What's seven times eight? How about eight times eight? Six times nine? I'd love to sit here all day — but I think I have laundry to do. It's common knowledge that computers are very good at repetitive tasks. They simply never tire. Which makes them perfect study partners for drill and practice. With that in mind, I set out to find the best math flashcards on the Internet. Here are my picks. [Editor's Note: An updated version of this topic can be found here: Math Flashcards]
A+ Math Flashcards earns its grade with a large selection of Java and non-Java flashcards covering fifteen subjects from addition and counting money to algebra and geometric areas. The Java flashcards are "faster and more fun," but the non-Java cards will work on all browsers, including WebTV. Flashcard Creator is a unique feature for creating your own printable flashcards for addition, subtraction, multiplication or division with numbers from one to twelve. Having trouble memorizing your sevens and eights? Flashcard Creator allows you to specify which numbers you want on your custom cards.
Options abound at Allmath Flashcards. First, choose your operators (any combination of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.) Then choose what size operands (from ten up to a hundred) and if you want to keep score. Finally you have the option of AutoFlash, which will change cards automatically at a variety of speeds, from every two seconds up to every minute. This really keeps things moving -- and adds a bit of game show excitement! Allmath uses Javascript, which means you need version 4.0 or better of either Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer.
Start by simply choosing either add/subtract or multiply/divide. When the colorful Java applet square appears in a separate window, follow the directions to enter your name, date and teacher's name. The best feature here is the detailed scoring available under Report Card. Although Basic Facts in also available in a non-Java version (look for the link near the bottom of the page) I liked the Java version of Basic Facts Practice because you select your answers with the click of mouse, which I find faster than typing.
Although these flashcards only cover the basic operands (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), you can advance to harder problems because Flashcards for Kids allows you to specify a level of complexity and to set the size of the numbers up to 10,000. Other choices include scoring, a timer, and whether to display the equations vertically or horizontally. Even with all these choices, these flashcards do not use Java or Shockwave, which means they can be accessed by older browsers and WebTV.
Quia is a treasure trove of more than thirty math activities — each of which includes flashcards and a Concentration-style matching game. Topics range from basic addition to algebra terminology. The best click, however, is Math Journey — where you can practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and rounding at four levels. "Travel around the world by answering math problems. The journey begins and ends in London, and has stops in 30 cities along the way. To board the plane to each new city, you must answer a math problem correctly. If you get a problem wrong, you have ‘missed your flight'. Miss three flights and the game is over."
The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!
Javascript Flashcards |
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