Math Applet: Concentration: Grades 3-5

Concentration
3-5
http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=73

Summary:
The concentration math applet, available through the NCTM Illuminations, resources for teaching mathematics, is a game which requires students to use matching skills in a memory game. The program allows for a great deal of flexibility of the content being taught. The students can elect to play the game with simple number relations, numbers represented as blocks, dots, words or numbers. Then the students can graduate to more difficult numbers. You can set the program to test the understanding of geometrical shapes, multiplication, fractions and even percentages. At each skill level the students can play solo or with a partner. In the way that the program responds; beeps, shows correct answers and resets the game, it feels very much like a game. It is very user friendly and easy to understand. However, despite its ease of use, the applet is able to test students on a variety of skill levels.

Critique:
I feel that this applet is a very useful tool. Because it fees so much like a game I feel that students would enjoy using the program. Furthermore, because the program is interactive the students are motivated to continue to the more difficult levels. In a number of the other applets I noticed that they allowed the students to manipulate; however, without a focus I can see the students becoming bored and giving up. As a teacher, I appreciate that the program is self sufficient, with the other programs I would have to create a problem or purposeful context for the students were they to use the applet for any prolonged period of time. Having tested the program I feel that the fractions version of the game is the most challenging. It requires the students to match the numerical fraction to a visual representation. Students who struggle with this concept can use the “glass pained window” to make the process easier. It makes the task much easier. Then the students can really focus on identifying the correct fraction pair with less focus on the time constraint. The only thing I would change about this applet is that it does not record the student’s results. Were I to use this applet in the classroom, as a reward, during computer time or to get a feel for the student’s prior knowledge on the subject, it would impossible to know their results unless you sat and watched each student play the game.