The usual approach to educational software is to code up a drill with some eye candy for each topic in the curriculum, and just have the students run the results. Another approach is to have the children teach the computer how to do the math. Everybody agrees that the best way to learn a subject is to teach it. Several programming languages have been used from third grade up for such purposes. We can provide a generic framework in which teachers and children can plug in numeric types and ranges, functions, algorithms, and so on to create drills or games for themselves on any arithmetic topic, and can implement each function out of simpler components, such as single digits. Or we could create digital Cuisenaire rods, and use the entire literature of exercises for them.
At a higher level, I have a book on computer design in which students write programs to simulate bits in registers and the microcode for arithmetic instructions. Start with a single bit add+carry circuit, and work your way on up to IEEE floating point or even further, to pipelined vector processing or other advanced architectures. (The language compiles to wiring lists for generating ICs.) -- Silent Thunder (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) is my name And Children are my nation. The Cosmos is my dwelling place, The Truth my destination. http://earthtreasury.net/ (Edward Mokurai Cherlin) _______________________________________________ FourthGradeMath mailing list [email protected] http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/fourthgrademath
