How well does it work?
On Safari browser all of the interactives worked with ease, when using Google Chrome I had Java difficulty with a handful. Once I was on a browser other than Chrome, navigating and using Illuminations was easy. It is a very straightforward platform.
Are the written materials well organized and useful?
Written Materials are very well organized and useful. The website can be navigated by choosing to view either interactives or lesson plans and can be narrowed down by NCTM or Common Core standards. Topics range from Pre-K through 12th grade mathematics in five categories: Number & Operations, Measurement, Geometry, Algebra, and Data Collection & Probability. Each of these topics (and multiple at one time) can be selected to show either lessons or applets that fall within the selected category. There are tabs for instruction, exploration, related resources, and an option to “print all”. The exploration tab provides extending questions to further the student’s thinking. Related resources tab provides other interactive lessons that are similar to the selected game. Instructions were easy to read and follow but I wish they had been on the same page as the activity so students would not have to flip back and forth between the activity and instructions page.
What are the purposes and goals for using this technology? Does the technology reach this goal?
NCTM Illuminations is a search engine for interactive math lessons ranging from Pre-K through 12th grade mathematics. The purpose of the interactives is to supplement lessons. Under the “related materials” tab of each applet or game there are corresponding lessons provided by NCTM. NCTM also provides “exploration” questions that can guide the student playing the game. The intention of Illuminations is not to provide stand alone math games but applets meant to be intertwined within a lesson plan or larger idea. There are an extensive number of games that can be utilized to serve different purposes. Games can be used to further a student’s understanding of a concept or explore a concept they are just beginning; it really depends on how the teacher prepares the applet to fit into a unit. Both of the games I selected can be used to explore relationships in which students are just being introduced. Th mean and median applet allows students to explore which is appropriate to use in different data sets; how outliers can effect the mean more so than the median and what that means for numerical summaries. The adjustable spinner applet is for students to explore the relationship between theoretical and experimental probability; what happens to the probabilities as you increase the number of spins. Illumination games are very malleable in their use but their effectiveness depends very much on how the teacher uses them in lessons.
Is the technology relatively easy to use?
Yes, besides the minor struggles using Chrome which are easily fixed by switching to a different browser, all interactives and games worked fine. The only critique I have is if you switch from the activity to the instructions or exploration tab (perhaps to reread a question) the activity page resets. For this reason, I highly recommend printing out the instructions or questions you wish students to answer, even if they are exact duplicates of the questions provided by NCTM. Illuminations makes this very easy with the “print all” button.
Does this technology enhance or extend the teaching and learning process for the intended mathematics concepts? How and why?
I have found, by looking at most of the technology for grades 6-12 in Illuminations, that most enhance the teaching process. There are exploration questions provided that are meant to engage the student in deeper levels of thinking but all of the interactives would, I think, be ineffective without being a part of a larger lesson plan or idea. I would not expect a teacher to assign a student to play one of these games in isolation, without the class, because few of the games I encountered provided useful feedback for incorrect answers. For this reason, the applets need to be a part of a larger lesson plan where the teacher is guiding students through games and concepts.
Would you recommend this product for purchase to a school? Why or why not?
Everything is free on the website so there is no need to purchase any product for the school. Although, I do recommend that all math teachers become a member of NCTM to receive access to journals pertaining to their area of mathematics and age level of students. As I stated previously, I recommend printing out any instructions or questions you wish students to answer because the work the student has done on the activity page resets if the student looks at another tab. The Calculation Nation feature is a very cool tool to have students use in their free time: when they finish work or a test early. The lessons provided by NCTM are detailed and free and seem to be very useful to download and tweak to fit your classroom needs; especially for first year teachers who may need inspiration in creating unit lessons.
On Safari browser all of the interactives worked with ease, when using Google Chrome I had Java difficulty with a handful. Once I was on a browser other than Chrome, navigating and using Illuminations was easy. It is a very straightforward platform.
Are the written materials well organized and useful?
Written Materials are very well organized and useful. The website can be navigated by choosing to view either interactives or lesson plans and can be narrowed down by NCTM or Common Core standards. Topics range from Pre-K through 12th grade mathematics in five categories: Number & Operations, Measurement, Geometry, Algebra, and Data Collection & Probability. Each of these topics (and multiple at one time) can be selected to show either lessons or applets that fall within the selected category. There are tabs for instruction, exploration, related resources, and an option to “print all”. The exploration tab provides extending questions to further the student’s thinking. Related resources tab provides other interactive lessons that are similar to the selected game. Instructions were easy to read and follow but I wish they had been on the same page as the activity so students would not have to flip back and forth between the activity and instructions page.
What are the purposes and goals for using this technology? Does the technology reach this goal?
NCTM Illuminations is a search engine for interactive math lessons ranging from Pre-K through 12th grade mathematics. The purpose of the interactives is to supplement lessons. Under the “related materials” tab of each applet or game there are corresponding lessons provided by NCTM. NCTM also provides “exploration” questions that can guide the student playing the game. The intention of Illuminations is not to provide stand alone math games but applets meant to be intertwined within a lesson plan or larger idea. There are an extensive number of games that can be utilized to serve different purposes. Games can be used to further a student’s understanding of a concept or explore a concept they are just beginning; it really depends on how the teacher prepares the applet to fit into a unit. Both of the games I selected can be used to explore relationships in which students are just being introduced. Th mean and median applet allows students to explore which is appropriate to use in different data sets; how outliers can effect the mean more so than the median and what that means for numerical summaries. The adjustable spinner applet is for students to explore the relationship between theoretical and experimental probability; what happens to the probabilities as you increase the number of spins. Illumination games are very malleable in their use but their effectiveness depends very much on how the teacher uses them in lessons.
Is the technology relatively easy to use?
Yes, besides the minor struggles using Chrome which are easily fixed by switching to a different browser, all interactives and games worked fine. The only critique I have is if you switch from the activity to the instructions or exploration tab (perhaps to reread a question) the activity page resets. For this reason, I highly recommend printing out the instructions or questions you wish students to answer, even if they are exact duplicates of the questions provided by NCTM. Illuminations makes this very easy with the “print all” button.
Does this technology enhance or extend the teaching and learning process for the intended mathematics concepts? How and why?
I have found, by looking at most of the technology for grades 6-12 in Illuminations, that most enhance the teaching process. There are exploration questions provided that are meant to engage the student in deeper levels of thinking but all of the interactives would, I think, be ineffective without being a part of a larger lesson plan or idea. I would not expect a teacher to assign a student to play one of these games in isolation, without the class, because few of the games I encountered provided useful feedback for incorrect answers. For this reason, the applets need to be a part of a larger lesson plan where the teacher is guiding students through games and concepts.
Would you recommend this product for purchase to a school? Why or why not?
Everything is free on the website so there is no need to purchase any product for the school. Although, I do recommend that all math teachers become a member of NCTM to receive access to journals pertaining to their area of mathematics and age level of students. As I stated previously, I recommend printing out any instructions or questions you wish students to answer because the work the student has done on the activity page resets if the student looks at another tab. The Calculation Nation feature is a very cool tool to have students use in their free time: when they finish work or a test early. The lessons provided by NCTM are detailed and free and seem to be very useful to download and tweak to fit your classroom needs; especially for first year teachers who may need inspiration in creating unit lessons.