ONLINE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT 1
Online Field Trip Assignment
Shelby Benson
Liberty University EDLC 530
April 3, 2024
ONLINE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT 2
Illuminations
The website Illuminations is a a project website for grades Pre K through 12 developed
by the National Council of Teachers on Mathematics (NCTM). The website is antiquated but
relatively user friendly for both the teacher and student versions. The site offers interactive
games and activities as well as downloadable and printable lesson content for free (Illuminations,
n.d.).
National Council of Teachers on Mathematics
The National Council of Teachers on Mathematics (NCTM) is an online platform that
acts as a resource bank for teachers to find materials, helpful websites, videos, and more to use in
the classroom setting. The website also has a job board, educational news feed, and space where
educators can explore and apply for grant and scholarship opportunities. The website is
membership based, and allows teachers to secure individual membership as well as districts to
get campus-wide memberships for educators (Index - National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics, n.d.).
Figure This!
Figure This! Math challenges is an online learning platform that seeks to get families
involved in their students’ mathematics educational journey. The website was designed for the
rigors and concepts of middle school/junior high mathematics classes, as a way to help students
master the higher-level mathematics concepts and problem solving skills. The website itself is
simply designed and easy to use, with space for teachers as well as students and their
families(Figure This! Math Challenges for Families - Challenge Index, n.d.).
Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications
ONLINE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT 3
The Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications is an online resource and database
for educators that offers both free resources and membership benefits. The webpage offers a blog
stream with articles related to mathematics education, an online video library, and even an online
bookstore for materials. The website is easy to use and navigate (Kaiser, n.d.).
PBS Learning Media
PBS Learning Media is a free online platform for educators that offers resource videos
and activities along with curriculum plans and guided lessons. Teachers can browse by subject
matter, grade level, or both and sync their chosen materials with Google Classroom. The best
part is that it is all free for teachers to access and use (PBS LearningMedia | Teaching Resources
for Students and Teachers, n.d.).
Cool Math Games
Cool Math Games was established by the Cool Math Network in 1997 as a way to teach
math concepts in a fun and engaging way. Cool Math Games offers thousands of games that
teach logic, trivia, numbers and strategy skills to users of all ages. The games are violence free,
with no ‘empty actions’, that keep students involved without realizing the mental workout they
are getting (Coolmath Games, n.d.).
Generation Genius - Math
Generation Genius is a subscription based online learning service for educators that offers
resources up to grade eight. The service/platform offers educational videos paired with lesson
plans, activities, quizzes, reading materials, and more. The math videos are produced in
partnership with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (Generation Genius, 2022).
ABC Education
ONLINE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT 4
ABC Education is an Australian based educational website that offers instructional
videos, games, and articles for students from early childhood through 10 years of age. The
resource is free to use and easy to navigate. The math videos are simple, last around fifteen
minutes, and serve as a great attention grabber for introducing new math concepts (Maths - ABC
Education, n.d.).
Math Playground
Math Playground is an online platform for math skills games for grades kindergarten
through sixth. It was created by an educator named Colleen King as a way for her own students
to practice foundational math skills in a fun and engaging way. Games are broken down by skill
set, grade, and mathematical concept being taught (Math Games That Kids Love to Play!, n.d.).
Arithmetic Four
Arithmetic Four is an online game designed on the principles of Connect Four. Players
attempt to connect four pieces in a row before their opponent. To do this, games must complete
questions by solving math problems involving whole number and integer addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division. Players also have the ability to choose their difficulty level
(Interactivate: Arithmetic Four, n.d.).
Jefferson Labs - Games and Puzzles
Jefferson Labs (or J Labs) Games and Puzzles site offers a few math games. The games
are simple and offer some short-cut skill how-tos and skills practice. The offering is small and
simple but easy to use (Games and Puzzles, n.d.).
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives is a web page that began in 1999 as a way
to create an online database of virtual math manipulatives with a K-12 emphasis. The index is
ONLINE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT 5
broken into grade levels and concept groups. The website is free and antiquated, with the last
publish update being in 2007 (NLVM 3 - 5 - Number & Operations Manipulatives, n.d.).
