.com/2020/03/google-classroom-workflow-and.html

Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn: Introduction to Digital Literacy. Wiley-Blackwell.

How To Use Padlet And 5 Ways To Implement It Into Your Classroom - ClassPoint Blog. (2023, December 18). ClassPoint. https://www.classpoint.io/blog/how-to-use-padlet

Padlet. (n.d.). About Padlet. Retrieved June 21, 2025, from https://padlet.com/about

Padlet. (n.d.). Privacy Policy. Retrieved June 21, 2025, from https://padlet.com/about/privacy

Trust, T., & Whalen, J. (2020). Should teachers be trained in emergency remote teaching? 

Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Technology and Teacher

Education, 28(2), 189–199. https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/216179/

M5 Post

 The topic I am looking at for my project is digital storytelling in algebra. I am interested in this topic because it combines multimodal literacy with mathematical understanding, offering a creative and engaging way for students to communicate algebraic concepts. It can bring more abstract concepts into more concrete and relatable ideas. Digital storytelling can help students stay engaged and motivated because they have a personal connection to the information. Some different ways to make this practical are lesson integration, using student talks, differentiation, and assessments. Lesson integration can be where students create short stories or videos explaining solutions to algebraic problems. By having the students be heard, students can narrate their process of solving a problem, creating a deeper understanding of the material. Differentiating the way the lesson is being presented can help the students who learn differently understand the material. Some students learn visually, while others learn auditorily. Then, having an assessment will help with making sure that the learning is on track. 

Knight, D. (2020). Microsoft Power BI quick start guide: Bring your data to life through data 

modeling, visualization, digital storytelling, and more. Packt Publishing.

This practical guide introduces Microsoft Power BI as a tool for transforming raw data into interactive visual narratives. The book covers things like data modeling, visualization, and publishing reports, telling us how storytelling techniques can be used to make data more accessible and impactful. While not education specific, the text provides instructions on building dashboards and integrating narrative elements into data presentations. This book has useful applications for educators interested in incorporating data storytelling into math classrooms. For algebra students, tools like Power BI can be used to create projects where students model real life data with linear functions and communicate what they find through digital stories, graphs, and narrative voiceovers, bridging math content with new literacies.

Mercat, C., Lealdino Filho, P., & El-Demerdash, M. (2017). Creativity and technology in 

mathematics: From storytelling to algorithmic with Op’Art. Acta Didactica Napocensia, 10(1), 63–70. https://doi.org/10.24193/adn.10.1.10

This article explores how mathematical storytelling can be connected to creative visual patterns using Op Art (Optical Art) and algorithmic thinking. The authors describe classroom experiences in which students used digital tools to create Op Art images, engaging with geometry and algebraic transformations. The process encouraged creativity, narrative construction, and mathematical reasoning, moving from artistic expression to algorithm-based explanations. This article supports the integration of digital storytelling in math education by demonstrating how narrative, creativity, and mathematical structure can intersect. While its focus is on geometry and Op Art, the framework can be adapted to algebra classes, where students tell stories through graphing, equations, and transformations. It reinforces the idea that math learning becomes more meaningful when students create and narrate their work using digital tools.

Matthews, J. (2014). Voices from the heart: The use of digital storytelling in education.   

Community Practitioner, 87(1), 28–30.

This article tells us how digital storytelling serves as a meaningful teaching and learning tool, particularly by enabling individuals to present personal narratives through images, music, and voice. Matthews highlights the emotional depth and authenticity that digital storytelling can bring to education, especially in health and community settings, by fostering empathy, reflection, and understanding of others' lived experiences. Although focused on healthcare education, this article emphasizes the power of personal narrative and emotional connection in digital storytelling, key elements that can enhance student engagement in algebra classrooms. Students can reflect on their experiences with math, build confidence, and express their thinking processes creatively. This supports the use of digital storytelling as a tool for humanizing math instruction and connecting content to student identity.

Ohler, J. (2013). Digital storytelling in the classroom: New media pathways to literacy, learning, 

and creativity. Corwin.

Jason Ohler’s book is considered a foundational text in the field of digital storytelling in education. It offers practical guidance for integrating digital storytelling across content areas, emphasizing student agency, creativity, and digital literacy. Ohler outlines frameworks for planning and assessing student work, and he advocates for blending traditional narrative structures with media tools to enrich learning. This is a seminal work that remains highly relevant for understanding how digital storytelling can transform teaching and learning. It provides essential strategies that can be adapted to the algebra classroom, such as helping students vocalize problem solving processes or personalize math experiences using voice, images, and narrative. Ohler’s work helps ground your project in a pedagogical approach.

