A creative TVI, Mallory Carr, shares how she engaged her dual media learner in the conversation about using tools in class and the benefits of these tools. In this mini learning media activity, the student compared how fast she could complete similar 2-digital math problems using two tools: the abacus vs. paper (and pencil).
Editor’s Note: This same activity can be adapted to compare any two classroom tools!
Mallory created a Halloween-themed Google Slide presentation. All the slides have a bright orange background and Halloween images of bats, spiders and cobwebs. Each slide has a larger image of a Halloween character. The title slide has “Battle of the Tools: Abacus vs. Paper”. The rest of the slides have a two-digit subtraction question and the time that it took the student to complete the problem. These slides alternate between displaying the set abacus or the student’s handwritten answered equation. The abacus times were: 6.0, 7.82,12.55 and 3.08 seconds. The handwritten times were: 13.1, 15.6, 15.87, and 7.33 seconds.
For your convenience, both the completed presentation and the blank presentation (which you can fill out with your student’s equation, work and times) are available in two formats: PowerPoint Presentation and PDF. Note: The PowerPoint Presentations have alt text descriptions.
https://www.perkins.org/sites/elearning.perkinsdev1.org/files/Battle%20of%20the%20Tools%202%20Digit%20Subtraction.pptx https://www.perkins.org/sites/elearning.perkinsdev1.org/files/BLANK%20Battle%20of%20the%20Tools%20Subtraction.pdf https://www.perkins.org/sites/elearning.perkinsdev1.org/files/BLANK%20Battle%20of%20the%20Tools%20Subtraction.pptx https://www.perkins.org/sites/elearning.perkinsdev1.org/files/Battle%20of%20the%20Tools%202%20Digit%20Subtraction.pdf
By Diane Brauner