Saturday, December 11, 2021

Some new MultiMatch game decks

We created a few new MultiMatch decks to use while we were teaching in China.   To download them, please select the "MultiMatch Decks" link to the right.  Feel free to download and use them, or even remix/enhance them.

Chinese-Numbers-1-100
Chinese-Colors
Geometry-Chinese-English (elementary geometry terms)
Measurement-Chinese-English (elementary measurement terms)
Recognize Fractions
Subitize 2-6
Subitize 4-10

Friday, September 7, 2018

Check out our new MathTappers: FindAngle app.

We are pleased to announce our ninth MathTappers app  

 MathTappers: FindAngle! 

An app to help you build your angle estimation skills.





This app was developed in collaboration with a student after he chose to create an app for Tim's Interactive Multimedia course.  We provided him with a design for a simple learning app, and he was able to build a nice working prototype in just a few weeks. 




After the course was done we contracted with him to refine the app to match our other MathTappers apps and publish the app on both the Google Play store (for Android) and the  iOS App store (see the links on the right) - and today the app is  live on both of these stores.


Now he is joining us as a co-author as we write a paper about the development process used.

Note that we just recently surpassed 5,000,000 downloads on all of our MathTappers apps, and they are all still free, ad free, and up-sell free 


Monday, November 27, 2017

Presenting at SmartShow 2017 in Beijing:

Nov 27, 2017
Simple Game-based 
Learning Apps: 
Principles for Design and Use



If you want to see the video go here

SmartShow – The International Educational IT Solutions Expo 2017

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Introducing MathTappers: MultiMatch

Our newest learning app for the iPad.

It's a simple matching game app that lets you create and load your own decks. Please check it out!

you can play with all of the cards exposed

or you can play a matching game that requires you to remember what is hidden

Cards can have more than one image, and sets can have 1, 2, 3, or more cards.
And if you visit the MultiMatch decks page on the right you can make your own!

Monday, January 25, 2016

Handout for "Want To Help Your Child Learn Math? There Are Apps for That!"


Want to help your child learn math – there are apps for that….

Braefoot Elementary – Jan 25, 2016

Tim Pelton
tpelton@uvic.ca


Who are you?
Tablets, smartphones, screen time?
How do you help your child learn math?


Some theories to support learning:



Aristotle:
Big Idea #1 “the purpose of the state is to educate people – to make them virtuous”

Big Idea #2  “Learning is a series of question and answer propositions.”  We need to ask questions, encourage questions, share questions (TPS) etc..




Vygotsky: Social Development Theory

Children learn first through social interaction and making meaning.

Big Idea #1 Set up learning opportunities within reach (ZPD)

Big Idea #2.  Reciprocal teaching and peer tutoring are powerful tools to support learning. 

Big Idea #3. Focus on summarizing, clarifying, questioning, predicting.

Big Idea #4 Children raised in environments where there is more cognitive and linguistic stimulation have a developmental advantage.




Piaget: Cognitive Dev. & Constructivism

Children naturally try to make sense of the world

We are all seeking equilibrium, (assimilating and accommodating). 

We develop through stages (continuous progression):
1.Sensorimotor (0-2)   
- Object permanence
2.Preoperational (2-7)   
- Egocentric
3.Concrete operational (7-11)
- Conservation
4.Formal operational (11+)
- Abstract reasoning  (~1/3 of adults reach this?).         

Big Idea #1 Children progress through stages - no point in pushing new ideas before their time

Big Idea #2 Learning happens through disequilibrium.  Children need time to conduct independent explorations.


Bruner: Constructivism
The learner transforms their experiences into knowledge

Big Idea #1  A child of any age is capable of understanding complex information (!) – But not by rote – by discovery

Big Idea #2 - We present new ideas in a sequence:  Concrete/action –> Visual/iconic/descriptive –> Abstract/symbolic

Big idea #3 Spiral Curriculum with Scaffolding (teachers, tutors, parents, peers) is the way to go.

Big Idea #4 Radical constructivism is difficult to follow through on – perhaps a more pragmatic version of constructivism intermingled with instructivism, objectivism, cognitivism & behaviourism.


Papert: Constructionism

Big Idea #1 – We learn best by creating something tangible.

Big Idea #2 – Project-Based learning (PBL) with teachers as coaches and facilitators

Big Idea #3 – discovery learning rather than teacher led learning



van Hiele

The van Hiele model – students progress through a series levels of understanding in geometry
Affected by experience rather than by age. 

Big Idea #1  If students learn by rote and without understanding they will not be able to apply it in new situations.

Big idea #2  We progress through Recognition, Description, Definition, Deduction, Rigor

Big idea #3 Pushing ideas earlier may be possible – but not very efficient.



Bloom

Bloom’s taxonomy describes the types of learning objectives.  The domain that gathers most of the attention is cognitive: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, & Synthesis.

