"New Math" vs "Old Math": Tips for First Year Math Teachers?

Being a young, new teacher fresh out of Teacher's College is frightening! Now with the program being 2 years, it still seems like what you learn in practicum as a student teacher is not nearly enough and there is so much more to learn! And with this, so many things have changed since we were students - the internet has changed the way things are being taught from traditional math on a chalk board to interactive, online approaches, videos, and more! The learning curb is steep and even if an LTA presents itself, there's only so much time for us to prepare for it and then so much more learning comes with it.

Being a science teacher, I have never taught math (hence taking an ABQ). What is your advice for new math teachers? What are the best approaches? What are the must-do's vs. the things that might not need to be emphasized as much? I found a thought provoking article called Meet the New Math, Unlike the Old Math that encourages a new approach to math (written in the US). Away from teaching how to solve equations but more on how to analyze functions, as well as shifting more towards big ideas in the curriculum and having more communication about mathematics. The article is a bit long but quite an interesting read. Is this the approach that most math teachers frequent now? Or is the emphasis focusing on teaching concepts one by one from the curriculum? What are the best strategies to making math education fun and effective for all (student and teacher)?

Math Prodigy - Thoughts??

Math Prodigy website link

Although not as common in high school, I have heard the game 'Math Prodigy' thrown around a lot by students and teachers! I myself have had no experience with the game (I just created an account out of curiosity today) but it has me thinking if it could be an effective tool for 'gap filling' for Intermediate (Applied/LD classes) as well as math tutoring outside the classroom, such as fun homework practice since it is linked with Ontario math curriculum from Grade 1-8. Has anyone had any experience with Math Prodigy and could share some thoughts?

What I liked about the video on the Prodigy home page is that like many other online websites, Prodigy allows you as the teacher to monitor student progress to see how well students are grasping concepts broken down by topic. It also allows you to create your own assignments for students which is a neat feature I never knew about! There are also virtual manipulatives and you can choose to use Ontario math curriculum or Prodigy math curriculum (whatever that may be). Lastly, it's so multifaceted - from being able to see feedback from students, use it as formative assessment and a neat differentiation tool. Plus... it's a game! I'm assuming that's part of the reason why student's get hooked on it. Would love to hear what you think about it since it seems like it would be a worthy tool, but would like to hear any first hand experiences with it first. Thanks!