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The revised XO Mathematics curriculum for January – March 2010 is ready. Week 1 starts on the 11th of January 2010 and the program will run continuously until the end of Week 12, on the 2nd of April 2010. The aim of this curriculum is to improve performance of Mathematics, and these are the areas we aim to improve by the end of the three month period. The XOs will simply be used to facilitate and make sure we teach these topics in a fun way and therefore stimulate the understanding faculties of these children.
TITLE: USING THE XO LAPTOP TO AID TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS


Note that each row represents a week
Address: Hands of Charity
Off Thika road, Seasons matatu terminal along Kasarani – Mwiki road past ICIPE
Mark Koech c/o Theresa Okello
Number of laptops: 10
Loan length: 4 months (9), 6 months (1)


{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Class 4
! Class 5
! Class 6
! Class 7
! Class 8
|-
| Introduction to XO
| Introduction to XO
| Introduction to XO
| Introduction to XO
| Introduction to XO
|-
| Operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division)
| Operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division)
| Introduction to algebra. Addition and subtraction of one or more unknowns
| Algebra 2: multiplication and division of one or more unknowns
| Algebra 3: calculation of values of unknowns, substitution of unknowns into equations.
|-
| Introduction to Length (identifying kilometres, metres, cm, mm)
| Length: measurement of lengths and distances
| Length and Speed: measuring time and distance, using them to calculate speed
| Introduction to and application of Kinematics
| Outdoor activity: measurement of distances within the school compound.
|-
| CAT 1
| CAT 1
| CAT 1
| CAT 1
| CAT 1
|-
| Reading Time using both the analogue and digital clock and relating between the two
| Understanding the concept behind converting time from 12 hour to 24 hour formats
| Relating time in hours and minutes to the clock, e.g. scheduled journeys of travellers and vehicles
| Practical use of time: measurement of performance on the athletics field and track.
| Practical use of time: measurement of efficiency and team speed
|-
| Introduction to Angles (identifying angles, naming them)
| Angles: calculating angles between lines
| Bisection of angles using common mathematical instruments
| The triangle: properties, explanation of the Pythagoras theorem
| Practical use of angles: marking the sports field and in construction
|-
| Introduction to Mass: identification of common metric units of mass
| Conversion of metric units to
| Relation of mass to density and volume.
| Practical work: measurement of density of solid materials
| Practical work: measurement of density of liquids
|-
| CAT 2
| CAT 2
| CAT 2
| CAT 2
| CAT 2
|-
| Introduction to Money and Currency: shilling and cents, adding and subtracting
| Introduction to Foreign Exchange (FOREX)
| Profits and Loss; calculation of, and application to business situations
| Calculation of Discounts and Commission and their applications
| Calculation of Simple and Compound Interest, Hire Purchase
|-
| Introduction to Area: calculation of area of a rectangle and square
| Area of a triangle and a circle, introduction of π
| Area of a rhombus, trapezium and parallelogram
| Calculation of surface areas of three dimensional shapes: cubes, cuboids and cylinders
| Practical use of area to calculate areas of land and other spaces, conversion of measurements to Ha; Area of irregular shapes
|-
| Introduction to volume
| Calculating volume of cylinders (tanks)
| Calculation of volume of cuboids and cubes
| Outdoor activities; calculation of volumes of objects in and around the schools
| Outdoor activities; calculation of volumes of objects in and around the schools
|-
| Term CAT
| Term CAT
| Term CAT
| Term CAT
| Term CAT
|}


Notes:
== Team participants: ==
1. CATs are Continuous Assessment Tests that we will give the children after every three weeks to assess the progress we have made.
2. Term CATs will be given by the schools at the end of the twelve weeks.


Contact me for more information: billmark@ymail.com or billiago@gmail.com
'''Mark Koech (Team Leader)'''
:Education: Student, United States International University, B.Sc, Information Systems and Technology
:O-level Certificate, 2004


We appreciate all the support we continue to receive from the OLPC team and Sandra Thaxter and hope to make 2010 much better and more productive than 2009.
God bless you all.