Yang, Y.-T. C., & Wu, W.-C. I. (2015). Digital storytelling for enhancing student academic 

achievement, critical thinking, and learning motivation: A year-long experimental study. 

Computers & Education, 59(2), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.12.012

This  experimental study examined how digital storytelling (DST) affected high school students learning English as a foreign language. The researchers found that students who participated in DST activities demonstrated significantly higher academic achievement, improved critical thinking skills, and increased learning motivation compared to those in a traditional instruction group. The study used both quantitative data and qualitative feedback to support its findings. Although the focus is on English language learning, the findings are highly applicable to math education. The results support the idea that digital storytelling can foster deeper understanding, reflection, and motivation, which are also crucial in algebra. Implementing DST in algebra class can help students process abstract concepts more meaningfully, present their thinking clearly, and build confidence in their math abilities.

M3 Leveraging Tools, Texts, and Talk in My Teaching Context

     This module focuses on designing across spaces, has helped me think more intentionally about how I structure learning in my algebra classroom. Designing beyond the screen means creating opportunities for students to engage with mathematical ideas in ways that are connected to their lived experiences, home communities, and interests, not just through digital platforms or traditional classroom tasks. Emphasize that meaningful learning emerges through embodied, social, and multimodal experiences. (Leander & Boldt, 2013). That idea has pushed me to reflect on how my algebra lessons can better integrate both digital and analog practices to support deeper, more equitable learning. One important aspect of this work is preparing students to think critically about the tools they use. In algebra, students often rely on Desmos, graphing calculators, or online videos to support their understanding. While these tools are powerful, they can sometimes mask the underlying mathematical thinking. I want students to not just use tools, but to ask questions like: What is this graph showing? Why does changing the slope here change the story? What happens when you add a negative out front? By facilitating classroom conversations about the affordances and limitations of digital tools, I hope to help students become more intentional, critical users of technology (Leu et al., 2013). Equity is hard to ensure in the classroom. Hull and Greeno remind us that access to rich learning opportunities varies widely, and that includes access to technology, time, and safe environments for learning. Not all of my students have Wi-Fi at home or the flexibility to do digital work outside of class. Not all schools, nor students, have access to a laptop at home. That means I need to ensure that digital experiences happen during class time and that there are always non-digital entry points into assignments. I also draw on the idea of “third space” to design tasks that invite students to bring their home knowledge and identities into math learning, for example, by connecting functions to real-world situations they care about. (Moje et al.’s 2004)

Example Project: 

One project I could assign during our unit on quadratic functions is called Parabola in Motion. In this activity, students explore real-world applications of parabolas by analyzing the arc of a projectile, such as a basketball shot, a kicked soccer ball, or even a water fountain stream. The goal is for students to collect or observe data, model it with a quadratic function, and use that model to interpret key features (vertex, axis of symmetry, zeros, etc.). When given a project with Parabolas, most students do not understand the zeros. Doing a project like this, I like to spend a lot of time talking about the start of the motion and the end of the motion. Why negatives are or are not important, depending on the project. This project builds on the work of Jones & Storm (2022), who emphasize designing with students’ “textual passions.” By allowing students to choose their context, whether that is Angry Birds (how to project the bird to hit the object), basketball games, Fortnite, Fast & Furious, or dance videos, we position them as experts in their interests, sustaining engagement and relevance in math.

Question:     How have you balanced digital and analog learning in your own classroom or discipline? What strategies have helped you ensure that all students, regardless of access or background, can fully participate in new literacies practices?

References:

Hull, G. A., & Greeno, J. G. (2006). Identity and agency in nonschool and school settings. In Z. Bekerman, N. C. Burbules, & D. Silberman-Keller (Eds.), Learning in places: The informal education reader (pp. 77–97). Peter Lang.

Jones, S., & Storm, S. (2022). Sustaining textual passions: Teaching with texts youth love. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 65(4), 397–405. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1204

Leander, K. M., & Boldt, G. (2013). Rereading “A pedagogy of multiliteracies”: Bodies, texts, and emergence. Journal of Literacy Research, 45(1), 22–46.

Leu, D. J., Forzani, E., Rhoads, C., Maykel, C., Kennedy, C., & Timbrell, N. (2013). The new literacies of online research and comprehension: Rethinking the reading achievement gap. Reading Research Quarterly, 50(1), 37–59.

Moje, E. B., Ciechanowski, K. M., Kramer, K., Ellis, L., Carrillo, R., & Collazo, T. (2004). Working toward third space in content area literacy: An examin