June 1st, 2010
According to the Maths-Whizz Teachers’ Resource dictionary, a number line is: “a line that shows numbers ordered by magnitude from left to right, or bottom to top.” Pretty simple? Yes, and then again, no.
The number line can be a powerful beast, employed in addition and subtraction, and frequently in concepts of place value. The number line describes the world in the way instantly familiar to most of us, with smaller items on the left (if horizontal) or towards the bottom (vertical).
We could investigate the many ways culture and psychology define our experience of numbers, and why so many (but not all) of us perceive numbers increasing in those two directions, but that would be beyond the scope of this blog – even if the God of Whizz might enjoy the intellectual excursion…
Number lines in addition and subtraction
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May 25th, 2010
Pop quiz – what’s one half divided by one quarter?
No, you’re not allowed to use a calculator, or or phone a friend…
Stuck? OK, it’s 2.
“What?” I hear you cry, “But that doesn’t make sense. We’ve divided something small by another small thing, that should make an even smaller thing, surely.”
And, of course, you’d be wrong. If you already knew the answer, or you’ve already seen this February’s Channel 4 documentary The Kids Don’t Count, then read on with a smug smile. If you were genuinely stuck by the question, let us demystify division for you.
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May 24th, 2010
For those of our UK Whizzers living under a rock, we have a new coalition government.
The new government has pledged to reduce the UK’s deficit by £6bn in the short term, with further savings to follow. This amount is relatively trivial in relation to the size of the deficit, but seen by some as an important first step.
1.3% of that six billion will – according to today’s news – be Becta-shaped (page 3 in the PDF linked above). The Department for Children, Schools, and Families has already changed to the more Ronseal Department for Education.
We’re still figuring out exactly what the demise of Becta means for us at Whizz, but with the organisation’s (or ‘quango’s’) remit to increase awareness and uptake of educational technology in state schools, there may be some negative effects.
Despite this, its our users and our staff who do the most work to spread the word about Maths-Whizz, and so the appearance or disappearance of government-funded bodies we hope will not affect our fortunes too greatly…
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May 13th, 2010
[Subtitled: How to Throw Good Money After Bad Maths]
It is a truth not acknowledged universally enough* that Maths Is Good For You. By this I mean basic numeracy will give you skills for life and work, and develop mental rigour that will benefit you in ways you might never have appreciated.
Good outfit. Bad maths.
The God of Whizz is a cheerleader for maths, not least because of his role in making the fantastic online maths tutor called Maths-Whizz, but he’s inclined to be positive about maths and science skills in general, because he’s that kinda guy.
Something called ‘Hon-Sho‘ caught the God of Whizz’s attention last year, and to his dismay it’s still on the Interwebs in 2010. I’ll let their website explain:
Hon-Sho means “Your true character”. Rooted in mysticism and philosophy, Chinese oracle reading can be traced back over 4,000 years. Hon-Sho uses your personal and unique Digital-DNA to produce a character profile and daily oracle readings which enable you to make decisions regarding your fate.
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