Pupils get to grips with mathematics

Teacher Laura Hegarty with pupils, from left, Grace McLaughlin, Katy Wilson, Reece Lockhart, Kerry Hetherington, Kenzie Warnock and Jamie Smith.

All three mathematical geniuses are the brainchild of Londonderry businessman Franz Schlindwein, who visited the school last week with the interactive teaching aid.

Izak9 is a 3D mathematics-based active learning concept, which takes the form of 27 small cubes that fit together to form one large cube. It was designed for children in primary and post primary schools and adult learners returning to education.

The 27 coloured cubes display different combinations of colours, numbers and shapes and is accompanied by e-learning material that involves two animated robot-esque classroom facilitators, Abacus and Helix. These two animated figures guide the children through a series of interactive learning modules in which the set of cubes can be used with or without the computer software.

Literacy requirements are minimal. Instead, arithmetic and algebraic tasks are facilitated in a fun and friendly three-dimensional, shared learning environment through the universal language of mathematics.

In addition to Abacus and Helix’s facilitation of a variety of unpredictable and random tasks, the e-learning material also contains tiered banks of questions associated with the solutions to many of the tasks. The content of these tasks and questions can change depending on the evaluative feedback of the user, thus ensuring that the content of the Izak9 e-learning material adapts to suit the ever-changing needs of pupils and teachers.

P7 teacher Laura Hegarty, who was enthralled as the children with the Izak9, said: “As the children use the IZAK 9 and become more familiar with it, you can clearly see them engage and interact more with each other as they attempt to solve the various tasks.

“Not only does this resource challenge the children to think how to solve the problem it also provides them with opportunities to take their thinking skills further and create new questions that need answers,” she said.

“At Drumahoe we are promoting a learning environment where the children are ‘maths thinkers’ rather than ‘sum doers’, and the IZAK 9 totally fits that brief,” she said.

To view a video of the children using the Izak9 and to hear Franz talk about his invention log onto www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk and look under the features tab.