Math Instructional Software

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/area-builder/latest/area-builder_en.html
          This instructional game software is a great way for students to practice their math skills. The home screen has two links. The first that is labeled explore allows students to get comfortable with the game and practice building shapes with blocks. The second is a game. The game continues to get harder as they play. It will ask them to make shapes with a specific area and perimeter by using the blocks. As the levels progress the students will receive more specific instructions of how to make the shapes. This is a great way for students to practice geometry shapes and properties.  As a directed strategy,  it focuses more on allowing them to master the skills. It is definitely kid friendly to use! It also allows students to problem-think their way to solving the questions. It is a great way for students to be engaged by learning and practicing with this website.

http://mathtop10.com/
          This problem solving software asks students to use critical thinking to answer math questions. With a constructivist approach it allows students to try and solve questions even if they have not practiced it before. On this website there are different grade tabs on the left hand side. Each tab has the corresponding content-area skilled questions that go along with each grade. This website is set for 1st through 7th grade students. Once a student chooses an answer, they get immediate feedback whether they were right or wrong. This is a great site to have students practice the different skills and broaden their knowledge on areas they have not seen or practiced before.

https://www.ixl.com/math/
             IXL is a drill-and-practice software. It is great for covering the many different areas in mathematics. Students can practice the many different skills by choosing a topic under the correct grade level. The website uses a constructivist strategy by allowing the students to choose the topic and make sense of it on their own. The grade levels have the correct content-area skills they should be working on. The website has many benefits for students. The questions are appealing and many use pictures to go along with the question. It gives feedback right away. If the student answers correctly it says "awesome" or something along those lines. If the student answers incorrectly it breaks down why they were wrong and what the answer was. It also has no time limit so the student can focus on answering the question rather than just getting it done before time runs out. Once they answer correctly, they move one. If they do not they are to review why and click on "got it" and then they will be brought to a new question. They are not learning anything new through the website. This direct strategy allows the students to continue on skill they already know and have to get even better.