I like the idea to show the +x on the side that adds quite a bit to the presentation. design question for x and y: two sliders? one slider one text input? two sliders and text inputs? --Jason <div class="gmail_quote"> On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 12:51 AM, Frederick Grose <<a href="mailto:fgrose@gmail.com">fgrose@gmail.com</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> 2009/3/16 Jason Rock <<a href="mailto:rockj@rpi.edu">rockj@rpi.edu</a>> <div><div></div><div class="h5">> > I would like to throw together a program to teach children multiplication through repeated addition, but since it isn't really the sort of thing that you just throw on flash cards I'd like to get some insight from other people before I start programming. > > My idea is given multiplication between x and y. > Allow keyboard input for x from 0 to ~12 > y depends on a slider that is discrete on 0 to ~12 > > then display a "matrix" of images where the number of images across is x and down is y > > something that looks like > **** > **** > would represent 4*2 > x*y would be displayed somewhere on the app > > Does that sound like the sort of thing that would actually help students learn the idea of multiplication? > > ===Code Stuff=== > 1) What is the best way to display an "array" of images so that (being vector graphics) the images could re-size to take up as much room as they can? > > --Jason </div></div>Seems as this would demonstrate multiplication through repeated addition, if the incremental changes showed the intermediate sums both graphically and with numerals and operation symbols. + x __ 0 0 = 0 ** +2 = 2 x 1 = 2 ** +2 = 4 x 2 = 4 ** +2 = 6 x 3 = 6 ** +2 = 8 x 4 = 8 Some way to display a problem to that the tool can solve if the child experiments. And then, can let the child use that understanding to prove that the result is has to true. Perhaps through repetition and strange but beautiful cases. This could also teach the use of multiplication to calculate simple areas. (Where is Ed Cherlin and his virtual Cuisenaire rods?) _______________________________________________ FourthGradeMath mailing list <a href="mailto:FourthGradeMath@lists.sugarlabs.org">FourthGradeMath@lists.sugarlabs.org</a> <a href="http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/fourthgrademath" target="_blank">http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/fourthgrademath</a> </blockquote></div>