“Maths Wiz” User Guide.
Where do I start?
It is a good idea to start with a CD which is a bit easier than what you are
doing in school at the moment. That way, you fill in your knowledge gaps and get
used to using the program.
| School Year |
Begin with CD |
|
| Prep or Grade 1 |
Level 1 |
|
| Grade 2 |
Level 2 |
|
| Grade 3 |
Level 2 or 3 |
|
| Grade 4, 5 or 6 |
Level 3 |
|
| Year 7 or 8 |
Level 4 |
(strong students can start at Level 5,
CD1) |
| Year 9 or 10 |
Level 5 |
(strong students should
start at Level 5 CD 3, average students should start at Level 5 CD 1, and
very weak students may need to start at Level 4) |
Learning New Things
You can do lessons on topics which are new to you. You will have
to think a bit more, and the first time, you may not get all the questions
right. So read the lesson carefully, and try the exercise again. Every lesson
picks questions randomly from a graded pool of questions, so you will get some
new questions. It is good practice to revisit a lesson from time to time.
CD Selection
Look and Listen
You should keep your
speakers switched on when you are using Maths and English Wiz. The
Flash presentations have sound, and they will not make much sense if you cannot
hear.
This is the sound icon to help you read.
Click on the face to hear her read the lesson for you.
These are the sound icons for
teacher commentary
Listen to the teacher explaining the lesson.
In Spelling Wiz, you can move your
mouse over the picture to hear the sentence.
Microsoft Robot.
Another way to hear sound is you can mark any word or sentence
using your mouse, then right
click your mouse’s button and select ‘Read’. You will then hear the text read by
Microsoft Robot.
Please note that the Robot voice is part of Windows and the
voice you hear in Maths and English Wiz,
comes from your computer. You may have never heard it before, because not
many programs
utilise Robot, but it is there.
There are web-sites which offer a selection of robot voices.
However, Windows 98 was made
before Microsoft Robot, so it can’t run Robot. But you can hear all the recorded
sound (from the
icons or flash animations) on Windows 98.
Levels 1 and 2, for early primary, have recorded sound in all
the lessons, to assist beginner
readers. Higher levels have recorded sound for teacher commentaries, flash
animations and
extra help where needed.
Next lesson button
You can let the “Next Lesson” button select a lesson for you or
you can choose the lesson
yourself.
For little kids, the “Next Lesson” button is easiest. This will
automatically take you to the first
lesson in the Unit which has not yet been done or completed successfully.
Each lesson consists of a tutorial and an exercise, with plenty
of help. The questions in the
exercise are graded, so that the easier questions come first. Remember, the
lesson exercises
are there to help you learn.
To complete a lesson successfully, you have to achieve 4 stars.
The highest mark is 5 stars
(10 out of 10 or 100%).
The Next Lesson button will still work in the unit when you have
achieved 4 stars in every lesson.
Then it will look for the first lesson in the unit with less than 5 stars.
You can do each lesson as often as you like. Usually, the
computer will give you some new
questions.
Very Important: If you are looking for a particular topic,
and you can’t find it on the computer or in the printed contents list, please phone the maths help-line.
Explorer bar
You can use the Explorer Bar to pick the lesson, test or game
that you want to do.
Just double click your selection. Or single click and OK.
It is best to start each chapter at the first lesson in a
chapter, and work down. This way, you will learn easily as you build up your
knowledge.
Note: The games can only be opened with the Explorer Bar.
Selecting a unit
The units are arranged in the strands of the Curriculum
Framework (C.S.F.) The Strands are: Number; Chance; Data; Measurement; Space,
etc.
In particular, we have endeavored to support all the topics
covered by the primary books and work-sheets currently used in school.
Lessons
Every lesson begins with a ‘tutorial’ to teach the topic and
help you learn how to answer the questions that come with that lesson. This
tutorial is also accessible
while answering the questions. To move through the tutorial, you just click on
the button on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Even little kids can
do it!
Different Questions
These are the different kinds of questions that you will do.
Select the correct option.
