Virtual Manipulatives

My inaugural post will focus on the use of virtual manipulatives in the classroom. While I am not overly familiar with many forms of them, they are generally a good thing to use. There are a few important benefits to using virtual manipulatives. One is the learner engagement. Anytime technology is involved, whether its on a personal computer or a Smartboard, students are more likely to be on task. A good example of this is during a recent geometry unit. When teaching translation, rotations, and reflection, it came in handy to have a student model moving the actual shape on the Smartboard for everyone to see. The students all wanted to be chosen to demonstrate this, so they all tried their best. Another awesome benefit is the time they save in set up and planning. Dr. Ford's 'Race to 100' game is a great way for students to understand place value with hundreds, tens, and ones. Counting out enough Unifix cubes for all 19 of my students takes a good 20 minutes, with cleanup being longer, even with student help. However, my school recently renewed its license to Riverdeep. Students can play the same game in the computer lab on Riverdeep, without the hassle of setup and cleanup, saving me lots of instructional time. Like Elizabeth mentioned in her blog, I also have found the eTools component of enVision math to be helpful, especially with money. I like the feature where students can take a hammer to a bill or coin, and it will immediately be broken up into smaller denominations. I am excited to learning more about virtual manipulatives, and hope that I can find a few more things I can use routinely.