Plus 7-3-2014: Make Math a Game

 

Make Math a Game is devoted to helping people, both kids and adults, improve their math skills while having a good math experience.

 

Browse the Make Math a Game blog for ideas that can improve your math ability. The free website helps you understand the basics and alleviate confusion so that math becomes fun. The goal is to "give help to kids, teens, and adults who want to get better at math – and it doesn’t matter what your current math level is!”

 

In addition to the blog, there are sections on Math Concepts, Practice, Everyday Math, Math Tricks and Teasers, as well as special featured items.

 

 

The philosophy of Make Math a Game is that you can do math better with practice and the practice will be easier if it is fun.

 

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Featured 6-26-2014: Sharplet

Sharplet

 

Sharplet is a new web app that promises users will remember more in less time using the spaced repetition learning method to optimally schedule flashcard review sessions.

 

 

Spaced repetition is a learning technique that utilizes increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material in order to take advantage of the psychological spacing effect. The amount of time between learning sessions is a determining factor in long-term memory formation, not the amount of time spent learning.

 

During your study sessions, grade flashcards on how well you recall them. Cards are scheduled for review based on these grades. Cards you know well will move further ahead in the review schedule so you will see them less often. The progressively increasing review period between each card moves knowledge quickly from your short to long-term memory.

 

 

The founders of Sharplet believe that some flashcard applications may be good but are lacking essential features and none seem to be fully integrating spaced repetition. They endeavored to make Sharplet easy to use and to provide the appropriate features that will allow users to have fun while learning.

 

 Currently Sharplet does not have dedicated mobile apps but the website will adapt to the screen of size of your device so you can study a course on any device. Dedicated IOS and Android apps are planned for the near future.

 

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Featured 4-30-2014: Math & Movement

 

A kinesthetic, multi-sensory approach to teaching math, Math & Movement incorporates physical exercise, stretching, cross-body movements, yoga, and visually-pleasing floor mats designed to encourage students to practice math.

 

Students physically hop, walk, crawl, dance, or touch the mats and banners as they learn, thereby using visual, auditory, motor, and kinesthetic learning processes.

 

 

Math & Movement takes advantage of children's natural inclination for movement and creative imagination to master basic math. The floor mats and banners cover the concepts of addition, subtraction, telling time, skip-counting, multiplication, division, fractions, factoring, positive/negative numbers, Cartesian coordinates, money, unit circle, place value, decimals, percents, rounding, and probability.

 

The movements are divided into six categories:

• Active Math: Whisper/Loud Movements - Designed to give your students physical exercise while simultaneously enhancing math and reading ability.
• Active Math: Skip Counting Movements - Designed to provide additional physical exercise while learning the multiples.
• Sit-Down Math Activities - Designed for quiet time and involve stretching.
• Tapping at the Table Activities - Designed to be used in between other activities, while students sit at their desks.
• Hallway Math Activities - Designed to be used walking in the hallway to and from lunch, PE, art, music, computer or library.
• Math 'n Yoga Activities - Incorporate math practice into popular yoga moves.

The Math & Movement program is based on research that suggests that moving during learning facilitates muscle memory, an important factor with younger children whose abstract thinking skills are not fully developed. It also draws on research suggesting that cross-body movements integrate the left and right hemisphere of the brain, waking up a sleepy brain and helping to establish newly learned material in memory.

 

 

 Watch a Math & Movement demo video

 

While developing their math skills, Math & Movement lets students simultaneously experience an overall sense of well-being. Using these activities during the day, before testing, or during transitions, allows teachers and students to feel energized, focused, calm, and prepared to learn.

 

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Extra: 1-1-2014 Cram

Flashcards can help you organize information in a way that helps you learn more efficiently. Cram  an online flashcard tool, utilizes the Leitner System of studying. This system has helped thousands of students around the world memorize large amounts of information.

 

About 40 years ago, Sebastian Leitner devised a learning system that made selective learning possible with less effort. The system consists of a box separated into a number of compartments. The compartments are filled with flashcards that are moved from one compartment to another, according to the current level of knowledge. When a flashcard is answered correctly, it is promoted to the next compartment. When a flashcard is answered incorrectly, it is demoted to the first compartment. 

Cram can automatically hide cards you already know so that you can focus on the ones you don't. Flashcard sets can also become memorization games. Cram can easily make your flashcards into multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank and matching questions so you can test yourself.

 

 View the video Make flashcards and quizzes with the Cram app

 

Cram also offers mobile apps for iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry, to take your flashcards with you and study anywhere.

