Making Online Learning Feel Like It Was the Plan All Along
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Math Scribble teacher and star—Mac.
He is five inches tall on a 27-inch screen and a mere three inches on an iPad. His complexion is yellowish, and his head is at least 700% too big for his body. In spite of his digital stature, he attracts the attention of everyone he meets. He’s cute. He’s engaging. He’s smart. In short (pun intended), he is the complete package and has nearly 35,000 adoring fans swooning daily.
With a hand resting on a computer mouse as if on the shoulder of a trusted friend, a student can navigate the virtual world of Math Scribble—robust online math courses created by John Macdonald. Students are guided by “Mac,” a cartoon character who uses his wit, charm, and intelligence to teach students in the virtual world.
Math Department Chair, Ralf Melis, remarked: “Mr. Macdonald has been building the online curriculum for nearly a decade as part of his math courses at MSA. The courses allow students to learn new content at their own pace and then utilize class time to ask questions—both to launch ahead in the curriculum or catch up on challenging topics. His unique style and the rich and creative curriculum that he has created online have produced remarkable outcomes for his students and are now helping a nation of math teachers working to produce meaningful content for students during the coronavirus pandemic.”
Mr. Macdonald has made all of his lessons, videos, and courses available to the public. His YouTube channel has had over 35,000 views and is helping not only his students but also students around the country finish the semester. Innovation has been at the heart of Mr. Macdonald’s teaching his entire career. Mr. Melis commented: “His response to the move to online learning this spring has been seamless—he makes it seem as if it was his plan all along.”
Inspired partly by the success of Math Scribble, Mr. Macdonald has taken his online presence to new levels this spring. He launched “MacNews,” which provides weekly videos for his students. Each video is masterfully edited and delivers both humor and academic work in an enjoyable and personable fashion. While separated from many of his students by thousands of miles, with cartoon Mac, an iMac, and MacNews, John Macdonald has found a new way to cultivate creativity.
We sat down with Mr. Macdonald to learn from him about his methods and to hear his thoughts on this extraordinary semester.
Once Miller decided to engage with remote learning for its students, why did you decide to make these MacNews videos?
There are several reasons. I like math and science, but it is a vehicle through which I get to engage young adults. I don’t love teaching because I get to teach my subject, I love teaching because I get to work with kids. I could deliver math and science content remotely, but I wanted to bring more of my personality through to them the way I would in class, in the hallways, at lunch and in the dorm. I also know that there is more to our program than just the classroom and I had hoped to inspire them to be creative and get involved in things outside what is considered to be a normal subject area.
How were you trying to inspire them to be creative and get involved in things outside the “normal subject area”?
Well each episode I would try to focus on some creative idea that I tried like cooking, time lapse, doing trick shots or music. I would show them what I was doing and encouraged them to try. In subsequent episodes I would share their work.
And were your students inspired?
I think some may have been. Students shared with stories and generally what they have been up to. I got a few photos and videos of projects they are working on or new hobbies they are exploring. I even got a couple of trick shot videos.
How has this project affected you personally?
Well, this project pushed me to learn more and be more creative. Creating these videos takes a very long time for me each week, but there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction for me in the making of them and even more when students and colleagues react to them and share with me what they are doing in their lives. It is my way of best engaging with the Miller School community and beyond
