Title: Maths Workshop

Publisher: Broderbund

Age Range: 7- 12 years old

Curriculum Area: Mathematics

Evaluation:
Mostly myself used the CD in one to one situations in my capacity as remedial teacher.
It was difficult to get class teachers to use it in their own classes because it would have necessitated
sitting down with an individual child while he/she figured out how to use it leaving the remainder of the
class unattended. For this reason I feel that this software would be more useful in a situation where
the computer system was networked, or where there was one CD per pupil, however, once the pupils
were guided through the working's of the programme, they were quite capable of working on their own.

The software was very easy to install on Pentium strength computers and the speed of response was
quite adequate. However the content tended to be a bit repetitious particularly for children between
ten and thirteen years old. Who were inclined to become slightly bored after a while, so even though
the content would be suitable for all ages, I found that the younger age groups benefited more from it.
Once the children grasped the basics of how to find their way around the programme, they were quite
capable of working away on their own. The help facility was very clear and useful and the language was
easy. The children were encouraged to obtain the correct answers to the various problems and to improve
their scores with every attempt. Plenty of opportunity was given to change their answers if they got them
wrong. One overall comment that I would like to finish with is that there could have been more emphasis
on pure computation and mathematical problem solving. I felt that there was not enough opportunity to
practice these skills in a variety of ways.
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