Mark Bill Koech
'''Elias Kimaiga Moregi'''
:Education: KCA University BCOM and CPA
:Accounts Clerk Nyakach Girls’ High School
:Profession: Teacher, Matongo Mixed Secondary School


'''Stephen Sawa'''
:Education: Diploma, Primary School Science
: Certificate in Social work
:Profession: Head Master, St. Aloys Academy


'''Maruti J. Soita'''
:Education: Masters Degree, Education, Kenyatta University
:Bachelors Degree, Education, University of Nairobi
:Profession: Teacher, Chejamisi Girls’ High School


'''Elizabeth Ogutu'''
:Mobile: +254 716 196 989
:Education: Student, United States International University, BA Accounting

== OBJECTIVES ==

The primary goal of this project is to develop a project that will aid teachers in Kenyan Primary Schools teach the basic concepts of Mathematics in sync with the Kenyan Primary School syllabus using the XO laptop. The specific objectives of this project are:

1. To improve the ability of children to memorise and enhance the use of the basic Mathematical operations, that is +, -, ÷ and × using the XO laptop applications.

2. To improve children’s ability and understanding of the measurement and calculation of area, circumference and perimeter of 2-dimensional figures and the Surface Area and Volume of 3-dimansional objects with the aid of the XO laptop.


3. To aid the children in the proper understanding of the topics of ratios, percentages and proportions according to the Kenyan Primary School syllabus.


== PLAN OF ACTION ==


:1. Develop a curriculum that will aid teachers as they teach basic mathematics concepts using the XO laptop.

:2. Train the teachers just before the third term which begins in September on how they can use this laptop to aid them teach their students better and faster, at the same time improving the levels of understanding of these students.

:3. Integrate the program into the school schedule making sure it does not interfere with the school’s activities and start the implementation of the program by the September the 10th

:4. Use the mid-term and end of term exams to monitor the progress in the students’ progress.

== NEEDS ==


: There is a lack of proper teaching methods in Kenya and hence students at this tender age are unable to grasp the fundamentals of Mathematics. The XO laptop will therefore supplement the teaching methods already in place and will be especially useful with the object oriented and simple way that it does so.

==
QUALITY / MONITORING ==


1. Yes, the project would benefit from documentation, support and/or testing since these will help track and monitor the progress of the project and help make any improvements if needed.

2. Teachers’ input would be valuable since they are experienced in dealing with these children and are the ones that will implement this program.

3. We will promote our work by posting the project progress to our website and also through the OLPC conference to be held in March 2010.

4. No, because there is a technical team that will facilitate the technical aspects of the project.


== TIMELINE ==

The entire project will take a total of three months. The first analysis on the impact of the project will be done after six weeks and the second one at the end of the project using the mid-term and end of term examinations respectively.


== CURRENT PROGRESS ==
There are three main challanges that we face at the moment.

1. There is no real understanding by the beneficiaries of this project on the explosive potential of the XO> Taking into consideration the fact that we are taking this project into a rather conservative community, and to an education system that is quite rigid even the slightest change, this is certainly the greatest challange we face.

2. We do not have available funds to run the project. We are working within a very tight budget since we are yet to establish a source of steady financial input.

3. Being a rather new machine, the trainers who will impliment this program are not very proficient on the use of the XO. This is not much of a challenge though since this is a fairly easy device to work with.

For the problems above, we have come up with few and fairly straight forward solutions which are all in progress.

1. The team leader went and visited the schools that we intend to take the laptops to with the XO and showed the schools' administrators how much it can boost the learning potential of the children by stimulating their interest to learn, and especially the use of activities like ''Calculate, Turtle Art'' and others to make the otherwise tricky process of learning Mathematics mush simpler.

