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This article explains how technology can be used with students with disabilities.  There are many different educational software and tools that are available for teachers to use in the classroom.  The cost is low.  Basic facts “need to be developed to the point that they are done fluently and automatically. If this fluent retrieval does not develop, then the development of higher-order mathematics skills-such as multiple-digit addition and subtraction, long division, and fractions-may be severely impaired.”  It can also negatively affect problem solving abilities and the development of everyday life skills.  “Educators have turned to technology with varying degrees of success to help students achieve fluency in math facts.”

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This article explains how to improve basic mathematics instruction and recommends technology resources for students with special needs.  Researchers discuss effective teaching practices for students with a range of learning needs.  Teachers should provide “practice in basic skills for computational fluency” (p.1).  Technology will make it easier to implement this practice.  “The flexibility and interactivity that are inherent in technology can help students who otherwise avoid math become engaged in the subject” (p.2).  Mastering basic math facts is a problem for many students with disabilities.  “Several studies have found that daily practice can help students increase both their speed and their accuracy in recalling basic facts. Technology can provide students with different formats for practicing math skills. Practice activities and games found on various websites offer one such approach” (p.2).

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In order to increase the retention of basic math skills, “the teacher researchers chose to implement technology to re-teach a variety of skills. Based on an analysis of the data, the results indicated an increase in test scores from the pre intervention test to the post intervention test.”  Technology was a “key factor for the increase of students showing mastery of basic skill problems.”  Students’ attitudes towards mathematics changed after the intervention and they “felt more comfortable and confident in their math abilities.”  The teacher researchers recommend using internet websites.

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This article discusses the importance of developing the automatic recall of addition and subtraction facts.  “Poor automatic recall of facts is very common among struggling students. Games that incorporate the use of facts-such as card games, board games, or computer games-are all helpful and generally palatable ways for children to gain additional practice with facts. Automatic recall of addition and subtraction facts in an important basic skill, one that is frequently weak in youngsters with learning disabilities.”

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This study investigates whether or not computers improve student’s ability to recall basic math facts.  “Having them practice at least twice a week for 20 minutes will show that computers are an effective tool for helping children learn those basic math facts. This research conducted over a 6 week period implies that using computers in the classroom to help students practice basic math facts will enable their ability to recall basic facts easier and quicker.”  This research study was a success with the specific group of students that the teacher had.  Students will have a difficult time with certain units of study in mathematics if they do not know their basic facts.  The most significant limitation of this study was time.  If a student was absent, that student missed his chance to practice his facts.

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This article explains why teachers should use technology in a mathematics classroom.  The two reasons are for computation and representation.  The author explains that “integrating technology into the classroom can improve mathematics teaching.”

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This article explains how technology helps students learn mathematics.  “It can stimulate interest, increase problem-solving abilities, and-when used wisely-give all students increased access to math.”  Online games can help students who are struggling to learn their math facts.  “Most of the programs are engaging, move at the student’s pace, and give immediate feedback.

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This article explains how to improve your child’s math skills in a digital age.  Video games are an engaging way to practice math. Students can master math facts by playing games.  “The more opportunities a student has for repetition of basic math facts, the more likely he is to make his knowledge automatic. Once he has established the automaticity of basic math facts, he will have more cognitive and mental resources available to apply to complex processing and problem solving.”  Children can achieve automaticity of basic math facts by playing games.

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This article describes different ways to meet individual learning needs in the math classroom.  “Differentiating instruction can be challenging.”  Teachers can use technology to provide “struggling students with extra support and attention at exactly their skill level, and makes it possible for the student to pace their own learning. Students who have mastered the basics and need to be challenged, can attend to tasks that require them to think in new ways using the skills they already have. The internet abounds with outstanding free math resources that can be used to encourage struggling students and challenge students who are excelling in math. The sites are well designed to meet the various learning needs in your classroom, and motivating enough to keep all of your students engaged in learning and practice.”

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This study investigates the effect of using video games in learning mathematics.  It explains that it is important to consider the possibility of video games as learning tools.  Video games can be an alternative mode of learning, but there is still a debate of how video games impact students learning.  “A child could spend hours focusing their attention to video games in contrast to their short attention span in formal classroom learning, commands further and in depth study in the impact and potential of video games in children’s learning” (p.13).

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This article explains how math and technology should be used together in the classroom.  Timothy Huneycutt explains that technology has become second nature and it can benefit students.  Not only does it help to keep students focused, but it also makes students excited to learn.  Students are able to learn at their own pace when using technology and it will provide them with skills for the 21st century.  Huneycutt states that technology can help both teachers and students achieve success.

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One group will practice addition facts using flashcards and worksheets and the other group will play computer games to practice addition facts.

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Resources >> Browse Articles >> Utilizing Technology

Mrs. Kelly Tenkely

Differentiating instruction can be challenging. Student's educational strengths and weaknesses can be widely varied, making it a difficult task to meet each student's needs in any given lesson. Math is one such subject area where student skill levels can be very different. Some students have their basic math facts so well mastered that completing more complex tasks isn't hindered. Other students have a logical mathematical mind and math just seems to click for them. Then there are the students who really struggle with math facts; they just can't seem to get them down. Every other area of math feels painful because they don't have the building blocks mastered. Still other students have no trouble solving equations but when a story problem is introduced, they are stopped dead in their tracks.

