Math-Whizz Blog
January 27th, 2012 by Rita
We’ve talked before about how one of the great things about math is it’s potential for an infinite variety of fun applications. Well today we are dedicating this Fun Math Friday post to one of my favorite things – pasta (if it were up to me pasta would be considered a food group of its own)! Now we’ve talked about the convergence of food and math before and know that fractions are integral to successfully cutting a pizza or baking cookies. But, you may be wondering, where’s the math in pasta?
Luckily, Sander Huisman enjoyed his pasta as well and was curious about the particular shapes and if a mathematical equation could be built to explain or model them. Turns out Huisman isn’t the only scientist with an interest in the mathematical properties of pasta – you can take a look at some popular pasta shapes alongside their mathematical explanations thanks to a great article and accompanying slideshow from the New York Times, “Pasta Graduates From Alphabet Soup to Advanced Geometry.”
About the Author: Rita Rogers grew up in the PNW and despite her “low-tech” houseboat upbringing, went on to complete her Master’s of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in 2010. She is passionate about the convergence of education and technology, educational gaming, and outer space.
Tags: elementary math education, food and math, fractions, fun math friday, geometry, math fun, math-whizz, pasta and math, pasta geometry, personalized online learning, whizz education
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January 20th, 2012 by Rita
From time to time I’ll have a parent or teacher ask me if their kid can repeat a test, and if so how? Now while Whizzers cannot be assigned a test for retake, certain tests and exercises can be reviewed. It’s also good to know that if a student fails to pass an exercise or the test the Tutor will reintroduce it later down the road.
If your student or child comes to you asking about re-doing an activity in Math-Whizz the first thing to do is log into either you parent or teacher account and view the report for the necessary student. Once you are in the reports view select the History tab near the top of the page. Now you can easily browse through their exercise and exam history to see if they have any available for review. Look down through the “Mark” column and see if you notice any small red circles with a “!” in the middle. That “!” indicates that the exercise (or exam) is available for review – hover over it and you’ll notice instructions for how to review this particular exercise with your student.
At Math-Whizz we think it’s features like these that create space for wonderful teachable moments. In some instances, a child might just not have performed very well on a lesson because they didn’t understand the mechanics of it – this allows you to walk through it with them. Equally important, this allows the student to share their knowledge with you, or ask specific questions about a certain problem or method. While the original mark the student received will not change due to reviewing it, this process allows both the student and teacher or parent to have a dialogue, one we’re hoping is enriching for both parties!
One more thing… we recently added another subject to our Math Pages, so if you or someone you know has yet to learn all about how Math-Whizz spreads happiness in numbers send them over to review some examples of how we teach Geometry for students K-8.
About the Author: Rita Rogers grew up in the PNW and despite her “low-tech” houseboat upbringing, went on to complete her Master’s of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in 2010. She is passionate about the convergence of education and technology, educational gaming, and outer space.
Tags: Individualized learning, interactive online learning, math-whizz, reports, Test, whizz education
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December 22nd, 2011 by Rita
Hanukkah’s begun and the holiday season is in full swing – which means at some point you are going to need a break from your loved one and Math-Whizz is here to help with some fun worksheets that should keep your little ones busy long enough to clean up from the days festivities. We’ve put together two worksheets that you can download and print – perfect for the longer than average car trips to grandma’s house. Click on the image below for the PDF.
And if you are looking for ways in incorporate math into Christmas, look no further than Education.com which has 5 Ways to Calculate Christmas Fun, with ideas from our very own Kevin Judd. Also, don’t forget the Winter Adventure is in full swing! You can read all about it here. Have a great holiday season!
About the Author: Rita Rogers grew up in the PNW and despite her “low-tech” houseboat upbringing, went on to complete her Master’s of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in 2010. She is passionate about the convergence of education and technology, educational gaming, and outer space.
Tags: christmas math, education.com, free math worksheet, holiday math, math-whizz, personalized online learning, whizz education
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December 19th, 2011 by Rita
Last week the 2011/2012 Math-Whizz Winter Adventure went live and in case you or your students have yet to take some time to play, well… what are you waiting for?! Our developers work hard to make sure each Math Whizzer gets this little holiday gift for all the time they’ve put into Math-Whizz during the school year. Not familiar with the Winter Adventure? Here’s a quick rundown!
