Should I continue with 'x' online program?

An important part of my mentoring work within the Numeracy Teachers Academy is answering member questions. One of the most common questions I am asked (particularly at the start of the year) is ‘"which online programs do you recommend?”.

The simple answer is: “I don’t like to recommend any”.

Up until this day, I have not come across any online programs that I can recommend with full confidence to every school, in every context, so until I do, I don’t recommend any. Some schools go with Mathletics, others like Times Table Rock Stars , others have signed up to Matific or Nessy Number Sense. Whichever you choose (or don’t choose) I think it is important for schools to have some discussions about the reasons ‘why’ they are using or considering using these programs.

I think it is worth surveying all stakeholders to determine the following:

1. How often is the program actually being used? (literally conducting a time analysis is a worthwhile task- because sometimes what we think is happening and what actually happens are two very different things. You might, for example, find you are paying a lot of money and hardly anyone is using the program.)
2. Who is using the programs (which classes, which teachers, is it used at home- by how many families and how often? Do parents find it valuable?)
3. What is the learning purpose of subscribing to the program? (for 'homework'? for 'fast finishers'? to build fluency? etc.)
4. Is it actually achieving its goal? (have you collected data to confirm that it is, for example, improving your student’s fluency if that is what it you are hoping it is doing?)  
5. Does the program align with the teaching that is happening in our classes? (is the content research-based? does it use the same language and models teachers are using?)

Once you have conducted this type of research, dig a little deeper. For example,

If the program is mainly used for ‘fast finishers’,  it might be worth looking supporting teachers to instead set up a bank of games/ flash cards/ independent practice for their students to complete if they finish their work? 

Or allowing some students who finish early time to work on their own project-based maths investigation such as those conducted in the Mathematics Talent Quest. 

It also might be worth looking at our planning, and working on helping teachers to develop their ‘extending prompts’, so they don't encounter so many 'fast finishers'?

Another common reason for signing up to an online program is it ‘gives the students something to ‘do’ for homework in maths'. We all know that sending home a book to read is an given in literacy, but what about maths? Surely we want to show parents that practice in numeracy is just as important?

However, finding ‘something’ to 'do' at home in maths can be a challenge, particularly in the early years. Instead of more screen time, it might be worth looking at an alternative- like setting up some 'take home packs' for the juniors that provide them the resources (for example a pack of cards or dice) to play a simple game at home with their siblings or parents.

My children’s school does a wonderful job of sending home maths packs for the Junior students. Each child has a pack with the resources they need for their weekly at home maths fluency game (which is explained to students and briefly to parents each week).

Call me old-fashioned, but I strongly believe there is enormous value in encouraging parents and their children to spend time interacting and playing simple games together. I prefer this to having them sit on a device. There are so many other skills students learn through sitting and playing (turn taking, impulse control, empathy to name a few). Sometimes we play the game in the car before I drop off the children, sometimes while we are having breakfast... it is ten minutes but well worth it! Clearly not every parent will play the game, every night but I think it is worth providing the resources to allow it to happen.

Recently I was down in Tasmania at Ridgley Primary, they have a great system set up where parents are encouraged to borrow board games from a trolley in the office. Families are able to keep them for a week or as long as they want and then return them! (see below). I love that they are making it easy for parents to play games with their children and encourage the development of numeracy skills (I am yet to find a board or card game that doesn't work on Numeracy)

If after reading this blog, you think 'let's unsubscribe to program 'x', it is not being used', you need to have something to 'replace' it.

So if you hoped the program was working on fluency, but it turns out no one is using it, and it is not improving the fluency results of students, you need to trial an alternative. I think it is important to note that this might not be an online program, but may be something you set up in classes.

Generally, I would say the schools I am seeing are moving away from online programs- I think many are trying to have less screen time where possible.

Having said that, you know your context better than anyone, and you won't really know until you give it a go...so you may decide to trial one for a year and reflect on how that goes?

I encourage you this week to think about the online programs you have at your school and consider how you might gather some data on the effectiveness of their use. This will allow you to make an informed decision on their place or otherwise in your maths program.

Have a great week!

Ange🎲🎓

#this blog post is clearly not sponsored! :)