Kumon
Kumon is the world’s leading after-school educational service
firm. In 1954, Toru Kumon was encountered with his child’s difficulty in
mathematics. In order to help his son succeed, Kumon decided to develop
teaching techniques to help him be a better math student. Then, in 1958, the
first Kumon Center was opened. Today, there are over 7,500 Kumon Centers in 48 different
countries.
Kumon uses the Kumon Method: a method developed by the firm
which is designed to empower students while making them more independent and
teaching them time and study techniques. The Kumon Method has gained popularity
for its effectiveness.
As explained on the firm’s website,
Kumon offers help in a variety of math related areas, which include: Counting and Number, Sequencing, Addition and Subtraction,
Multiplication and Division, Fractions, Order of Operations, Positive and
Negative Numbers, Solving Equations, Graphing, Advanced Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus,
Probability, and Statistics. Finally, Kumon offers its famous
Worksheets. These worksheets are inspired by the Kumon Method, and helps
students discover and study math concepts on their own allowing them to develop
their self-learning ability.
http://www.kumon.com/
Aprendiendo Matematicas (Learning Math)
Aprendiendo
Matematicas by Malena Martin, an educator with over 20 years of experience in
helping individuals learn Mathematics in a fun way. As explained on its
website, Aprendiendo Matematicas is born from the necessity of creating a place
in which everyone in need of learning math can interact and learn in a fun and
safe environment. Open to everyone, as well as to any suggestions, Aprendiendo
Matematicas works every day to make math an ally in our lives instead of an
obstacle. The website has many areas which include: Logic, Geometry, Calculus,
Probability, Math History, Sample Problems, and Math Games. It also has a blog
which includes tips (with photographs) on how to make math more fun, including
steps to build and play games, as well as any necessary tactics for educators,
parents, and students of all ages.
I
am very interested in Aprendiendo Matematicas for two reasons. First, it
promotes learning of math in Spanish. This is important because there are no
such other platforms like this that can help Spanish-speaking people. Latin
American countries (including mine) have incredibly low math test results, and
rank themselves among the lowest in the world. Therefore, it is great to have a
platform like Aprendiendo Matematicas, as it helps an entire region.
Second,
I have struggled a lot with Math through my life, and was never introduced to a
service like this. I have experienced many monotonous tutoring sessions, which
do not go along with the current trends and styles of teaching, and leave
behind certain learning disabilities that a student may possess. Learning
should be fun and should encourage students to expand their knowledge and teach
others, and Aprendiendo Matematicas serves as a mean of doing such things.
http://aprendiendomatematicas.com
SMILE
SMILE is a program which
was created to foment the learning of Science and Math to elementary and high
school students. They do it through a variety of lesson plans that they have
created. They began in 1986, and today there are almost 900 lesson plans for
students to learn from. Students can obtain these lessons through a CD-ROM
which includes all of them for $15 in the United States and for $20 outside of
the United States.
I enjoyed reading a lot about this platform,
as it takes has all the material necessary to learn. Furthermore, the website
ensures to add a personal touch to its lessons by posting the name, city, and
other information of those who create them. This is not only good for creating
ties, but it allows individuals to praise or provide feedback regarding such
lessons.
Khan Academy
Khan
Academy is a very popular website for individuals to learn math. It was founded
by Salman Kahn, who holds three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School. The idea of
creating his online academy emerged from a situation in which he taught his
cousin math through Yahoo. He then noticed that other relatives and friends
needed the same help, so began to create lessons through YouTube. There, he
received a lot of appraisal, and decided to create Khan Academy. This
online academy teaches math subjects to all kinds of individuals. It includes subjects
for toddlers, all the way to the university and beyond. The advantages of Khan
Academy are that it includes all kinds of subjects, and that they are for free.
This helps students at any moment when they are in need of some extra help. I
truly enjoyed reading about it and recommend it.
https://www.khanacademy.org/
rafael,
ReplyDeletei like your analysis of smile. this is pretty late and will lose some points but thanks for the resources.
professor little