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Scholastic Education, the leading provider of instructional technology for schools in the U.S., today announces FASTT Math® Next Generation, a significantly upgraded version of the country's premier math fact fluency program.

How can we help these children feel the sense of flow when in math class? Children who get anxious about doing math have brain function that differs from children who don't, with math-specific fear interfering with the parts of the brain involved in problem-solving, according to functional MRI (fMRI) scans of 7- to 9-year olds that formed the basis of a study published online March 20 in Psychological Science.

"Over the past 20 years educators have fought over the best way to teach numbers to kids. Advocates of traditional math tout the practice of algorithms and teacher-centered learning, whereas reform-math proponents focus on underlying concepts and student inquiry."

Taking focus to a whole new level! "While the equipment could have other uses for doctors, psychologists and other professionals working with the mind, developers are creating equipment that gamers can use to play with their minds." "The Neurosky Mindset includes a "Brainwave Visualizer" that lets you control on-screen shapes with your mind. A Math Trainer enables you to answer math questions with your mind. The company also has a MindHunter game in which you can fire a weapon by concentrating hard enough, or you can use the Mind Labyrinth where you travel by meditating through 52 levels of an ancient temple as your relax more and more. "

Computer-led math learning at Virginia Tech.

Interesting article and very ambitious to address an academic need, but I wonder if the instruction/test environment addresses UDL principles to appeal to a variety of learners or if the multiple choice tests target a narrow definition of math success. I added a blog post above that highlights some of technology's short comings as a platform.

Great point. My feeling is that a lot of higher ed institutions use technology as a way to cut costs, so not much attention is paid to accommodating diverse learners. If I may think back to my own undergrad experience, the prevalent assumption is that you're old enough to seek out additional support on your own when you're stuck or want to learn more. I definitely think though that more attention should be paid to applying UDL principles to educational software (yes, even for adults), so that learning can move beyond passing multiple-choice tests!

Thanks for sharing this, Chris. It's both interesting and relevant to my project for this course. A comment at the bottom suggested that really the companies need to change their unrealistic minimum criteria for job candidates. I've heard that argument before, and sometimes I do wonder when I see complaints from companies looking only for people with 5+ years of STEM work experience railing on the state of STEM education. What do you think?

Thanks for sharing Chris! I can totally relate to this. I remember having to sit through those "weed out" intro biology and chemistry courses in undergrad. They were the antithesis of motivating but I pushed through because I knew without them I couldn't do the "cool science" I wanted to. I remember at the time thinking these courses were weeding out people who were entertaining the idea of a STEM career but just didn't want to put up with the cut throat nature of these courses. It seemed to me the classes were more concerned about weeding out people than by providing an environment that really fostered learning.

Teaching principles of algebra without the use of numbers. How well do these principles get carried over into math?

A review of what this writer thinks constitutes a good math app, and where many apps/educational games go wrong.

A decent resource on educational games for math

Interesting game on getting kids interested in aviation and math.

I have found it useful to compare and contrast the links below ( shared by Stephanie and Bharat) Trial ST Math ( mindresearch.net/ ) Reflex math ( http://www.reflexmath.com/)

Research paper on "recreational learning objects" in this case a math-based computer game, which was shown to increase motivation in Mexican high schoolers.

This game does a great job of incorporating the social aspect of gaming. In addition, Sokikom uses classroom management techniques to reward postive behavior through "class cash." It would be interesting to look at what behaviors are actually transferred into the classroom.

This is a really good paper that shows how to evaluate tools for education with learning curves. They use adaptive tutoring systems as an example but it can be applied to just about any educational tool, such as a website, tablet app, and so on. There is some math, but it is very approachable. 

math learning management influenced by game design. 

Note the first listed winner in the (empowering) education category: involved with use of interactive games to enhance learning in math and science.

If you haven't come across lure of the labyrinth, do visit the site. An example of intrinsic integration of learning content with game mechanics.

Pradeep, I ran across this article that references two digital math competitions (Lure of Labrynth, Dimension U) and notes a distrubing US statistic: "In New York City, for instance, just 10 percent of the high schools with the highest black and Latino enrollments offer Algebra II, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Education." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/feature-numbers-game-ame_n_1418589.html

Students at George R. Staley Upper Elementary School compete in a math video game that incorporates the STEM curriculum