Integrating Educational Software

Title: The Graph Club

Publisher: Tom Snyder

Grades: K-4

Platform: Win/Mac hybrid CD-ROM

NH Frameworks: Math Std. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7

Description: This software tool has been designed to help lower elementary grade students develop the ability to read and interpret graphs and use graphs to communicate information, answer questions and solve problems. "The Graph Club" assists children in making the transition from graphing with manipulatives to graphing in the abstract and helps them understand the relationship between different representations of the same data--tables, picture graphs, bar graphs, line graphs and circle graphs.

Students can explore already created graphs (explore mode), create their own graphs (create mode), design graphs to match existing ones (match mode) and hypothesize about what data represents (guess mode). Thirty five sample graphs are included along with over 150 fun icons or you can import your own.

Integration:

Can be used by individuals, pairs/groups of students or the whole class

Single or multiple computer environment

Teacher guide includes program basics, several dozen graphing ideas, 35 sample graphs with activities, blacklines, how to introduce graphing concepts in the primarily grades and assessment ideas.

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Title: Ice Cream Truck

Publisher: Sunburst

Grades: 2-6

Platform: Win/Mac hybrid CD-ROM

NH Frameworks: Math Std. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Description: Students get behind the wheel of their own ice cream truck and experience a fun, real world application of mathematics as they purchase, price and sell ice cream around town. Numerous options allow teachers to make the problem solving and math skills age-appropriate. A journal is provided for students to log their experiences and a spreadsheet to estimate costs and facilitate problem solving and decision making.

Throughout the simulation, students build skills in arithmetic operations, data gathering, recognizing patterns, working backwards, estimating and money sense. (If you are familiar with Hot Dog Stand, this is a similar concept for younger students).

Integration:

Can be used by individuals or pairs of students

Multiple computer environment preferred

Curriculum reinforcement and extension

Teacher guide covers basic operation, teacher options, using the journal and spreadsheets and four investigations (calculating profits, looking for trends, comparing profits, conducting surveys).

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Title: Logical Journey of the Zoombinis

Publisher: Broderbund

Grades: 3-7

Platform: Win/Mac hybrid CD-ROM

NH Frameworks: Math Std. 1, 2, 6, 7, 8

Description: Students must successfully solve 12 logic puzzles as they guide their tribe of Zoombinis to their new homeland. The gameplay centers around the Zoombinis characters' attributes with the students working carefully to find patterns and functional relationships among these attributes. This software was co-developed with TERC and promotes not only logical thinking and data analysis skills, but also scientific thinking processes and writing and communicating mathematics to show understanding. Four levels of difficulty are included.

The 12 challenges are divided into four groups and cover the following topics.

Logical relationships--grouping and comparing information

Strategic thinking--linking information and problem solving

Organization--graphing and mapping information

Algebraic thinking--sorting, comparing and associating variables

Integration:

Can be used by individuals or pairs of students

Multiple computer environment preferred

Best used as a supplement to basic curriculum or for unit on attributes

Teacher guide includes complete instructions, blacklines to introduce students to each challenge (I highly recommend using) and 11 additional activities.

Note: this is one of my all time favorite educational software programs--the kids absolutely love using it, and it teaches logical thinking skills not available within most math software.

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Title: Math Workshop Deluxe

Publisher: Broderbund

Grades: K-6

Platform: Win/Mac hybrid CD-ROM

NH Frameworks: Math Std. 1, 2, 3, 4

Description: Within Math Workshop, students can explore a variety of mathematical ideas, develop and apply problem solving strategies and engage in creative pursuits. Eight different activities with multiple levels of difficulty encourage children to construct their own mathematical understandings and to seek multiple solutions to problems. Teachers can customize some of the problem sets.

The activities include:

Bowling for Numbers--addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, equivalence, estimation

Boiler Room--fractions, percents, decimals, word problems

Rhythm Shop--fractions integrated with music

Rockets--the game of Poison (also called Nim)

Pattern Windows--geometric patterns integrated with art

Super Sticklers--line drawn puzzles

Puzzle Patterns--patterned puzzles

Hidden Picture Puzzles--similar to tangrams (fitting geometric shapes together into another shape)

Integration:

Best used by individual students

Multiple computer environment preferred

Curriculum reinforcement and extension, several activities also good for remediation

Teacher guide covers basics of all activities, 19 cross-curricular lesson plans and additional resources for teachers.

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Title: Mighty Math Carnival Countdown

Publisher: Edmark

Grades: K-2

Platform: Win/Mac hybrid CD-ROM

NH Frameworks: Math Std.1, 3, 4, 6

Description: Students explore 5 engaging activities that develop fundamental math skills in an entertaining carnival setting. As to be expected with Edmark products, activities feature both an explore mode and question & answer mode, along with grow slides that automatically advance the level of difficulty (or can be manually adjusted).

Virtual manipulatives help students make connections between concrete and abstract math. Topics covered include place value (1s, 10s, 100s), addition and subtraction with carrying and borrowing, sorting rules, Venn diagrams, pattern recognition, equivalencies (<,>,=), early multiplication and division, and early 2D geometry.

Integration:

Best used by individuals or pairs of students

Multiple computer environment preferred

Teacher guide includes descriptions of all activities, section on how to introduce the activities to your students, blacklines and 7 extension activities.

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Title: Tabletop/Tabletop Jr.

Publisher: Broderbund

Grades: K-12

Platform: Win/Mac hybrid CD-ROM

NH Frameworks: Math Std. 1, 2, 5, 7

Description: Tabletop is tool-based software for storing, exploring and analyzing data. Students build databases then sort, group, rearrange and compare data. Venn, stack and axes plots are available along with statistical box plots. Data tables can be joined; data can also be imported from other sources and exported. Formulas include basic math operations (logs, trig also), string manipulations and Boolean operations.

Tabletop Jr. is geared specifically for grades K-6. This tool based program helps younger students understand basics of graphing, analyzing and saving data. The software is very exploratory and many activities focus on attributes (some of the plot icons look a lot like the Zoombinis from Broderbund's Logical Journey of the Zoombinis software!).

Integration:

Can be used by individuals or in groups

Multiple computer environment preferred

Curriculum reinforcement and extension

Tabletop teacher guide covers all capabilities of program along with 15 supplemental activities that range across all curriculum areas. Tabletop Jr. teacher guide also covers complete program functionality along with 10 activities and projects.

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