Your Seriously not considering Youtube!!!

 Is what in my mind must go through every parents head at this time after lock down. With a large majority of students at home potentially "wasting" hours on fortnite videos or rewatching quick laughs like "I like your cut G!" I decided to try and refocus my sessions to be a little more broader in terms of how learning is applied.

For my school this year we have a goal of integrating all our math strands into project based learning which will happen all through the year. So gone are my days of happiness and joy at providing only one area of maths learning per term......not!

The curtains have finally opened to my dreams of project based math activities that rely on hooking students in with some sort of hands on fun activity that takes weeks/months and encompasses maths in a real setting.

I have always stated that maths is my worst area and yet I am being held up as an example for what could be achieved. Look at me now NCEA UNIT STANDARDS MATHS!!!!!

Jokes aside here are some great ways I have pushed learning some basic level workforce skills into maths in a way that has cost me less than $100 and is all about process and problem solving.

I probably need to add that I also have access to a 3D printer which allows for some greater areas of learning to happen especially when using CAD software to design. However all of these can be applied without the use of said machines. You would just need to figure out alternatives. (not a plug for 3D printers but the ones I use are only around $300).

(Please note all these areas I provide are areas of passion and are something I have spent time using Youtube to up-skill on)


1. Solar powered cars (check my instagram for images and videos LINK HERE)

- Use Area perimeter and Volume

- Provide access to multiplicative strategies

- Add extra gears to introduce ratios and Algebra (look at how clocks work)

- Design needs to house/sit a motor + a solar panel + the gear which will connect to the front or back wheels. I got my solar panels from Aliexpress for around 60c each.



2. Blutooth speakers (again check my instagram)

These are super fun and kids love them. Not only are you introducing basic electronics you are also teaching about input and output systems (YAY STEM)

You will need to find a way to make speaker boxes and this will all be designed off your speaker size. Obviously the smaller the speaker the smaller the box.

Learning areas

- Area/Volume/Perimeter

- Basic facts (volume increase/decibel levels)

- Algebra (4x 5.5w speaker + 1Bass speaker = how much volume)

- Radius/diameter

- Converting measurement units

-Problem solving approaches


Another side note for this experience is learning to turn plastic into a reusable material. Get yourself a cheap oven and melt down your own plastic to create speaker cases. Car chasis', rocket wings and more



Really the list can go on. However what underpins all these is a bit of research and learning what youtube can teach you about products. I bought all my little bits from Aliexpress which some may find dodgy but again youtube is a great teacher of what works and what doesn't. Here are just some of the videos I watched to get to grips with this topic.









Comments

  1. Phil @ Ako HikoApril 22, 2021 at 8:51 AM

    Kia ora Jacob. This way of approaching maths sounds awesome. I'd love to pick your brains about 3D printing and how we can give more students access to this kind of activity.

    ReplyDelete

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