Reflection by a First-Time Desmos User

Although my eighth graders have worked with integers before and should know the operation rules, experience has taught me that they don't.  They remember some of the rules, but mix up and over-generalize others.  I actually had to walk away from two students who were CONVINCED that when you add two negatives, you get a positive answer.  I tried using examples like when you owe money or homework assignments, using positive and negative integer chips, and using a number line before I told them we'd come back to it the next day.  It can be difficult to reteach students what they think they already know, so I was excited to have my students explore pictorial representations of multiplying integers before we reviewed the rule.

We did Andrew Stadel's Multiplying Integers Desmos activity.  It was my first time ever using Desmos in class, and when I took to Twitter for advice, the most common thing I was told was to "just go for it!"  So I ran my own class code ahead of time and switched between devices to log in as both a student and teacher to see the different interfaces, and when it came time for class, we just went for it!

It's surprisingly difficult to get a good photo of a projected image.

 Things That I Loved This Time

• My students were leading themselves through the investigation rather than me guiding them.
• After students submit a written response, they can see the responses of a few other classmates.
• I can "anonymize" the names, which served two great purposes in my mind.  First, when other students' responses appeared, they didn't know who said what, which in middle school can lead to a lot of unkind judgement.  Second, I had students who finished early look up their mathematician to find out who they were and when they lived.

Things That I Want To Do Differently Next Time

• Figure out how to use Pacing to keep the class on track.  We didn't really have any whole class discussions on screens where I wanted to.  I ended up projecting the teacher dashboard the next day to review responses as a class.
• Give more time for the activity (although I guess this may depend on whatever the activity is next time).  I thought it was more important for my students to finish up the exploration and keep working right up until the bell, which meant that I was the one to put all the chromebooks away after class.

Overall, I'd say it was a positive experience for both me and my students.  I'm definitely looking forward to using Desmos again this year.