For most students, math takes a lot of practice. Unfortunately, the students who need the most practice are the most reluctant to do so because they haven't been successful in the past. Many of these students have convinced themselves, through negative self-talk, that "I'm just not good at math." What is a teacher to do with such a mix of skill and comfort levels in the math classroom? Technology can be a great equalizer in the classroom. It provides struggling students with extra support and attention at exactly their skill level, and makes it possible for the student to pace their own learning. Students who have mastered the basics and need to be challenged, can attend to tasks that require them to think in new ways using the skills they already have. The Internet abounds with outstanding free math resources that can be used to encourage struggling students and challenge students who are excelling in math. These websites can be used as a center in the math classroom that is limited to a few computers, for individual learning and practice in the computer lab (1 to 1 setting), or used with the whole class and an interactive whiteboard or projector. The sites are well designed to meet the various learning needs in your classroom, and motivating enough to keep all of your students engaged in learning and practice.

Offline Math Practice:

1. If you are lacking student computers for math practice, consider visiting iPlay Math Games. http://iplaymathgames.com has a collection of printable math games for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The games are easily searched by grade or skill level. These math games can be played using common items like dice, cards, and other manipulatives. The games have been created to build skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percents, algebra, long division, measurement, graphing, exponents, problem solving, puzzles, geometry, probability, logic, reasoning, numeration, patterns, and counting. Search for games that will meet your different learning needs. Next, group students together to play the games. Grouping students with similar learning needs helps students practice the math skill with others who are in need of the same practice. Create a math learning center where students can easily access the games and manipulatives needed for the games. Hold a math mania day once a week where students can practice the skills they have been learning in math class by playing these fun games.

2. 3D Vinci (http://www.3dvinci.net/ccp0-display/freestuff.html) has downloadable pdf lesson plans to teach math concepts using Google's Sketchup. The site also has an impressive collection of printable puzzles and mosaics for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade to solve. This site helps bring 3-D concepts to life in a way that textbooks can't. 3D Vinci also has a YouTube channel where students can watch several ModelMetricks projects.

Math Fact Practice:

Nothing is more motivating than a little friendly competition. Several sites offer competition that helps students practice their math facts, some are seasonal competitions, while others are available year-round. These sites make it a breeze to differentiate math practice. Each student can play games at their own ability level. This keeps the lower math students engaged and feeling successful in their math skills while the higher level students are challenged.

3. Math Mania and World Math Day- Vmath Live hosts these online competitions each year for students around the world to compete in. Math Mania (http://www.voyagerlearning.com/mathmania.do) is a back to school challenge where students compete against other students in real time using the Vmath Live math program. Students face off with other students from around the world while practicing their math facts. As students answer questions, they can see, in real time, how other students from around the world are doing answering the same questions at the same time. The goal is to answer all of the questions as quickly as possible (correctly) and finish before the other students. The live competition is highly motivating and has students asking, "can I play this at home?" World Math Day (http://worldmathday.com/) is a competition that is held each year in March. Just like Math Mania, World Math Day is a competition between students from around the world. Each math fact game lasts for 60 seconds and improves student's mental math. The World Math Day competition is for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Visit both competition sites for more details about the competition and dates.

4. Make 5 (http://www.fi.uu.nl/toepassingen/00091/toepassing_wisweb.en.html) Make 5 is a fun way for students to practice addition, subtraction or multiplication. Students can play this game individually or against another student. This game provides a great platform for students to practice math facts and to start recognizing relationships between numbers. Students are given a target number and a goal to choose an equation on the grid that equals that target number. There are multiple correct answers on the grid. The goal of the game is to get 5 answers in a row on the grid (like Tic-tac-toe or connect 4). If you don't have access to classroom computers to play this game, split your class into two groups and play with the whole class with an interactive whiteboard or projector. Each student should be given the chance to represent their team and match an equation with a target number. Give teams 30 seconds to plan their move before sending up the representative.

5. Arcademic Skill Builders (http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/) is a collection of fun arcade-like games that help students practice their math facts. Students can play games for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fraction, and ratios. The games are research based and standard aligned. It blends the fun of arcade games and key math skills into fun online games that engage, motivate, and teach students. All games have the option of single or multi-player mode.

6. Tut Pup (http://tutpup.com) is a free math fact practice website. Students are matched up with other students from around the world where they play fact games and compete in real time. This site does not collect personal information about students and there are several games to choose from, each with multiple levels. Students can practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, algebra, and a mixture of those skills.

7. Free Rice (http://freerice.com) is an amazing website that helps students practice math facts, it has the added bonus of donating rice for every correct answer. Students can choose to practice basic math facts or multiplication. For each answer that is correct, grains of rice are donated to hungry people around the world. Add some additional math practice by figuring out how many grains of rice are needed to create a bowl of rice, and keep tally of how many total grains that your students have earned.