2. We organised a small fund raising in the community that we are based in. This has helped to fund the initial stages of our project. However, this still remains a big challenge, since in order to impliment this we need more money. We are trying to organise another fund raising in the near future. Also, we are in the process of looking for some capital that can help start a money-making venture that will in turn fund a fraction of the project. We also appeal to well wishers to help us in any way they can, either by giving us donations or ideas on ways we can raise our own money as a team.

3. We are currently doing daily training of all the members of the team on usage of the XO. The technical team is sprearheading this and we are hoping that in two weeks since the traning began (24th August 2009), we will be able to bring all the members to par. Progress is excellent, as expected, since as I mentioned earlier, this is a fairly easy tool to use.

We are also making the final preparations in readiness for the start of the project, which God willing should take off on the 9th of September, 2009


Mark Koech (Team Leader)

Please e-mail your comments and suggestions to billiago@gmail.com

Latest revision as of 15:59, 27 March 2012

The revised XO Mathematics curriculum for January – March 2010 is ready. Week 1 starts on the 11th of January 2010 and the program will run continuously until the end of Week 12, on the 2nd of April 2010. The aim of this curriculum is to improve performance of Mathematics, and these are the areas we aim to improve by the end of the three month period. The XOs will simply be used to facilitate and make sure we teach these topics in a fun way and therefore stimulate the understanding faculties of these children.

Note that each row represents a week

Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 8
Introduction to XO Introduction to XO Introduction to XO Introduction to XO Introduction to XO
Operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) Operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) Introduction to algebra. Addition and subtraction of one or more unknowns Algebra 2: multiplication and division of one or more unknowns Algebra 3: calculation of values of unknowns, substitution of unknowns into equations.
Introduction to Length (identifying kilometres, metres, cm, mm) Length: measurement of lengths and distances Length and Speed: measuring time and distance, using them to calculate speed Introduction to and application of Kinematics Outdoor activity: measurement of distances within the school compound.
CAT 1 CAT 1 CAT 1 CAT 1 CAT 1
Reading Time using both the analogue and digital clock and relating between the two Understanding the concept behind converting time from 12 hour to 24 hour formats Relating time in hours and minutes to the clock, e.g. scheduled journeys of travellers and vehicles Practical use of time: measurement of performance on the athletics field and track. Practical use of time: measurement of efficiency and team speed
Introduction to Angles (identifying angles, naming them) Angles: calculating angles between lines Bisection of angles using common mathematical instruments The triangle: properties, explanation of the Pythagoras theorem Practical use of angles: marking the sports field and in construction
Introduction to Mass: identification of common metric units of mass Conversion of metric units to Relation of mass to density and volume. Practical work: measurement of density of solid materials Practical work: measurement of density of liquids
CAT 2 CAT 2 CAT 2 CAT 2 CAT 2
Introduction to Money and Currency: shilling and cents, adding and subtracting Introduction to Foreign Exchange (FOREX) Profits and Loss; calculation of, and application to business situations Calculation of Discounts and Commission and their applications Calculation of Simple and Compound Interest, Hire Purchase
Introduction to Area: calculation of area of a rectangle and square Area of a triangle and a circle, introduction of π Area of a rhombus, trapezium and parallelogram Calculation of surface areas of three dimensional shapes: cubes, cuboids and cylinders Practical use of area to calculate areas of land and other spaces, conversion of measurements to Ha; Area of irregular shapes
Introduction to volume Calculating volume of cylinders (tanks) Calculation of volume of cuboids and cubes Outdoor activities; calculation of volumes of objects in and around the schools Outdoor activities; calculation of volumes of objects in and around the schools
Term CAT Term CAT Term CAT Term CAT Term CAT

Notes: 1. CATs are Continuous Assessment Tests that we will give the children after every three weeks to assess the progress we have made. 2. Term CATs will be given by the schools at the end of the twelve weeks.

Contact me for more information: billmark@ymail.com or billiago@gmail.com

We appreciate all the support we continue to receive from the OLPC team and Sandra Thaxter and hope to make 2010 much better and more productive than 2009. God bless you all.

Mark Bill Koech

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