The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Forget the stereotypes, maths learning can be made fun

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 29, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Forget the stereotypes, maths learning can be made fun

Staff Reporter

Hey Math!, an e-learning programme, aims to support the work of teachers

DISPELLING FEAR OF MATHS: Teachers at The Hindu Newspapers in Education and Hey Math! Programme at the Chola Sheraton on Wednesday. — Photo: R. Ragu

CHENNAI: : The 160 teachers gathered at The Hindu Newspapers In Education (NIE) programme were familiar with the stereotypes associated with maths, as most of them taught the subject. So there were nods and knowing smiles when they had to sit for a session on how important it is to dispel fears about mathematics among students.

That's where Hey Math!, an e-learning programme, came in to provide fresh ideas for fun math teaching.

For instance, when a class is being introduced to something as basic as vertically opposite angles, it's easier when there's an illustration. The Hey Math! website uses the example of a gardener's shears and highlights all possible sets of vertically opposite angles.

Hey Math!, described as a futuristic training model in the field of mathematics was developed in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, based on a research project on how to use technology to aid learning.

Basically a website, it aims to support the work of teachers, who can even make requests for help with assessment (online tests, projects) especially designed for their class. It builds a strong foundation in maths for students, giving them access to lesson modules.

The school pays a fee to the company for each student every month.

The orientation was divided into two sessions, with M.R. Sivakumar, vice-president, circulation, at The Hindu, inaugurating the first session.

Harsh Rajan and Nirmala Sankaran from Hey Math! explained the fundamentals of the website. It is constructed with the curriculum of classes 6 to 10 and has been adapted for Indian schools.

It is being used successfully in 25 per cent of the secondary schools in Singapore. Once a new mathematical concept is introduced to the class, they can go over examples and solve problems themselves by using the website.

It has already been implemented successfully at Padma Seshadri School in Chennai.

Mr. Rajan said that the only infrastructure needed for this method is a computer lab and Internet access.

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