 

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Featured: 1-16-2014 Gibbon

Gibbon is a tool that enables its users to collect and share knowledge from the web. Easily curate articles, links, videos, and books to create a playlist to learn anything.

 

The creators of Gibbon  believe that "almost all the knowledge is already available on the web, all you need is someone to guide you to it.” For that reason they created Gibbon, a tool that makes it easy for almost anyone to create and follow simple paths of resources, learning flows, to learn nearly anything. 

 

Gibbon users can teach to and learn from each other. Start teaching by creating your own learning flows and sharing them. Follow other users' learning flows and receive weekly lessons to acquire knowledge chapter by chapter.

 

   

For the last year, Gibbon  has been developed and produced in Leiden, the Netherlands.

 

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Featured: 7-18-2013 CoderDojo

Coderdojo is a global collaboration providing free and open learning centered around free, non-profit coding clubs and regular sessions for young people.

CoderDojos are set up, run by, and taught at by volunteers. Young people learn how to code, develop websites, apps, programs, games and more.

CoderDojos organize tours of technology companies, guest speakers who talk about their careers and what they do, and other events.

There are hundreds of CoderDojos around the world. Click here to see a list of where CoderDojos are currently located.

As well as learning to code, members meet like minded people and share what they’ve been working on. CoderDojo makes development and learning to code a fun, sociable experience.

 Watch a Silicon Republic report on CoderDojo

CoderDojo is a non-profit organization founded by James Whelton and Bill Liao in early 2011.

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Featured: 6-25-2013 Voxy

Voxy is an English language learning system based on research in second language acquisition, mobile technology, and cognitive science.

Voxy delivers authentic content that actual native English speakers use in real-life activities, providing opportunity to practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening, with feedback from English-speaking tutors.

Technology-mediated learning offers personalized and individualized instruction to give learners access to content, just-in-time feedback, and progress updates to enhance the learning process.

Adult learners have opportunities to engage with genuine language content, practice using the target language to accomplish real-world tasks, and receive feedback on errors.

Distributed regular practice will help to sharpen the learner's skills and provide frequent opportunities to improve. Whether using a computer, tablet, or smartphone, learning and practice is always accessible.

 Watch a video overview of Voxy

Voxy guides learners through a sequence of lessons, tracking performance and adapting lessons accordingly. Voxy works for beginners to advanced learners.

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Featured: 5-6-2013 NEA Academy [PD]

NEA Academy is an interactive learning environment providing practical online courses to meet professional development and continuing education needs.

NEA Academy offers online continuing education and Master’s degrees that fit your budget, schedule, and needs. Based on your individual preferences, NEA Academy will provide content recommendations, course alerts, and additional material of specific interest to you.

 

The content of NEA Academy is peer approved. Material meets quality standards determined by NEA members. Video clips feature actual classroom teachers who demonstrate different ways to use the strategies you learn.

NEA Academy provides more than 40 degree programs with hundreds of courses, many in areas of high need such as special education, math, science, reading, technology, instructional design, and ELL.

NEA Academy tries to negotiate reduced rates for members. Master’s degrees, some from top universities, are discounted 5-20%. Some NEA-produced courses are totally free to members.

Watch a video: Welcome to the NEA Academy

With basic computer skills, time to devote to the class, and a computer with Internet access equal to the minimum requirements listed for the course, NEA Academy lets you learn at your own pace in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

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Featured: 4/11/2013 Math for Morons Like Us [Math]

Math for Morons Like Us is a site created by students for students. You'll find tutorials, sample problems, and quizzes, even a place to submit questions. A formula database gives quick access and explanations to all those tricky formulas.

The creators of Math for Morons Like Us hope this site will clarify some of those confusing math concepts and help you better understand important math math ideas.

Math for Morons Like Us covers everything from pre-algebra to calculus. In the Learn section, you will find tutorials, sample problems, and quizzes. This site is designed with the assumption that you know some of the basic concepts but need some reinforcement, or you want to review things you learned in the past.  A short quiz after each tutorial lets you  test yourself on what you've just learned or reviewed.

You can communicate with others using the site's Message Board where someone else can be asked for some quick help. And, there is a separate Calculus Message Board for calc students only.

Use the Formula Database to search for commonly used formulas.  You can also add new equations to the collection.


The Educators section of Math for Morons Like Us can become a useful resource for teachers. For example, the teacher may let accelerated students get an introduction to the next math level.

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Featured: 2/21/2013 Babbel [Language]

Based on a combination of educational methodology and state-of-the-art technology, Babbel tries to provide an easy language learning experience.



Using lively multimedia courses and exercises, Babbel strives to make learning a language not only fun, but enduring. The Babbel system determines your skill level and offers you courses appropriate to your abilities and interests.