Each Winter Adventure activity needs to be unlocked – these activities are locked and can be unlocked with stars. One star is equivalent to 30 credits, and these credits must be earned during the time the Winter Adventure is live. For those of you watching the clock, time spent in the Winter Adventure does not count towards the Usage you’ll see in reports.
Once you’ve entered the Winter Adventure, which is accessible through your Bedroom, you will see a screen much like the image above. Each window or door contains a different activity for you to try. 1 star activities will teach you all about different holiday celebrations around the world, while 2 star activities give you the chance to play a number of different arcade style games with a math twist!
All said there are six 2 star games and six 1 star games – certainly plenty to keep your little one busy this holiday season! So, go forth earn those credits, and unlock as much of the Winter Adventure before it melts away January 6, 2012! Happy Holidays!
About the Author: Rita Rogers grew up in the PNW and despite her “low-tech” houseboat upbringing, went on to complete her Master’s of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in 2010. She is passionate about the convergence of education and technology, educational gaming, and outer space.
Tags: fun math, math-whizz, online math, online personalized learning, winter adventure
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December 2nd, 2011 by Rita
Math-Whizz has successfully been implemented throughout the Anchorage, Alaska School District and some 7,000 students are on their way to learning just what Happiness in Numbers really means!
“Our mission is to provide students with both the information and inspiration they need to succeed,” said Ben Keogh, CEO of Whizz Education in the United States. “We have no doubt that the Anchorage School District will see the same success from using Math-Whizz that schools all over the world have experienced.” You can read all about the implementation in Anchorage on eSchool News.
You can experience for yourself some of the content being delivered to students in Anchorage and throughout the world on our Math Topics pages complete with sample exercises. Are you a teacher or administer? You can quickly request a pilot for your students right here.
Tags: Alaska, Ben Keogh, Educational Technology, elementary math education, eSchool News, math-whizz, mathematics, online math, personalized learning, RTI, whizz education
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November 21st, 2011 by Rita
We are thrilled to announce that Math-Whizz Tutoring Plus has been awarded the National Parenting Center 2012 Seal of Approval! After 8 weeks of independent testing by children, parents and educators alike, the NPC announced Math-Whizz had received their coveted Seal of Approval and recommendation to parents.
“Up until recently, Math-Whizz was reserved for public and private elementary and middle schools,” explains Ben Keogh, CEO of Whizz Education. “We are grateful that the National Parenting Center is letting parents in on a secret that schools have been using for years to improve the math mastery of their students.” To read more about the selection process and Math-Whizz please click here. If you would like to learn more about some of the topics your child would learn with Math-Whizz check out our math topics pages or register for a free trial.
About the Author: Rita Rogers grew up in the PNW and despite her “low-tech” houseboat upbringing, went on to complete her Master’s of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in 2010. She is passionate about the convergence of education and technology, educational gaming, and outer space.
Tags: award, Ben Keogh, Elementary Math, free trial, fun math, math-whizz, math-whizz tutoring plus, mathematics, national parenting center, online learning, seal of approval, whizz education
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November 10th, 2011 by Rita
Hopefully by now your child or student has had an opportunity to utilize two of our main features - both Replay and the Topic Bank. Today we are going to add yet another great feature into the mix and look at Challenges. Located outside of the Tutor, the Challenges keep kids actively and excitedly engaged in learning with Math-Whizz. The Challenge feature allows students to create lesson challenges to other students worldwide or to specific buddies. A little healthy competition motivates and encourages students to Replay some of the lessons they’ve already completed in the Tutor. For those Math-Whizzers without a lot of buddies there is no need to worry, it’s easy to create a challenge to other Math-Whizzers around the world! Let’s learn how!
First have your child or student login and access the Console. Select “Replay” at the bottom of the screen and you will see “Challenge History” as well as “Challenges” buttons in the lower right. The summary board in the upper section of the screen will also notify your student of any pending challenges. Selecting the “Challenge History” button shows the 20 most recent challenges and the respective outcomes, whereas selecting “Challenges” will take you directly to any pending challenges. To create a new challenge have your child scroll through the lessons shown in the Replay box and click on one of their choosing. The option to “create a challenge” will pop up – select it. You will now see a screen like the picture above, allowing you select another Math-Whizzer to challenge or add as a buddy. They will then replay the lesson and their time and score will be sent off to the chosen Math-Whizzer to accept! We’re pretty sure your kids or students won’t even notice they are reinforcing mathematical concepts.