Just click anywhere on the correct option.
Multiple selection answer
Just click anywhere on all the correct options.
Write the word or number.
Just type the answer into the answer box at the bottom of the window.
Mix and Match. Drag and drop the options on the right side to match the options on the left side.
Drag and Drop. You can use your mouse to drag and drop the
correct answer in place, or you can put the cursor on the gap, right click and Select the answer.
If there is a principle and clue, you must close them before you put in the answer.
The principles and clues appear automatically the first time that you do a lesson. This is to make sure that you take in the important points in the
lesson.
If you ever do the lesson again, the principles and clues do not come up by themselves, but they are
available from buttons at the bottom of your screen.
Fill in the gap.
Type your answer in the box. Wrong answers will be crossed out and the correct answer will display.
Written Methods type question
In these questions, the cursor moves automatically along the solution line. Click “OK” to mark your work.
Any mistakes are then highlighted in yellow. To see the correct answer, select the “Show Correct Answer” button.
Note: Entering the carry/trade figures is optional. However, if
the solution entered is incorrect, the program will show the corrected carry/ trade figures.
In some questions, the trade boxes may be re-used, like a scratch pad.
Question with solution.
Some questions have worked solutions. These are questions which need more than step of workings.
The solution tells you how to work out the answer. You can read part of the solution and then work out your answer and put
it in the program. If you read the whole solution, you can’t enter the answer.
The Left Hand Side shows the methodology for working out the answer. Click to display the solution step.
Don’t guess, use the solution!
All questions with calculation steps have fully worked solutions. It is important to use
these, when you are uncertain, as the solution shows you the best way to answer the question. Going through the lesson and
guessing the answer doesn’t teach you anything. It only tells you what you know already. So if you get stuck, don’t guess.
Use the solution.
Step-by-step solution display.
Maths Wiz solutions are very special because they display
step-by-step. This is something you can’t do on paper!
In many solutions the methodology (the thinking steps) are shown on the left, just like a tutor
prompting you what to do. So you can try and work the answer out yourself, in your exercise book – one step at a time. If you get
stuck, you press the ‘Show’ button to see the solution step that you need to write.
This method will also work when you are doing your school homework.
This is a very good way to learn how to think maths. Knowing how to think out problems will help you with your school-work.
“Maths Wiz” is designed to help you learn. The lessons are there to help you to do better in school.
So if you are not sure of the answer, don’t guess. Use all the help available to try to understand how to do it.
Note:You can use your mouse to make the solution box bigger or to move it aside to show the question.
If you still don’t understand the lesson, phone the maths help-line.
Tests
Some tests (in levels 1,2,3, and 4) can only be done after certain lessons have been completed.
This is to make sure that you are ready for the test. So if the computer asks you to do some lessons before doing the test,
you should do those lessons first.
Other tests can be done at any time.
The forward arrow is in the same position as the OK button in the Lesson Questions. So even little kids can use it.
Note that you can go back over your test and make changes if you
like. Use the forward and back arrows to navigate through the test.
You can see your corrected test paper with the solutions, corrections and hints.
Note: A question mark in the marking box means that the question
was skipped.
Beat the Clock
A race against time, using a random number generator. Do you
have what it takes?
The maths games are a fun way to improve number skills.
Reports kept at all Stages of Learning
It is easy to see what you have learnt. You can see all your
results at a glance. You may also print certificates for any lesson exercises
you have already done. You can
even look through your marked test-papers, and work through the solutions of
questions that you weren’t sure about.
Keeping Track of Outcomes
A permanent record of student progress is kept for all stages of
learning. Each student’s overall achievement can be viewed at a glance in the
Records section. It also keeps a chronological record of lessons or tests which
have been done more than once.
The program also keeps records of dates, times, scores, average
scores, overall performance etc.
Upload
Once a month, you should use the “Upload” button, to send your
records to your tutor, so that we can monitor your progress.
Click here
to send a Maths, English, Science product enquiry
Click here
to arrange a Maths, English Science tutorial home
demonstration at a time suitable to you
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