Maths+Online

Maths Onlineis a very popular online maths tutoring system for year 7 to 12 students, as well as their teachers and parents. Created by Australian teachers, one of the best aspects of the program it that it conforms to Australian mathematical educational standards, providing domestic students with extremely relevant practice (http://www.mathsonline.com.au/).

Although Maths Online is not commonly used by maths teachers within the classroom, the program can be used to set homework tasks. Teachers can sign up their school from a link on the home page and instruct their students to do the same via the family account. Once registered, students, teachers and parents log in through different links as shown in the top right of the image below.



After logging in, teachers can access the Maths Online Teacher Administration Centre. Here teachers undertake various functions including planning and assigning work for their students and checking progress (Maths Online, n.d.).

Maths Online can be a useful resource for practically all students, however, some students and families from disadvantaged backgrounds may find the program invaluable. Many families who have children needing a maths tutor cannot afford one on a regular basis. These children may be disadvantaged as the use of private tutoring grows in Australia (Watson ca. 2008). Maths Online is completely free to use for all parties; the only real requirements being a computer and internet connection. Families who do not have these can access the program at a public library.

Maths Online could also prove very useful for children who, for various reasons, cannot learn maths effectively in a typical classroom environment. Students with attention difficulties including those with ADHD may find practising maths at home much easier as they are away from the distractions of their peers.

Students with learning difficulties may benefit from the well presented and moving diagrams the program produces: diagrams that are virtually impossible to replicate in the classroom on a whiteboard. Students with writing difficulties can also gain a lot from the system as answers are typed. However, those that have a greater ability to write are encouraged to work through the steps of problems on paper.

Maths Online allows students to go at their own pace as tutorials can be rewound and fast forwarded. The rewind feature would be particularly useful to students who get nervous asking questions in front of their class. Being able to fast forward may help decrease boredom among some students that are already confident in the material.

Maths Online. (n.d.). //Teacher User Guide.// Retrieved from []
 * Reference**

Watson, L. [ca. 2008]. //Private expectations and public schooling: the growth of private tutoring in Australia//. Australia: University of Canberra Retrieved from http://www.aare.edu.au/08pap/wat08692.pdf

=__**ONLINE MATHS GAMES**__=

[|apples4theteacher.com] is another website I have come across that has lots of resources for teachers as well as educational computer games for students to plays. I found the Maths section of this website to be very useful and one that I think if I implemented some of the activities into my teaching, they would be extremely effective in teaching my students the basic concepts of mathematics. The [|Interactive Maths Flash Cards] game is a game where instead of using basic flash cards like in the regular classroom, the website brings up a number of maths problem (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) for students to solve on after the other. The website times how long it takes for the student to solve the problem and the accuracy of their answers. This is an excellent tool for students as they are able to constantly view their progress and better their own scores.

This activity caters for students for all abilities as those who have vision impairments and may struggle to see smaller flash cards or the white/smart board can easily and clearly see the text on the computer screen. Students who struggle to hold a pen or pencil correctly are able to 'click' on the mouse to give their answer and some students who have difficulty concentrating in the normal classroom environment and are more focussed when using computers are also given the opportunity to work to their full potential.

Implementation of this website/activity/game into the classroom is simple and easy. By setting up an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) lesson, students can each have their own computer (if enough available - if not pair students up) and complete an [|Interactive Maths Flash Cards] game first addition, then subtraction, multiplication and division. The idea of the game is that the student is only trying to better themselves and their own scores. Although there is a large range of difficulties and levels on this website, I believe this activity is best aimed at Year 4 and 5 students.

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