Do you have a question about Math-Whizz? Email me!
About the Author: Rita Rogers grew up in the PNW and despite her “low-tech” houseboat upbringing, went on to complete her Master’s of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in 2010. She is passionate about the convergence of education and technology, educational gaming, and outer space.
Tags: challenge mode, competition, Elementary Math, feature spotlight, math-whizz, online mathematics, personalized learning, replay, topic bank, whizz education
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November 4th, 2011 by Rita
Yesterday we took a look at the benefits of the Topic Bank, and today we are going to look at similar feature, albeit one with it’s own unique benefits – Replay Mode. All of us here at Math-Whizz have our own favorite lessons and we know many of the students using our program do as well, which is precisely where Replay Mode comes into play. In order to access Replay Mode you will first need to enter the Console. Once there, at the bottom of the screen select “Replay.” You’ll then enter a screen that looks like the one below.
From this screen you can then select which lesson you would like to replay, view the medals you’ve earned as well as your best times and scores. Challenge yourself to beat your best time and score and you’ll be awarded new medals (go for the gold!) as well as ten credits. Hover over a lesson to see your past times – lessons most recently completed will load first, scroll to the left to access those previously assigned.
So, in a nutshell: students can replay lessons they’ve completed in the Tutor Mode, and improved scores and times are rewarded with credits and medals. The lessons completed in Replay will not affect their Math Age™ or lesson as delivered through the Tutor. If you are looking to target a specific topic for extra practice, be sure to read all about our Topic Bank.
About the Author: Rita Rogers grew up in the PNW and despite her “low-tech” houseboat upbringing, went on to complete her Master’s of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in 2010. She is passionate about the convergence of education and technology, educational gaming, and outer space.
Tags: feature spotlight, math-whizz, personalized learning, replay mode, topic bank
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November 3rd, 2011 by Rita
One of the many great things about Math-Whizz is the number of features packed into the program and today we are going to highlight one, the Topic Bank. Occasionally we get feedback from parents or teachers who say “I wish I could target a specific area and have my student focus on that subject.” We thought so too, which is why we include both Replay Mode (which we’ll cover soon) and the Topic Bank in Math-Whizz.
Let’s start with taking a look at the Topic Bank, which is accessible through the main screen of the Bedroom. Simply, the Topic Bank is a place where students can review foundational exercises for the topics that they have already completed using the Tutor.
The amount of content available in the Topic Bank depends on how much time your child or student has spent completing lessons in Tutor Mode. The most recent lesson tackled will appear at the top left side of the exercise list.
What’s great about the Topic Bank is that the lessons available aren’t all at the same Math Age™ – when you select a lesson it will tell you the level in relation to where you currently are. So, perhaps a student has been struggling with decimals and needs a bit of extra practice. Select the “Decimals” topic on the left side menu, the exercises in the bottom right hand corner will be the lessons with the lowest Math Age, and in some instances that is the best place to start. Some students might struggle with a bit of math anxiety, so it might be helpful for them to know that how they perform in the Topic Bank does not influence their Math Age – we like to think of it as our practice playground.
Be sure to check back in soon to learn about the another great feature, Replay Mode!
About the Author: Rita Rogers grew up in the PNW and despite her “low-tech” houseboat upbringing, went on to complete her Master’s of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in 2010. She is passionate about the convergence of education and technology, educational gaming, and outer space.
Tags: elementary school math, feature spotlight, fun math, math age, math anxiety, math-whizz, online education, personalized learning, replay mode, topic bank
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October 31st, 2011 by Rita
Have you taken a look at your Bedroom yet? The rain is falling down and there are some creepy crawlers about … How many tricks and treats can you find? If you didn’t get a chance to download our Halloween coloring sheets and fun math activities you still have time. Make sure you take a look at the new offerings in the Whizz Shop, check out the notice board, and parents – share your Halloween fun with us on Facebook.
Have a happy and safe Halloween from all of us here at Math-Whizz!
Tags: cool math, fun math, halloween, halloween math, math-whizz
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