Math Puzzles:

Math requires students to look at the world in different ways than they may be used to. It is about seeing relationships and patterns. Students may not be used to thinking in this way. Math puzzles can be a great way to help students start to think about relationship and pattern. This is a fun way to get your students in the math mind set. Your reluctant math students won't realize that they are practicing math skills as they complete these puzzles.

8. Tangram House (http://games.ztor.com/tang/) This Chinese puzzle challenges students to create a shape using only 7 tans (shapes) to complete a puzzle. The tans can be rotated, flipped, and dragged into place. Tangram House can be used as a math center on classroom computers, completed individually in the computer lab setting, or used as a whole class activity with an interactive whiteboard. To play as a whole class activity, split students into teams that will take turns at the board forming the tangrams. Students who are not at the board can help their teammate using good directions and clues for the student working on the puzzle. This is a great way for students to practice giving and receiving quality instructions and descriptions.

Next page: Better Than a Text Book >>

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17 ways meet individual learning needs math classroom utilizing technology benefits articles

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17 Ways to Meet Individual Learning Needs in the Math Classroom

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Differentiating instruction can be challenging. Student's educational strengths and weaknesses can be widely varied, making it a difficult task to meet each student's needs in any given lesson. Math is one such subject area where student skill levels can be very different.

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Developing Automatic Recall of Addition and Subtraction Facts | LD OnLine

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LD OnLine is the leading website on learning disabilities, learning disorders and differences. Parents and teachers of learning disabled children will find authoritative guidance on attention deficit disorder, ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dysnomia, reading difficulties, speech and related disorders.

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For children who dislike math, video games offer an engaging opportunity to practice math reasoning and computational skills without tears. Making math practice into a game, or at least making it into an interactive digital experience, is all it takes for many children to put in the time necessary to master math facts.

Teaching math is an incremental experience where practice makes perfect. The more opportunities a student has for repetition of basic math facts, the more likely he is to make this knowledge automatic. Once he has established the automaticity of basic math facts, he will have more cognitive and mental resources available to apply to complex processing and problem solving. While this may sound awfully complex, all it means is that if you no longer need to figure out basic steps and problem solving applications, you'll have more brain energy for further complex problem solving processes.

One of the best ways to establish automaticity of basic math facts and computational skills is through games and real world applications. Games such as the card games War, Darts, Go, Yahtzee, and various dice-based games require counting and numeracy. Board games such as Monopoly, where your child needs to learn to count his money, or football, where keeping score involves recognizing the different point values for touchdowns, field goals, safeties, and points after touchdowns, are also great practice opportunities for math.

Parents can also practice math skills in a variety of real life situations. Encouraging your child to save up his allowance will help him recognize how long it will take them to save up to buy a special toy. Playing games where you estimate how much it will cost to fill up your gas tank (a lot), or measuring out the ingredients appropriately for doubling your recipe for chocolate chip cookies are all great opportunities for practicing math skills together.

There are also a variety of ways to use digital technologies and media to practice math skills as well. These include:

Playing geometry puzzle-based games with your child may be one of the few areas where you may have a chance to beat them. Games such as Tetris make you aware of geometry and relationships among shapes.

Set up an online business together. Encourage your child to get rid of his old toys by selling some of them on ebay. Determining prices, recognizing the cost of setting up ebay, and considering the cost of postage are real-world tasks that involve mathematical calculations. If you want to take it further, encourage him to donate a certain percentage of his profits (and have him figure out the math) to charity.

Learn the new math yourself. One great tool that you can use with your child is to go to Khan Academy and watch a few videos. You may wish to sharpen up on your own math skills as you work with your child to improve his.

Playing non-educational video games that require math skills and concepts are an easy sell to children who normally shy away from numbers. Games like Slice It!, Add 'Em Up, and Brain Age are good choices for kids of all ages.

Let your kids use your smart phone or tablet to play a math app. For math aversive kids, this approach works best when they do not have their own gadgets to play with and are a captive audience, such as when they are in the car or accompanying you on an errand.

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Improving Your Child's Math Skills in the Digital Age - LearningWorks for Kids

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For children who dislike math, video games offer an engaging opportunity to practice math reasoning and computational skills without tears. Making math practice into a game, or at least making it into an interactive digital experience, is all it takes for many children to put in the time necessary to master math facts.

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Technology-Supported Math Instruction for Students with Disabilities: Two Decades of Research and Development | LD Topics | LD OnLine

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LD OnLine is the leading website on learning disabilities, learning disorders and differences. Parents and teachers of learning disabled children will find authoritative guidance on attention deficit disorder, ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dysnomia, reading difficulties, speech and related disorders.

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Math Magician

http://resources.oswego.org/games/mathmagician/cathymath.html

http://xtramath.org/

http://www.factmonster.com/math/flashcards.html

http://www.ixl.com/math/grade-1

http://www.funbrain.com/math/

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I plan to study how technology helps students master basic math facts because I want to find out whether or not the weekly use of computer games will enhance the mastery of basic facts so that I may better understand how to improve my students’ fact quizzes.

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Working Title:  Computer Practice

for Mastering Basic Math Facts