Big Idea #1 







Questions for audience
  How many of you have downloaded apps to help your child learn? – What did you discover?
  What concerns do you have about using iPads
  What makes a useful App




What we look for in Apps
  No ads, clean, not too distracting
  Intuitive to get started - easy to use
  Engaging
  Can be shared
  Immediate feedback (but not immediate answers)
  Substantial educational component
  (see Bloom’s objectives)
  Resources for parents/teachers
  Some support provided (to help figure out the problems)
  Mastery before fluency (not time bound)
  Tracking of progress


Some Apps we have created (most MathTappers are free) and recommend)






www.mathtappers.com

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Explain Your Thinking: Creating Comics, Manipulatives and Animations on iPads

Presented at NCTM 2013

Saturday, April 20, 2013
9:30 AM-10:30 AM   
203 (Convention Center)

Lead Speaker:  Leslee Francis Pelton
Co-Speaker:  Timothy W. Pelton

See how students can quickly and efficiently create comics, videos, and animations on their iPads to show what they know and how they know it. We will share examples from number sense, ratio and proportion, geometry, and measurement.
View a PDF version of the presentation  

Friday, April 19, 2013

Apps That Work in Math Class

Presented at NCTM 2013

Friday, April 19, 2013  
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM   
Mile High 2 C

Lead Speaker: Timothy W. Pelton 
Co-Speaker: Leslee Francis Pelton 


Many educational apps exist for the iPad, but finding apps that go beyond drill and practice is difficult. We will share apps that offer opportunities for students to explore, reason, discuss, and understand mathematical concepts and that support consolidation and practice. We will also share strategies for classroom use of iPads.
Presentation Format: 3-5 Session
Grade Band Audience: 6 to 8, 3 to 5

Thursday, April 11, 2013

50th Anniversary Deans' Lecture Series
Spring 2013 Legacy Art Gallery Lecture: What's New in Education?
Wednesday, April 10: 7 to 8:30 pm, Legacy Gallery, 630 Yates Street
Tablets, ebooks and apps—what are they bringing to the classroom that isn't already there? How will these new tools help children learn? How can teachers, parents and others use them to support 21st century learning?
Speakers: Tim Pelton, PhD and Leslee Francis-Pelton, PhD and Chair, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, UVic.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Measuring Length: Centimetres - Free iBook

Hey, I finally revised my first iBook.  I wrote it to see if I could help children (and adults) master measurement.  This is just the first of a series that I hope to create.

Measuring Length: Centimetres - As I understand it, you can only download it onto iBooks on an iPod, iPhone or iPad.

Did I mention it was free?

Friday, June 22, 2012

Sharing strategies - learning with MathTappers at ISTE




We are heading out to ISTE this coming week.  We have a few opportunities to share our MathTapper apps and some strategies that we have collected as we have used them in the classroom.  

Our main presentation is:

Ten Strategies for Effective Use of iPods in Math Class
Wednesday, 6/27/2012, 10:15am–11:15am, SDCC 30CD - but it is sold out

We will post a summary of our strategies after the presentation - for now please download our apps, so that you are prepared.  Just search for Mathtappers on iTunes.  (Note that they are all free and have no ads or in-app purchases!)

We will also be presenting at:

SIGGS Games and Simulations Arcade
Monday, 6/25/2012, 8:00am–12:00pm,  SDCC Sails Pavilion

MathTappers: Apps for iOS Devices
Tuesday, 6/26/2012, 1:00pm–3:00pm,  SDCC Halls DE Lobby , Table: 18

SIGML Mobile Learning Playground
Wednesday, 6/27/2012, 9:00am–10:00am,  SDCC Sails Pavilion

We have had a lot of fantastic feedback when we meet folks who are using our apps -and we appreciate it!  If you want to give them a boost - please rate them for us.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Hey I made a math book!

I used iBooks Author to create an iBook.  It is designed to help children understand what length is, and to help them to build a collection of useful referents for centimetres - but it will work best if there is an adult beside the child encouraging, questioning and supporting  them through the exploration.

You may download it to your iPad (that is the only place you can use it right now) by clicking on the link below.  It is about 14 MB in size, so it may take a couple of minutes.  When it is finished downloading - open it in iBooks.

http://web.uvic.ca/~tpelton/MeasuringLengthcm.ibooks

Share it with a child and share it with your friends!

Send me feedback (tpelton@uvic.ca)

Friday, April 27, 2012

Two presentations at NCTM 2012 in Philadelphia

We had two great presentations today at NCTM.

The first was focused on using MathTapper apps to support learning in K-5 classrooms, while the second  presentation was focused on learning in middle school classrooms.

Please remember to rate our apps if you download them.  Good ratings mean that they float into view when others go looking for math apps.

Thanks!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

We are expanding... ScienceTappers and WordTappers

We have had good success with our MathTapper apps - 7 on the store and many more to come. As we share these with our colleagues in the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria, we (collectively) see the potential for many other similarly useful learning apps - apps that are designed to help children make sense in various domains.

In response to this we have started designing apps for Science (ScienceTappers) and Language arts (WordTappers).