EdTech

The Dyscalculator: An App That Helps Dyscalculics Calculate

James

A guest article from Elisheva Seeman the creator of the Dyscalculator.

I first became aware of Dyscalculia when I noticed that my friend couldn’t read numbers. I couldn’t understand why she would always ask the people around her to tell her what number was written down or why she would repeatedly ask what time someone said they were picking her up. When I realised how much Dyscalculia affected her daily and how much it caused her to struggle in many areas, I decided to find her an app or website to do the calculations for her. I figured that she was not the only one with this issue – someone must have developed a program to help with that.


I was wrong – all the apps I found when searching were geared toward teaching math instead of offering tools to help people. So, I created an app specifically to help her with numbers – and she loved it! She used it every day in different ways, building up her confidence and helping her become less reliant on other people.

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Awareness Of Dyscalculia Through CPD Work

James

Written by Natalie Kerslake B.A (Hons), MA Ed SEND
KS2 Teaching Assistant


Photo by Crissy Jarvis on Unsplash

A bit about me

My name is Natalie Kerslake B.A (Hons), MA Ed SEND, and I am a primary school teaching assistant, currently teaching in Year 6, with a particular interest in supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities. In January 2016, I graduated with my MA in Education with a specialism in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) at the University of Derby.

In my first teaching assistant post, I became motivated to complete my MA Ed research on dyscalculia after supporting a child with this. I did not know anything about dyscalculia at the time, and not much was available to support teachers and children in this area. I wanted to investigate the current situation of supporting children with dyscalculia in one particular primary school and see whether this was the case in another school.

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Popular Math Apps in the Resource Classroom: Why I Chose Not To Use Them

James

This is a guest article from Special Education Teacher Monise Seward; you can find out more about her work on her website – http://www.moniseseward.com/. 


Calcularis – Estimation Game, Comparing different amounts.

For the last eight months, my IG and Twitter posts have focused on two main goals; to find (a) Dyscalculia and Dyslexia training and (b) Math Apps and curricula designed with my students’ needs in mind. Both proved to be challenging and time-consuming endeavours; eventually, I found one.

Dyscalculia is the Learning Difference you’ve probably never heard of, despite 5-10% of the population having it. Based on the challenges non-identified students experience, I believe there are more kids (and adults) with Dyscalculia. We characterise their struggles as ‘Math anxiety’ in this country. Based on conversations had with U.S. teachers, few are aware of the existence of Dyscalculia. They cannot identify the characteristics exhibited by students who may have it. Compounded by a lack of training on Dyscalculia, many teachers adhere to a pacing guide that does not allow time for remediation or accommodations.

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How EdTech Is Re-Shaping The Education Landscape

James

There’s no denying that the landscape of education is changing. With the advent of computers, the internet, and mobile phones, many of today’s technologies were not present in the 1950s or even five or ten years ago. A decade ago, the iPad didn’t exist. Now you’ll find them in millions of classrooms around the country.

These new technologies are completely altering the education landscape, from how students learn to where they are physically located when they consume educational material.

In this article, we will give you the what, why, and how regarding the ways education technology is reshaping the education world, including both the pros and cons.



What is Education Technology?

At a high level, education technology is any kind of technology specifically used to promote or enhance education. This could be software, hardware, devices, online programs, servers, cloud storage, etc.

Education technology often referred to as “EdTech”, can be used in many different schools and locations and has been a growing force in education.

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What Is Dyscalculia And How Can Technology Help With Its Symptoms?

James
Dybuster Calcularis – Specifically designed for those with dyscalculia.

What is Dyscalculia?

Dyscalculia affects around 5% of children, a smaller proportion than those affected by dyslexia (the rate of occurrence for dyslexia in the United States is approximately 15%). This has resulted in dyscalculia remaining relatively unknown; many people are not even familiar with the term.

What effect could this have on children with dyscalculia? Imagine struggling every day at school with number problems that your peers master far more quickly than you do. Your teacher is beginning to lose patience with you and your parents think you are just not trying hard enough. They don´t understand that you are trying hard every day, but even basic arithmetic concepts make no sense to you. You are called lazy or stupid or both.

This is the reality for many students with dyscalculia. With awareness of this learning difference still low, children may not be diagnosed as dyscalculic and not receive intervention that could help them succeed in the classroom.

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