After our discussion on digital literacy and citizenship I began to think about ways that students use technology for unethical purposes in my classroom. I had an experience this year with a group of students turning in work that was solved correctly but not in the manner that I requested they complete the assignment. We were solving systems and I asked students to use a method known as elimination but when their assignments came back to me all of the problems were solved using a method known as substitution. Normally this would not be a big issue but the assignment was intended to help students specifically practice elimination, the method we had most recently learned, so I was confused as to why so many students ignored the directions. After pressing some students I found that they were using an app called PhotoMath to help them complete their assignments. I had to lecture them on proper use of math based apps and how it was important for them to read the directions because the app is only as smart as the person interfacing with it. After talking with other math teachers I discovered that this app is very popular. I decided to download PhotoMath in an attempt to see how I could leverage this app to strengthen my instruction. PhotoMath makes some big promises to students and instructors willing to use it. “Scan math problems for instant results” , “Learn with step-by-step instructions” and “Explore beautiful graphs” are just some of the activities that users can engage with while exploring PhotoMath. The way most students use PhotoMath is by scanning homework problems and then copying down the answers. PhotoMath interfaces with the camera on your device and turns the input into a digital equation which it then solves and provides step by step directions on how the computer arrived to its answer. This process is very intuitive and does not take any time at all to learn. It’s not quite taking a photo but it’s as simple as scanning a QR code - pointing your phone at something and waiting for the device to respond. However, due to the limitations of the scanning technology, I found PhotoMath to be very limited in the types of math problems that it could actually solve. To show these limitations to my students I projected a worksheet that I had created and attempted to use PhotoMath to solve 3 different types of problems; evaluating a function, multiplying binomials and determining if a relation represents a function. PhotoMath was only able to correctly solve one type of problem (multiplying binomials), but it came through on its promise, providing accurate steps and clear explanations for how it solved the problem. In my experience PhotoMath does really well when is is tasked to solve something that is procedurally based and in a format that is acceptable to the limitations of the app design (types of problems that can be solved are listed on the app developers website). PhotoMath does provide very clear instructions and when used as a study tool instead of a replacement for working problems out it can absolutely help students learn procedure. While users are encouraged to create a profile so that PhotoMath can keep track of the problems that they are solving through the app to create a more tailored experience, PhotoMath is unable to think for itself. Users must very clearly understand the instructions of a particular assignment in order to determine if the answers they are being provided are correct. I encouraged my students to use PhotoMath as a way to check answers after having already done the problem themselves, much like an answer key.
5 Comments
Jona Sandau
2/23/2019 01:26:33 pm
Brandon, great detective work! It's awesome that you dug deeper and investigated this tool. You took all the extra steps to find out what the tool's strengths and weaknesses are, and then brought it all out into the light. Then you taught your students how to evaluate the tech more thoroughly and how to use it correctly. Perhaps you can even create an assignment that requires them to use the app and then manipulate some of the features somehow. What a great way to make lemonade out of lemons!
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Scott Marsden
2/23/2019 06:29:57 pm
Brandon,
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Caitlin Mitchell
2/24/2019 08:53:40 am
Haha! I love this Brandon! Giving a lecture on proper use of math apps seems like a very pertinent and teachable moment. I believe that a huge part of bringing these apps into the classroom is a lot of trial and error of what works and what doesn't. The learning curve is steep for both student and teacher as we navigate the proper use of these apps together.
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Julie Lovie
2/24/2019 06:00:17 pm
Brandon I had a teacher at my school show the kids this app and I must say I was a bit angry you handled this much better that I. It is wonderful modeling you did testing the app with your students. They keep us on our toes and you did a great job channeling that energy. I have often wondered for myself how that worked. Hopefully they will be more open minded as you present them with new technologies meant to assist their learning.
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Rafael Garcia Avila
2/25/2019 11:34:19 am
Brandon,
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