[math4] Learning in software

[Greg Dekoenigsberg]

On Tue, 24 Mar 2009, Edward Cherlin wrote:

> The usual approach to educational software is to code up a drill with
> some eye candy for each topic in the curriculum, and just have the
> students run the results. Another approach is to have the children
> teach the computer how to do the math. Everybody agrees that the best
> way to learn a subject is to teach it. Several programming languages
> have been used from third grade up for such purposes. We can provide a
> generic framework in which teachers and children can plug in numeric
> types and ranges, functions, algorithms, and so on to create drills or
> games for themselves on any arithmetic topic, and can implement each
> function out of simpler components, such as single digits. Or we could
> create digital Cuisenaire rods, and use the entire literature of
> exercises for them.

Happy to see the code -- or a team of people who agree and would like to 
write the code.

> At a higher level, I have a book on computer design in which students
> write programs to simulate bits in registers and the microcode for
> arithmetic instructions. Start with a single bit add+carry circuit,
> and work your way on up to IEEE floating point or even further, to
> pipelined vector processing or other advanced architectures. (The
> language compiles to wiring lists for generating ICs.)

And what piece of the documented curriculum does this satisfy?  :)

To be clear: our goal -- and it may not be the ultimate goal, and in the 
eyes of some it may not even be the correct goal, but it is our stated 
goal nonetheless -- is to build a set of activities that completely cover 
the curriculum framework for 4th grade maths in the state of 
Massachusetts.

If an activity for building Cuisenaire rods can be built -- or if it 
already exists, for that matter -- then let's start a project and get it 
aligned to the math4 curriculum:

http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Math4Team/Resources/CurriculumChart

--g

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