Interactive Math Resources – ORIGO Stepping Stones 2.0 Allows Less Time Sitting and More Time Doing
K-6 classrooms, where ORIGO Stepping Stones 2.0 is used to teach math, are equipped with interactive math resources that are dynamic and fun, and give students a way to both see what they have learned and justify their thinking. The static whiteboard with stinky colored pens has been replaced by digital tools so students can map out their newfound mathematics understanding and teachers can teach, track, and assess student understanding easily.
These tools are all part of Slate, ORIGO’s digital dashboard for teachers, which manages the ORIGO Stepping Stones 2.0 program. Slate can be run from a computer or tablet and with it a teacher can “cast” a lesson up to a Smartboard. Teachers can use Slate to teach to the whole class or pull aside groups or individuals for more focused instruction.
“We have a host of collaborative, interactive, learning math resources and features – pens, highlighters, and drawing tools – for teachers so that they can get students right into explaining and justifying what they’ve learned,” said Jessica Bobo, the early childhood mathematics consultant and author of ORIGO Stepping Stones Pre-K.
ORIGO Education supports teachers with a varied catalog of professional development services including their sponsored edWeb community – Mathematics for Young Learners – where teachers share ideas and learn about early mathematics education from content experts.
Their ORIGO One Channel of one-minute animated math education videos are embedded in Slate so that teachers can quickly find a supporting video that breaks down complicated concepts into easy-to-understand pieces. Teachers, parents and students also have access to ORIGO One for free on YouTube and Vimeo.
“At ORIGO, we not only provide great mathematics content for teachers to use in the classroom, we also offer continued learning opportunities,” said Bobo. “Through our collaboration with edWeb, our easy-to-understand ORIGO One videos, new enhancements in Slate, and other valuable professional learning services, we support teachers from planning to fruition in the classroom so that young learners form a strong foundation in mathematics.”