Babbel leverages the Internet, modern software, and mobile devices in conjunction with some of the most effective methodologies in language education. All the content at Babbel has been developed by a team of more than fifty foreign language teachers and experts, designers, and software developers. Babbel takes full advantage of the multimedia possibilities the Internet offers.

Watch Enjoy Learning Languages with Babbel 2.0

Learn how, what, and when you want. Babbel accommodates many different levels and circumstances. Put your language skills into practice with people from all over the world.

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Featured: 2/13/2013 Cerego [Learning]

Cerego bills itself as the world’s first memory management tool. Cerego gives learners the ability to learn faster, remember longer, and manage their memory for a lifetime.



Cerego’s learning algorithms are based on proven cognitive science and learning science theory, and combined with cloud technology, it is bringing learning solutions to an expanding global market for learning and knowledge.

As learners use Cerego, the tool measures the rate of information absorption and memory decay, while calculating the exact moment to review in order to achieve maximum memory strength.



The Memory Bank is a personalized visualization of learning progress, maps activation, and memory strength across all courses and individual items studied, making learning and re-learning more efficient and effective.

Watch a video about Cerego

The Cerego platform has currently logged 3.7 million study hours and presented over 1.6 billion items to learners worldwide. Cerego is currently in private invite-only beta.

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COD - 7/18/2012 - Neeyaa [Tutoring]

Neeyaa is an educational platform offering two complementary core products, Neeyaa Classes and Neeyaa Tutoring. These beta products allow tutors and students to connect either on a one-time basis or for a more extensive tutoring program. Neeyaa provides the tools to help students reach their academic goals.

Neeyaa Classes

Experienced professional tutors teach small, interactive one-hour classes where students are able to get the information they need, anywhere, at any time. The classes utilize a feature-rich two-way whiteboard with desktop sharing capabilities, chat functionality, and video.

Neeyaa Tutoring

In this one-on-one tutoring platform, tutors, students, and parents can find one another, work online, track their progress, and accomplish their learning objectives. Tutors have live online sessions with their students, create, store, and assign documents, set and track goals, and create full profiles which students and parents can view.

Students can find a tutor who best meets their needs, keep up-to-date with their assignments, and set goals for themselves. Students can rate their tutors and comment on the experience.

Explore Neeyaa in this video

Getting started with Neeyaa is free and easy. Register with an email address or Facebook login.

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COD - 6/6/2012 - Livemocha [Languages]

Just in time for summer travel, EDge21's Catch of the Day will  this week feature a number of online resources to support foreign language learning.

Livemocha blends traditional learning methods with online practice and interaction with native language speakers from around the world. The aim of Livemocha is to create "a world in which every human being is fluent in multiple languages."

It is the conviction of Livemocha that anyone can learn a new language, anywhere and anytime. Livemocha promises conversational fluency in a second language using new technologies and distribution methods to go beyond traditional limits by leveraging the latest trends in social networking to connect people across the globe. 

Watch a video introduction to Livemocha 

Purporting to be the world’s largest online aggregation of language learners, the Livemocha community has grown to over 13 million members living in over 195 countries since launching in 2007.

Go to previous EDge21 posts about language learning sites  

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COD - 6/5/2012 - Duolingo [Languages]

Just in time for summer travel, EDge21's Catch of the Day will  this week feature a number of online resources to support foreign language learning.

Duolingo, currently in private beta, allows you learn a language for free while simultaneously helping to translate the web.

The Activity Stream is designed to enhance the Duolingo experience. The Activity Stream has its own tab on the home page and you can write posts on it. Because Duolingo believes everything should be about learning, you can only write posts on your stream in the language you’re learning. Everybody who follows you will be able to see your posts. The goals of the stream are to encourage interaction with other users and to provide motivation to write in the language you’re learning.

Duolingo believes that fundamental to achieving their learning goals is that students must be able to read and write complete sentences and be given immediate, detailed feedback about their answers. Duolingo’sFeedback System tries to tell you exactly what you did wrong. For example, if you enter “Das Mädchen isst ein Apfel” as a German translation for “The girl eats an apple,” Duolingo tells you, like a human teacher would, that you should have used “einen” because Apfel is a masculine noun. Duolingo doesn’t penalize you for small typos such as when you enter “epro” instead of “pero”

Watch a video introduction to Duolingo

Watch TEDxCMU -- Luis von Ahn -- Duolingo: The Next Chapter in Human Computation

The goal of Duolingo is to provide the best language learning service out there, and offer it 100% free. 

Go to previous EDge21 posts about language learning sites

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