The other day I stumbled on a lesson that ended up demonstrating the power technology can have in deepening student thinking and creating accountability. Using the Socrative tool, I posed one simple multiplication problem for students to answer. Using the Number Talk strategy, students thought about the problem, solved the problem and then went back to their seats to explain their thinking on Socrative. As students finished they came back to the rug, where they could see student answers projected on the screen. I asked students to see what they NOTICED and WONDERED. At the end I asked students to vote on the response that solved the problem in the most efficient and accurate way.*

Students were authentically analyzing student work, finding mathematical mistakes, LEARNING from the mistakes, and developing new ideas for solving this problem. This tool enabled students to think deeply about mathematics in a motivating and meaningful way.

*While I required students to give their name in Socrative, the names were not shown. I did communicate to students the fact that I was leaving it anonymous intentionally so we could focus on the THINKING.