January 2013
Dear Educator, Greetings from Mindspark team! With great pleasure, we welcome you to the first edition of Mindspark newsletter - Sparkie Tales. We're launching this newsletter from an insider's view of what we're working on. It is the first in series of newsletters with the latest in progress of the Mindspark product, its new features, games, remedials, enrichment modules, our vision for the future, and anything we think that you'll find interesting and exciting. Throughout the course of the year we'll update you on new developments in Mindspark. Enjoy! Team Mindspark.
About Mindspark Mindspark is an adaptive learning program that helps: 1. Students learn Maths and language by employing a constructivist theory of learning by answering questions that are appropriate to their current understanding 2. Remediates misconceptions identified through 10 years of ASSET tests with more than 2 million data points 3. Supports teachers in schools to teach to where the need is as opposed to a regular rehearsal based on his/her own intuition on what kids don’t know
For more information visit www.mindspark.in or write to us at mindspark@ei-india.com
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New Features 1. Competitive Exam Questions
Description: Competitive exam questions, taken from different sources, like CBSE, IB, Hong Kong Board, etc. can now be attempted by the kids under ‘Activities’ section. They can customize and make a test for themselves depending on the topic they want, number of questions they want, source of the questions, etc. Classes: 8, 9, 10
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2. NCERT Exercises
Description: Questions given in NCERT textbook exercises can now be assigned as homework to the students and will be graded by Mindspark. All the questions given in the exercises are given in the same format. These exercises can be activated from the ‘Activate Topics’ section. Classes: 6, 7, 8
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3. Activities Icons on student interface
Description: Activities Icons will be visible under the ‘Activities’ section. This has 3 sections – Not attempted, Attempted and Locked. The child can do any activity by clicking on the icon. Classes: All
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4. Downloadable Common Wrong Answer report
Description: The Common Wrong Answer report can be downloaded as a word document as given to the students as a worksheet to be practised. The downloaded worksheet would not have the correct answers marked.
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5. Misconception Videos
Description: Videos on some specific misconceptions/errors and their resolution in a specific Topic can now be viewed for some topics under Activate Topics by clicking on the topic name. These videos have been prepared after doing intense research on students through research papers, student interviews, MS-DA data, etc. Along with misconception videos, teacher videos can also be accessed through this link. Note: These videos can only be accessed from a local system. Hence, a CD needs to be installed in the central (main) system of the lab from where the videos will be fetched. Topics: Decimals, Algebra, Fractions. Classes: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
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6. Hints feature
Description: While solving tough problems, kids have an option to view Hints. Hints appear only after the first incorrect attempt and if the hint is used, then the child gets a Sparkie after 5 correct questions (as against 3 correct questions).
Classes: 6-10
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7. New Timed Test interface
Description: 2 new timed test interfaces were made live. The advantage in these formats is to see the progress real time and more attractive from user point of view.
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Enrichment Modules Enrichment modules are specifically designed for those children in the class who complete their part of Mindspark quickly. They are the brighter ones in the class who are craving for more. So these modules are generally something that could be outside the core curriculum for that class, but something that would be adding value to the child. These would help the child learn something new and interesting or pose an interesting challenge to grapple with. These modules appear only after the child has completed their allocated topics, so that only the ones who really have time would do these.
Latest Enrichment Modules
Vedic Maths Class: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Number Systems Class: 7, 8, 9, 10
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Fractals Class: 8, 9, 10
Aspirations of a Soccer player Class: 10
Origami Class: 8, 9, 10
Understanding of proofs Class: 9, 10
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Different co-ordinate systems Class: 8, 9, 10
Cryptography Class: 8, 9, 10
Nim – Game of strategy Class: 8, 9
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Games Educational games in Mindspark serve two purposes. 1. Help a student understand and internalize a concept 2. Enables a student to have fun while doing this. The reason we have introduced Games in Mindspark is because children tend to do something if they are having fun doing it. When making these games, in addition to creating fun, we make sure that the child learns something or overcomes a misconception or gets a lot of practice. These games would be related to a specific topic that they are doing or would be available to do as an activity even after completing this topic.
Latest Games
Slide and Ladder (Whole Number Operations) Choc Shop (Ratio and Proportion) Class: 2, 3 Class: 5, 6, 7
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Expolympics (Exponents) Class: 7, 8, 9, 10
Build the bridge (Integers) Class: 6, 7
Angle Tangle (Angles) Class: 6, 7
Carry the penguins (Whole Number Operations) Class: 2, 3
Shoot the rationals(Real Numbers) Class: 7, 8, 9
Find the multiplier (Whole Number Operations) Class: 5, 6, 7
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Sparkie Tower (Measurement) Class: 3
Make the shape (Shapes) Class: 1, 2, 3
Break the code (Geometry) Class: 7, 8
Using sense of linear equations to solve them Class: 9
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Remedials Remedials on the other hand are meant for children who are struggling with a particular concept or have a known misconception. Mindspark identifies such children based on their performance and offers these interactive remedials to help the child. These remedials provide basic scaffolding for children to make sure they learn in a non-threatening environment. The remedial would typically respond to every minor error the child makes and provides conceptual reasoning and help at every step.
Latest Remedials
Solving equations with variable having fractional co-efficients
Profit and Loss
Power law of exponent – split form
Place Value
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Introductions
Description: So far when a teacher would activate a topic, Mindspark would start off with questions. Now we have introduced a new feature where some of the topics may start with an interesting introduction to the topic. The idea is to get the child engaged and interested in learning this topic by showing its applications in real life, how this can be useful in day to day life (if applicable), etc. These are usually short 5 minute activities that do not count towards topic progress.
Available for classes: All classes
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Latest Introductions
Intro to Negative Numbers
Intro to distance on maps
Intro to transformation
Intro to Co-ordinate systems
Intro to Pythagoras Theorem
Intro to Capacity
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Upcoming features 1. Topic Progress bar
Description: Topic progress, questions completed and questions correct will be visible to the kids at all times – thereby giving real time information about the child.
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2. Intelligent Buddy
Description: An intelligent buddy reflecting emotions of the child while doing MS will be present with the questions. On getting the question correct, the buddy will show happy expressions and on getting incorrect, it will show sad yet encouraging expressions. Also, the child will have the option of moving the buddy all across the page so that it does not interfere with the display of the questions.
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3. Equation Editor
Description: Equation editor is a tool where kids will be able to write as if they are writing on paper. The tool will intelligently convert symbols like x3 to x3, write 1/2 as a fraction and will give symbols and images to be added in the text. This will be appearing as a part of normal as well as NCERT questions.
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4. What’s new in MS
Description: This will be a page where teachers will be able to view the recent developments in MS and a detailed note on each of the features. Also, they will be able to see what all new is going to come in the next few months.
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