MERLOT site: Addition and Subtraction Fun!
Quality of Content:
Does the software present valid (correct) concepts, models, and skills? Yes. This website presents an engaging opportunity to practice both addition and subtraction math facts through picture representations and number models.
Does the software present educationally significant concepts, models, and skills for the discipline? Yes. Students are encouraged to answer questions in multiple formats for both addition and subtraction models. The use of pictures, story problems, and number models cover a wide range of math skills.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching-Learning Tool:
What stage(s) in the learning process/cycle could the materials be used? The material is most appropriate for lower elementary grades (approximately ages 4 to 6) and especially for students who are just learning addition and subtraction facts. This Stand Alone Instructional Resource is read to the student and there is heavy picture support for the visual learner as well as instant visual/auditory feedback. The demonstrated math skills can be applied to other like problems with single digit numbers being added or subtracted with the use of manipulatives.
What is(are) the learning objective(s)? What should students be able to do after successfully learning with the materials? Students should be able to represent two numbers with manipulatives or a visual representation, add or subtract two numbers, create a number sentence, and find an answer to a single digit addition or subtraction problem.
What are the characteristics of the target learner(s) This website will best fit students in a lower elementary classroom grades kindergarten through second grade (ages 4 to 6) or any student beginning to add and/or subtract single digit numbers.
Does the interactive/media-rich presentation of material improve faculty and students' abilities to teach and learn the materials? Yes. Teachers will appreciate the multiple strategies incorporated in this presentation. The website is fun, engaging, and accurately displays the thought process necessary to solve addition and subtraction problems using technology.
Can the use of the software be readily integrated into current curriculum and pedagogy within the discipline? Yes. The basic math skills required in this presentation are present in all lower elementary classrooms regardless of intended curriculum.
Can the software be used in a variety of ways to achieve teaching and learning goals? The software is designed as a Stand Alone Instructional Resource but the user can skip to either the addition or subtraction section of the presentation depending on educational need.
Are the teaching-learning goals easy to identify? The objective of this lesson is well defined and the learning goals are achieved throughout the content of the presentation.
Can good learning assignments for using the software application be written easily? Yes. Students can apply the content of the presentation to a page of math facts used as a drill and practice. The addition and subtraction support can also be used to encourage students to show multiple formats of learning such as representing the answer to a problem with pictures, numbers, and words.
Ease of Use:
Are the labels, buttons, menus, text, and general layout of the computer interface consistent and visually distinct? Yes. The presentation is designed as a Stand Alone Instructional Resource. Students can easy click on the link followed by the action buttons to get to the next slides. All questions are read to the user and interactive responses are instant and encouraging.
Does the user get trapped in the material? The presentation will continue forward when the action buttons are clicked until it has played out in its entirety. The user can escape the material with the esc. button.
Can the user get lost easily in the material? No. The user is encouraged to go forward until the presentation is complete. There are not multiple pathways for the user to get lost.
Does the module provide feedback about the system status and the user's responses? Yes. The presentation will cheer (with a visual thumbs up) for the correct response to the content and the appropriate answer is given upon an incorrect attempt.
Does the module provide appropriate flexibility in its use? The website provides a variation in skill from addition to subtraction as well as flexibility in how the material is presented to the user.
Does the learning material require a lot of documentation, technical support, and/or instruction for most students to successfully use the software? No. The StAIR presentation only requires the user to click on the initial link and respond to the posed questions. No pre-teaching is required.
Does the material present information in ways that are familiar for students? Yes. The material presented is similar to how a teacher would present the same content to a classroom of students. The math problems are read aloud, a picture matches the problem, and multiple answers are given for the user to choose.
Does the material present information in ways that would be attractive to students? Yes. Students enjoy using technology for the everyday content in an elementary classroom. This presentation makes learning fun and engaging for all students. The pictures are colorful and the sounds are encouraging for an eager student. Traditional math fact drills are a thing of the past!
