Gamified, Tech-Driven Lesson Plans Help Students Connect Theory With Real-World Application
New Jersey math teacher transforms lessons with augmented reality
Chahd Ourhani, an eighth grader at Joseph H. Brensinger PS 17 in Jersey City, New Jersey, moved around her math classroom, tablet in hand, working with her classmates on a lesson about the concept of slope. Nothing about this lesson — taught on a tablet using augmented reality (AR) — was traditional, and for Chahd, that was a definite plus. Pen and paper lessons had never helped her grasp the idea of slope before. “Doing it more interactively with AR this year, I just took in the information better,” Chahd explains. “When it’s more hands-on, it just makes more sense to me.”
This level of engagement and comprehension is exactly what Jack Maher, a math teacher at the school, hopes for. When it comes to getting his middle school students engaged and excited about learning, Maher knows there’s nothing like breaking out technology, whether it’s gamifying learning or using VR and AR, to get middle schoolers interested; So Maher takes advantage of free, online resources at Verizon Innovative Learning HQ to easily integrate technology into his lessons.
Maher also appreciates how students can experience the practical application of their new knowledge through the use of their tablets. “I think it really enhances their learning to be able to relate it to real-life situations,” he says.
“Doing it more interactively with AR this year, I just took in the information better...When it’s more hands-on, it just makes more sense to me.”
Chahd Ourhani
For the slope lesson, Maher led the class in a discussion on how to measure a line’s steepness, then had the students apply that concept using the McGraw Hill AR app in a real-world situation: They designed ski slopes and skateboarding ramps, and watched to see if virtual skiers and skateboarders could handle their slopes, or if they floundered. “[Students] were able to…design ramps in which the slope was calculated back and forth, higher or lower, and able to make sure that the skateboarder was able to get over from one side of the ramp to the other,” Maher explains.
That hands-on design really drove the lesson home for Ourhani. “I am going to think about slope the next time I skateboard,” she says. “You're just going up and down all those ribs and hills, and now it makes sense how all that stuff is possible.”
Verizon Innovative Learning HQ offers more than 450 tech-based, turn-key lessons from trusted educational partners such as McGraw Hill, Discovery Education, and Arizona State University, in core curriculum subjects such as geography and biology, as well as emergent tech lessons on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, among others. Educators can also find VR and AR apps and professional development resources. The education portal is open to all educators at no cost, and with no other participation in Verizon programs required.
Verizon Innovative Learning is a key part of the company’s responsible business plan to help move the world forward for all. As part of the plan, Verizon has an ambitious goal of providing 10 million youth with digital skills training by 2030. Educators can access free lessons, professional development, and immersive learning experiences to help bring new ways of learning into the classroom by visiting Verizon Innovative Learning HQ.
