Contact

Granada Learning
Granada Television
Quay Street
Manchester
M60 9EA
England
Tel: +44 (0)161 827 2927
Fax: +44 (0)161 827 2711
e-mail: info@granada-learning.com

For program details go to:-
http://www.granada-learning.com/school/ 
and then search for Maths Explorer

Program evaluation

I say:

I have used this program with some of my Raising Achievement group. These are Key Stage 3 and 4 students. They are more used to the tightly structured Successmaker maths module and initially asked, "What do we do?" I encouraged them to do as the program's title suggests and Explore.

Each location in the castle contains an Investigation, All about, Fact, Puzzle and Test yourself.

They enjoyed the Investigations and Test Yourself which are interactive, but, not unexpectedly, found some of the "Facts" and "All About" multimedia presentations less enthralling (although some did eventually begin to search for facts they weren't sure of). The Puzzles which involve work away from the computer met with, "I'm not doing that." (Well, it was like traditional maths wasn't it?)

If you need more control over what is tackled, or if the student wants to work on a particular topic, the Catalogue allows direct access to the Investigation, Puzzle, Fact or whatever. It's like a list of shortcuts. I use this if I want a student to work on specific topic.

There is much more to the program than this: it is very comprehensive and can be approached in many different ways. And, for the busy teacher (and Mr Blunkett we all are, you know) there are some excellent, clearly presented support materials which may be printed out from the CD - either by you or the students.

You could just give the students the program to explore, but by planning a path through the castle for them, based on your knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses you retain greater control whilst students still can enjoy each location. The great feature of the program is that it allows you to exercise this control.

So, for primary, lower secondary and special needs I'd certainly recommend a look at this program.

Program Details

Granada Learning say:

"Maths Explorer: Shape and Space is the second disc in the Maths Explorer series, bringing maths to life for seven to twelve year olds. Set in a castle, this highly motivating CD-ROM covers one of the main areas included in Key Stage 2 of the National Curriculum, and the Scottish 5-14 Guidelines. It is also ideal for lower ability pupils in secondary schools.

Pupils will have great fun exploring the castle and learning about mathematical concepts related to shape and space. There are twelve subjects:

Sides, Angles and Symmetry
Tessellations
Angles
Circles
Measuring Scales
Congruent Shapes
Translations
Areas and Perimeters
Units and Conversions
Co-ordinates
Mirrors and Reflection
Solid Shapes.
Pupils can create their own projects by using the Notebook to collect text and images. A Logbook tracks each pupil's journey through the rooms and their level of achievement. On-disc teacher support materials include a guide to the disc and its use in the classroom, as well as worksheets; all materials can be printed out."

The program is available for PC, Acorn and Mac.
Cost: £49.00 for single user
Single CDs are £10:00

(Check website for latest prices)