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Numbershark
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Contact: |
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Numbershark
4 |
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Contact: |
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Program evaluation Simon says: Numbershark 4 is just so well crafted for today's children, teachers and schools that you feel instinctively every school in the country should have a copy. Back in the last century, I'd been looking around for sometime, for a program which would cover basic numeracy skills for students at secondary school level. There are many programs which allow students to revise and practise skills, but usually they don't address the underlying concepts in any kind of structured fashion. The difficulty is in doing this without alienating students who may already be disaffected - and at a price which is not exorbitant. There are tightly structured Independent Learning Systems on the market, but these can be prohibitively expensive, and sometimes fail to motivate, having lost the fun element somewhere along the way. Numbershark 4 is a refreshing exception: a program (and programme) which IS structured; which is still fun; and which is not bank-breakingly expensive. Like the companion and highly-praised Wordshark, Numbershark CAN (if you have to) be used straight from the box - so if you're stressed and Ofsted are banging on the door, you can install it (easy); select a game and / or topic (no problem); and just drop a student in front of it. OR, (and this is by far preferable!) you could take some time to read the excellent manual which comes with the program and explore the almost unlimited possibilities which the program offers. There are two main screens: the Games screen and the Topics screen. By default the games screen is the one that appears after you have logged on. This split screen shows the chosen topic in the right-hand pane and the games which are available for that topic, on the left. Hovering over a game icon (if "Help" is configured for this) pops up a description of the concepts and skills covered by that game. Clicking on a game icon starts the game. It is possible to see a demo of a particular sum in the game by clicking on that sum: very useful for teaching purposes. The help facility is really useful, giving extra information and suggestions for teacher and student. I really like this neat implementation. The Topics screen is divided into three panes, showing: a list of topics (over 500!); the sums in that topic; and the games available with that topic. Again, clicking on a sum gives a visual demo for that sum (What does 6 x 10 actually mean or look like?) and clicking on a topic gives useful extra teaching information. Students / adults can choose games / topics on an ad-hoc basis, as needed; or a programme of work can be pre-defined and saved for a student, so that each time the student logs-on they are presented with this programme. If this matters to you, this structured personalisation fits well with current UK Govt. educational thinking - but it's what good teachers have been doing like for ever? The games use the chunky, child-like graphics familiar to users of Wordshark. Some have commented that older students feel patronised by the childish nature of the graphics, but this is not something which my students ever commented on. The graphics are a fun part of the games. Really useful is the integration of sound into many of the games: it is not an add-on extra but an essential part of the games. Simple example? Voice says, "Twenty-five". Student has to click on a screen representation of twenty-five - which might be objects, digits, rods, whatever. After a session on the computer, worksheets can be printed out to reinforce that session's work. The format of these worksheets can be varied to suit. Records are kept by the program of each student's progress allowing that progress to be demonstrated to the student and to her parents - as well as to Ofsted should they demand this. :-( The manual which accompanies the program is comprehensive - and genuinely helpful. A section I found useful was the "Educational Needs and Suggested Solutions". This lists possible areas a student might have difficulty with and then suggests topics and games which might prove useful in helping the student acquire the needed concepts and skills. There is also a support website now for Numbershark (and Wordshark) which supplements the excellent support offered by email and phone. This is a powerful package which should be in every school - primary or secondary. It's hard to believe that such a powerful program costs so (relatively) little. Highly recommended. |
Program Details White Space say: Overview It addresses many of the difficulties which lead students to dislike maths, including poor:
The program features 45
totally different games covering addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division in ways which add meaning and understanding to these operations. The games are played with your chosen units of work (topics) from a finely graded list of over 400; each topic generates a new set of sums every time you play the game, and printing of a wide range of customisable worksheets is possible for additional reinforcement. Numbershark (TM) combines
motivation and enjoyment within a structured learning process Games
Topics
Price: (as at 05/12/07 (But check the website for current prices) |
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