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MIND Brings Math Software to iPad, Android
Non-profit MIND Research Institute is expanding its ST Math onto major mobile platforms.
At the FETC 2012 National Conference, happening this week in Orlando, FL, MIND is debuting ST Math Touch, a version of its educational math software designed specifically for tablets, including iPads, Android-based tablets, and Microsoft Windows-based tablets, according to MIND.
ST Math is a family of math learning tools for K-12 students, including ST Math: K-5, ST Math: Fluency, ST Math+Music: K-5, ST Math: Secondary Intervention, and ST Math: Algebra Readiness. The initial release for tablet operating systems is ST Math Touch K-5, which provides math puzzle games for elementary students enhanced for use on touchscreen devices. As MIND described it, "The year-long suites of grade-leveled games are designed to cover virtually all math standards by introducing concepts visually, initially without symbols or text. Students experience how math works by interacting with virtual manipulatives to solve math problems."
Other features of ST Math Touch include:
- Interactive animations illustrating various aspects of math;
- The ability for students to customize the look of the manipulatives they work with;
- Integration with MIND's Integrated Instructional System; and
- Reporting and administration tools for teachers with live feedback.
"With the explosion of touch-screen mobile devices today, it's the ideal time to leverage their capabilities in the classroom, creating a new industry benchmark for student interactivity with mathematics," said Andrew R. Coulson, MIND Research Institute education division president, in a prepared statement. "Beyond the initial excitement about tablets and going mobile, you have to ask if they fundamentally improve the student learning experience. The visual approach MIND has been pioneering is a perfect match for touch screens, and provides a game-changing use of manipulatives, guided and made rigorous through software, through all of elementary school math. In this way students literally see how the math works, and learn new concepts by direct experience, before dealing with math's abstract representations."
MIND is showcasing ST Math Touch this week at the FETC conference in booth 401. The company will also host a summit on mobile computing at the FETC conference Jan. 23 and a private event for administrators and curriculum developers Jan. 25. According to the company, its technologies are in use by some 1,300 schools in the United States. Additional details can be found on MIND Research Institute's site.