APPS TO LEARN MEASUREMENT

The new techonologies are changing our lifes, and the teaching is not an exception. The methodologies are being modified, and one of those causes are the technological devices. There are different IT resources to learn Mathematics in Primary Education, and the measurement concretely. Three apps to learn measurement are detailed below.

The first application is ‘Cambio unidades’. In it children can practice and improve their abilities regarding the lenght, volumen and mass. They learn all the different units of measure (metres, kilometres, litres, kilogrames, grames…) and what calculation they must do to change it (multiply by 10, divide between 100…). In addition, students can add or subtract two quantities (15 cl + 76 dl, for example). Finally, there is a challenge, in which the app ask questions to calculate mindly (how many half-metres are 8 metres? for instance).

The second has as a name ‘Matemáticas 10 años’. It is an app which treats lots of fields of Mathematics. One of those is the measurement and the change of units. The app requires eight right answers to overcome the game, and there are only ten. In other words, players only have two options to fail. At the third failure, the game is over and players must start again. The style of questions are like this one: A bus travelled 30 km in a hour. At the same speed, hoy many hours will it do in three hours (60.000 m/9.000 m/30.000 m/90.000 m). Players have to choose one of the responses.  

The last game is ‘Matemáticas 7 años’. It is produced by the same creator than the previous one, it only changes the level. There are mini-games on lenght, mass and capacity. The format is the same than ‘Matemáticas 10 años’, a question and a right answer between four possibilities, and there are options to fail (two or three, depending on the mini-game). An example would be: 9 l + 6 ½ l = _ (8 l/15 l/12 l/10 l). As the example shows, the level is minor, logically.

The new technologies provide children new ways to learn measurement at home, reinforcing their knowledge in this field of Mathematics.