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MathPad Plus – Fractions and Decimals

For PC Compatibles running MS Windows and Mac OS computers

From IntelliTools

MathPad Plus – Fractions and Decimals by InfoUse from IntelliTools

Author: Gerry Kennedy – IT Consultant in Education

MathPad Plus – Fraction and Decimals, is a new program from IntelliTools. This recently released educational software program allows students to perform basic arithmetic operations directly on the computer. It simulates maths problems that would normally be completed using pen and paper. There are a large number of sample files (200) or you can choose to import your own maths problems created in your favourite classroom word processor. It assists students who have difficulty organising and completing their work. It also supports visually impaired students as you can adjust and change the font style and size, set a high contrast screen mode, change background colour and use high quality speech feedback.

As with all software programs from IntelliTools, it can be accessed with IntelliKeys as well as with any mini or standard QWERTY keyboard, mouse, touch window or use one or two switches. It is also ideal for students who can’t do maths with pencil and paper. Now all students can be included, as they are able to complete the same maths problems as their peers, by using their computers to greater advantage at school or at home to create, work with, solve and answer maths problems.

Essentially, MathPad Plus is a maths program that has voice and onscreen activities that can be tailored to suit different students’ numeracy needs. It is an updated version of MathPad and is available for PC’s running MS Windows or for MAC OS computers. It offers the same functionality as MathPad, with the addition of an exciting array of new features that teachers and students will thoroughly enjoy. It has certainly matured!

MathPad Plus offers more power and options as students do higher level computation. Students can perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems onscreen or on printed hardcopy, using factions and decimals. They can view problems as pie charts, fraction bars, or decimal grids that can be manipulated onscreen, and voiced if required. Students use the screen as their worksheet. They can enter numeric or word problems, and can check calculations anywhere on their worksheets. Teachers and parents can design and create maths problems (e.g. a decimal or word problem) using the Assignment Builder feature.

Teachers can quickly customise assignments to accommodate different learning and/or access needs. They have the facility to set up student portfolios and keep track of progress, using built-in features. Most importantly for mainstream and inclusion, teachers or aides can enter problems from worksheets or textbooks into MathPad Plus. Students with disabilities can work on the same material as their classmates, which gives them confidence, a feeling of self worth and equality. They can work alongside their friends at school or with siblings at home, using a notebook or desktop PC. Students of different abilities can complete tasks with different degrees of independence. This is so important as students move through primary school as some children often get left behind as resourcing them becomes more difficult and time-consuming. Finding the right resource can turn failure and frustration into success!

Maths problems can be quickly entered, displayed in the appropriate format and solved with minimum keystrokes, movements or prompting. Children in a number of grade levels can be accommodated. You can cater directly to the abilities of each child at his or her level of work. Students can organise their work onscreen as the flexible nature of the software allows them to manipulate numbers, operations and figures at will. Reducing the stress associated with maths assignments, projects and general schoolwork makes them more willing and able to learn and work successfully with maths concepts.

Starting Work

When you launch MathPad Plus, you are greeted with a log-onscreen. You can enter a whole class of students, or just one student, start work as a guest or as a teacher. Teachers can create and use passwords so that they can monitor their students’ progress and print charts and tables. In this way, only they can access personal student data.

There are twenty ‘assignments’ that have ten problems in each for immediate use (i.e. 200 sample files). Assignments include Fractions Add levels 1-3, Subtract levels 1-4, Divide levels 1-2, Multiply levels 1-3, Word Problems on Fractions (2) and on Money (2) as well as Percent of a Number levels 1-2. Students can work their way through these examples or you can edit these files. The option to create your own is always available. Students may elect to work in one of two modes – Worksheet or Manipulatives. The Manipulatives is an ideal feature for students who need to see and work with pictures, pie charts and other graphical representations of the maths problems.

In Worksheet mode, only one problem is presented and font size can be changed from 9 to 72 points. You can change the font style to any of those listed in your system with any combination of foreground and background colours. Students can practise computations, enter maths problems, import them from WordPad or any other text creation package and then solve them with manipulatives. The Manipulatives mode helps you model fractions and decimals to solve problems. Answers can be checked and printed at any time. After a student solves the problem, they can cut or copy the Manipulatives mode and paste it into their worksheet.

Manipulatives can be divided and combined. You can work on a white or dark grey background with high contrast. It can be ‘locked’ so that the students use the Worksheet mode only. Labels can be turned off or on (i.e. the 1/3 or 2/5 on fraction diagrams). Speech can be turned on and off as well in Manipulatives. You can combine Fraction Circles and Bars as well as have Decimal Grids displayed. It acts as a type of graphical scratch pad, where students can work with numbers pictorially and experiment with ideas and concepts as they come to terms with maths concepts and rules.

Students who require an alternative keyboard will enjoy using the IntelliKeys board. There are ready-made overlays that are packaged with MathPad Plus. They are immediately available after installation. The four colour overlay files include – All Keys, Advanced, Standard Numbers and Standard Manipulatives. You can print them or edit and customise them at any time if you possess Overlay Maker. Teachers can change the appearance or number of cells on an overlay, resize them and change the font style or size. It is totally flexible as you make overlays more or less complex for your students.

What You Get

MathPad Plus package includes a Macintosh or Windows CD-ROM, a User’s Guide, Tutorial, and 2 double-sided overlays for use with IntelliKeys. The System requirements are for MS Windows: Pentium 90 MHz; MS Windows 95 or higher; 10 MB space on your hard drive; 32 MB RAM; compatible sound card; SVGA monitor (i.e. 800 × 600 display in 256 colours or higher) and CD-ROM drive. MathPad Plus: Decimals and Fractions for Windows is targeted at Early Primary to Mid Primary. Installation was very easily performed. The program, folders and files took up 7.4MB hard disk space. The program is automatically installed into a default directory inside the C:itools main directory (which is consistent with all IntelliTools software applications and utilities).

Reviewed: 28/1/2001