What's The Back Up Plan?

Think about it, if the H1/N1 outbreak results in school closures students' will lose valuable education time. The job of math teachers will be even harder when the schools re-open because most of the students must catch up. I have recently read a press release from Adaptive technologies an e-learning company. They have pointed out that in case of school closures they have over 240 web based math lessons available.

These lessons may or may not fit in with every teachers lesson plan. However, it's worth thinking about if only on a management level. How will students' math education be continued if there are school closures.

Imagine if a company like Google were to offer a solution. Maybe the new Google Wave could be adapted to fit the needs of schools? Anyway the question remains. What can schools do as a back-up in case they must close in order to avoid spreading H1/N1? Surely some answers can be found in technology.

Usability Report - Brain Power Math

Here is the Usability report on Brain Power Math Beta. It makes interesting reading for teachers who use the beta. Also, it could be helpful for instructional designers and software developers that are undertaking similar projects.

Usability Report - Brain Power Math Beta

Math - A Key Building block for Economic Recovery.

The recent Carnegie report which calls for higher levels of learning in Math and Science has been supported by the American Chamber of Commerce.

A high level of mathematical performance is linked to economic growth in the modern technological age. The importance of mathematical education has never been greater. It's important for all economies to refocus on key STEM skills as a means to pave the path to global economic recovery.

The report is called the Opportunity Equation.

The future of Math looks a little brighter.

The downward trend in US and European math grades has been reversed in Michigan. The Michigan Department of Education reports that "more than 75 percent of students in grades 3-8 tested as 'proficient or above' on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program math tests given in the fall of 2008, including 91 percent of third graders,"

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues into more advanced grades.

E-learning 2.0 and Brain Power Math

The benefits of e-learning and web 2.0 technology are self evident. Brain Power Math can benefit greatly from integration with these technologies. In fact any future development will have e-learning 2.0 firmly at it's core. Some interesting features that could be added are the ability to embed an e-learning module in a blog post (similar to Scribd, SlideShare and YouTube). A collaborative tool along with a question rating system that could be used by both teachers and students may be useful.

In a very interesting blog post entitled Examples of eLearning 2.0 : eLearning Technology Dr. Tony Karrer outlines approaches that utilize e-learning 2.0 technology. Many of these would greatly improve the usefulness and relevance of Brain Power Math to both the modern teacher and student.

Asian teaching methods to be introduced to the United States by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is working with Asian educational publisher Marshall Cavendish to introduce "Math in Focus" to the US education system. The material draws from Asian teaching methods that have been proven to be successful in various international studies. The material focuses on a concrete-to-visual symbolic progression of instruction and is aimed at K-5 students.

It will be interesting how such material will be blended into the US education system. Could such material be a major breakthrough in teaching the modern western student math?

Public Schools outperform Private Schools in Math!

A study by a team of University of Illinois education professors shows that public school students out perform private school students in standardized math tests. They attribute the reason for this to two key factors: 1) Certified math teachers and 2) A modern, reform-oriented math curriculum.

You can read the full article that appears in Science Daily here.