"Beat The Tape Math Challenge" is a multi-level high
interest scheme suited to the age range 6 years to adult. The program
is built on "Beat The Tape's" thirty years of proven success
in
schools throughout Australia as
a valuable teaching resource for the learning of basic facts in mathematics,
first as a 28 tape audio cassette tape program, from which it gained its
name "Beat The Tape", and then as an interactive computer based
version titled "Beat The Tape on CD ROM".
"Math Challenge" improves and refines "Beat The
Tape on CD ROM", while retaining the program's original objective
of providing a flexible teaching resource to augment classroom organisation
in the learning of basic facts in mathematics designed to stimulate and
develop listening skills and facile response to spoken language.
"Beat
The Tape Math Challenge" introduces new networking features
which allows teachers to easily set up programs of work for individuals,
groups or classes, and allows them to monitor the students progress through
the lessons and permits teacher diagnosis of areas of weakness or specific
errors and assign the appropriate recordings for remedial work.
The networking feature also permits the students to monitor and record
their progress through the lessons and allows them to retain their place
in a lesson from session to session. "Beat the Tape" is designed
as a flexible aid to augment school or classroom organisation in the learning
of basic facts in mathematics.
The program's 28 lessons promote programs of work that include
remediation and enrichment together with lessons for
the average student.
The graduation of
difficulty through the lessons poses short-range attainable goals.
The lessons help in developing listening skills and facilitate
the automatic response to auditory stimulation.
The variations in presentation of the lessons ensure student interest,
practice in discrimination and the use of basic facts in a language
context.
Beat the Tape is self-administrative, self-checking
and develops student independence and self-satisfaction
in achievement.
The examples are ranged in progressive sets of twenty. The students enter
their answers using either the interface buttons or the keyboard.
The introduction in each lesson explains and demonstrates the processes
and any new terms that will be used in the lesson.
At the end of each set, the number of correct answers is shown and any
incorrect examples are re-presented. Students must have all examples correct
before they can advance to the next set.
Each lesson concludes with a compliment for those who are successful,
encouragement for the unsuccessful and a direction to learning material
to improve performance.
The graphics and animations used in the program reinforce important words
such as add, subtract, multiply and divide, and help give a conceptual
understanding of numbers and number relationships.
Each
lesson concludes with a compliment for those who are successful, encouragement
for the unsuccessful and a direction to learning material to improve performance.
Upon completing a lesson, a certificate of completion can be printed.
"Beat The Tape Math Challenge" can be played directly from the CD-ROM, or it can be installed on a server network.
The
program is easy
to install on a network, and is simple for
students and teachers to learn to operate.
The program has comprehensive help files, which fully explain the
simple procedures for setting up and playing the lessons.
