Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Virtual Math Class?

I'm not sure if this has been discussed before but I thought it would be an interesting discussion. My DD10 in 5th grade has been accelerated by a year in math for the last couple of years. Previous years they just sent her to the proper room for math with the upper grade. This year 6th grade is at the middle school. After meeting with teachers and talking to DD at the end of last year, we all decided that she would be better off getting some type of 6th grade instruction at the Elementary school vs being driven to the middle school for math and adding an extra hour of school (plus distracted driving time causing transitional issues or whatever).

Apparently, they (meaning teachers and district/school GT coordinators) want to attempt and set up a virtual math class with the 6th grade at the GT magnet middle school. I got the idea she would have video/audio of the class real-time as it was being taught to the class at the other school. I'm not for/against but I do see some issues and hope they will be flexible if things don't work out. I have no idea how DD10 will deal with it mentally-she's very outgoing and group oriented. The idea is that she would go to math at the end of the day during essentially study-time. I assume they would give her study time during the other regular math time if it's needed for any other class projects....

So any thoughts/discussion? Has anyone else ever done something like this (ie not just online but real-time virutal classroom)? How was the audio/video quality, etc?

Thanks

We're in a similar situation, except that they haven't decided yet how DD10 will be taught math. I'm a little worried that she'll be stuck in a corner with a workbook and left to herself. Being a virtual part of the middle school math class was mentioned as one possibility, so I'm interested to hear how your DD's experience goes.

My DD9 is also in the same boat, 5th grade, but needing middle school math. She is taking a virtual math class, but it is mainly done online. She does have a real teacher, with real office hours for my daughter to call and talk to her, she can also video conference her. During these conferences, my daugher is able to see the teacher's computer and interact her with while she demonstrates math problems. At the end of each chapter, the teacher schedules a one on one phone conference where she quizes my DD about chapter concepts in a conversational way to make sure my DD is actually doing the work herself.

We love it! So far, I have been nothing but extremely impressed. There has been no video/audio issues, but as I mentioned this is more a one on one type instruction versus my DD observing a classroom. I really like the idea of my DD being able to go at her own speed versus the speed of the classroom.

It sounds like your child will have an advantage of being able to watch an actual lesson from the teacher. Will your daughter be able to communicate with the classroom or will she just be able to listen? As you mentioned your DD is very outgoing and group oriented, but remember this is just one class. My DD is very social too, but loves the one on one time that comes from the teacher and still has plenty of time for friends in all her other classes. Do you think this style of learning would work for your DD?

Not sure if it is two-way comm or not. I'm actually still waiting to find out. I'm not sure how/why the idea came about. I thought they had a decent plan in place wrt just getting the 6th grade curriculum and having her do it in the classroom. But this new idea came about this week. Still not sure if it was just a brainstorm or if there is just a specific reason.

I do know that our GT Coordinator wanted to make sure that the situation described by Midwestmom doesn't happen (ie a workbook in a corner or all computer time working alone). I think the school also wants to make sure that they don't have any gaps to move on in middle school the next year plus the added benefit of the class being with the teacher at the magnet school. She's done both Aleks and EPGY but with me vs a teacher which never works as well. It works much better when the work isn't my idea since she will actually turn off the TV willingly for "real" homework required by her teachers. I really have no idea how she would do with phone/video support...

My guess is they want her to learn the pace of the magnet school so she will be prepared for next year (as long as the opportunity is there). I've been told it's fairly challenging.

That's where we're at. DD is sitting in the back of the gifted math class working from a textbook. The teacher is mostly focused on the other kids, and will check in with DD as she sets the other kids to work.

So far, it's working out pretty well but with a rocky start. I already had a good working relationship with the gifted teacher (DD's schedule did work last year to be part of the classroom). DH and I have sat with the teacher and focused on goals that are unique to the situation (how to learn from a textbook, how to know when it's appropriate to get the teacher's attention asking for help), plus an opportunity to target some specific issues. As such, this year is focused on *how to take a test, *how to check over ones work, *how to show ones work clearly, *how to keep motivated on the task, and oh yeah, we'll learn some math as well.

I get near daily reports from the teacher. We're supporting the classwork and teacher's request at home, but we're also communicating back to the teacher what is and is not working. DD now has a rubric for what is ok vs not of, and she's got a checklist to go through when she starts a new section (first, read the directions....)

So far, DD is focused on a goal (if she finishes the textbook before the end of the year, she'll have a special unit prepared for her on fractals), which requires she follow through on her focus, quantity, and accuracy.

We are in our 3rd week of school now doing the virtual math class for my DD9. The biggest problem that we are having is that the class is having a math lesson for an hour or slightly more each day. When my daughter spends an hour doing her on-line lesson she covers an enormous amount of material and is really soaring ahead. So much of actual class time is not really productive that it is hard to believe how much she can accomplish in an hour when left on her own. She gets "mathed out" as she calls it from working so diligently for an hour each day during class. According to the pace chart she is already a month ahead of schedule. Yikes! I'm hoping the teacher may be open to her doing some reading or something else to fill some of the math time in class.

It sounds like she's doing all computer work... so I'm wondering if some projects might be in order. It might slow her down, keep her from burning out, and reenforce the material she's rocketing through.

Could her reading be math related? Thinking about books like FRED, Number Devil, Murderous Math, (and whatever else is out there like those)...or challenge related work...like Primary Math Challenge, Math Challenge, Becoming a Problem Solving Genius (all by Edward Zaccaro) or even biographies of famous mathematicians.

Just as a point of reference, when we did things like Aleks that were totally online We didn't work for more than 20 minutes including QuickTables when we first started. I'm sure Burnout would have ensued and she did go through topics quickly. I can't imagine an hour.

Update: Class w/video Started Yesterday. It is webcam based via a computer and she can talk interact with the class. The teacher is very organized and helpful. The homework grading system is a breath of fresh air since they don't give the kids a 50 for making an arithmetic error on 1/2 problems and allow partial credit if you show your work, yay!

Main Comments from DD: not comfortable asking questions out loud over webcam (it was the first day). Upon digging a little, she would not normally ask questions out loud anyways, she would go to the teachers desk to act quietly during work time. (I'd classify her as a Shy-E. People are so surprised when they hear she is shy)...Hopefully, this will get better. I convinced her to give it a try for at least the first grading period.

The two things that convinced her even though the first day was a bit weird. 1) She prefers not sitting in the classroom and being singled out with different assignments. 2) The magnet class is a better pace-They don't spend 2 weeks doing order of operations or Properties of Add/Mult (Commutative, etc).

At one point during our first day talk she said you mean they learn something new every day? Me: Yes because since everyone is more at the same level, the teacher doesn't have to repeat as much.(vs doing the above for a whole week or sometimes two). From what I've seen they don't stay on a topic for more than a few days-and those mainly when it's something where practice/accuracy payoff in the long run. (ie mult/div with decimals maybe 3 days?) I'm sure some concepts later in the year may be totally new and require a little more. We'll see.

We may eventually try to get a day here and there where maybe she can go meet the class; however, this would require missing part of language arts.