Seeing Theory
Seeing Theory is a website designed by former grad-student Daniel Kunin. The purpose
behind the website was to make statistics and data learning more accessible through interactive
visualizations. The founders of the website are also currently working on creating a book that
encompasses the information on the website. The website itself is visually stunning, entertaining,
and easy to use (Kunin, n.d.).
Interactivate
Interactivate is an online learning platform that seeks to create, collect, evaluate and
disseminate interactive courseware for mathematics and science. The platform offers access to
over one hundred interactive learning activities, lesson materials for grades 3-12, and discussion
forums. Through it, users can play the games in new windows, read articles, or scroll through the
discussion boards. The website is antiquated and hard to navigate (Interactivate: Home Page,
n.d.).
Estimation - Hundreds
Estimation - Hundreds, is an online game for rounding to the hundredths place. The game
is simple, the player matches a number to its correctly rounded counterpart. It takes only a few
minutes to complete and when the player selects start over, they are given a new game board
design with different numbers. It is easy to use and does not require any payments or
subscriptions (Quia - Estimation - Hundreds, n.d.).
Random Services - Apps
ONLINE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT 6
Random Services - Apps is an online database with a list of apps that are designed to
demonstrate mathematical theory in an interactive way. The apps fall into two general categories,
simulation and data generation. Though the database is a simple, linked list, the apps themselves
are fairly rudimentary looking and difficult to use without explicit instruction. It is a free service
and does not require any form of subscription to access the apps (Siegrist, n.d.).
Defeat the Fraction Monster - Playing Fraction Games
Defeat the Fraction Monster - Playing fraction games is part of the Learn-With-Math-
Games website and database of fun math games. The fraction games seek to help students learn
and understand fractions while having fun, in an attempt to combat math anxiety. It offers
printables, online games, races, and more to help engage kids in learning fractions (Fraction
Games I Kids Conquer Fear of Fractions While Having Fun!, n.d.).
Maze Game
The Maze Game is an interactive math game through the Interactivate platform that
allows the user to practice their point plotting skills by having them move a robot through a
minefield to a target location. To do this, the player must determine the x and y coordinates at the
end of the minesweeper robot’s path. Each new game allows the player to select the number of
mines to put on the board (Interactivate: Maze Game, n.d.).
IXL Math
IXL is an online learning platform that offers lessons and interactive activities from
Kindergarten through Calculus (essentially grade 12). There are weekly plans and skill plans
available through the subscription service that allows teachers to differentiate the learning
platform to better meet the individual needs of the learners. The platform also provides the
ONLINE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT 7
lessons/skills training in Spanish, which is a great way to differentiate for some ELL learners
(IXL Maths | Online Maths Practice, n.d.).
Kahoot!
Kahoot is an online quiz platform where students can interact with live quizzes. Teachers
are able to design their own or use pre-existing quizzes, and students can log on and participate
in the quiz as a class or on their own. Along with the quizzes are interactive games where the
students win points or prizes and compete against each other. For full access to the platform, a
subscription is needed (Kahoot! | Learning Games | Make Learning Awesome!, 2024).
Favorites
Through this project there were a few sites that stood out to me as a math educator.
Primarily, the PBS Learning Media platform. PBS learning is completely free and allows you to
tailor lessons to specific standards or concepts, has interactive learning videos and games,
instructional videos, print-offs, articles, and lesson plans. It is a great teacher resource and stays
fairly up to date with new concepts, materials, and information. The website is very user friendly
and eye-catching as well. As an educator, I have used PBS Learning Media multiple times when
making lessons, and the videos make great attention grabbers to introduce new concepts.
Another platform I have used before and liked is IXL Math. I have actually used both the
Math and Reading platforms of IXL and I like the format of both. The program learns the
students and accommodates the needs of each individual learner. It engages students with
learning videos, how-to tutorials with step by step instructions, and frequent assessments. The
only downside to the IXL platform is that it does require a subscription, which can be costly if
paid out of pocket. But it also includes a home-based learning option where parents can get
involved, which is one of my favorite features.
ONLINE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT 8
Continuing on the idea of home-based learning and parental involvement, another
favorite of mine is the learning outlet Figure This! The challenges are simple, but get families
involved in mathematics. When it comes to combating math anxiety, the first step is creating a
community that is involved in the learning process, and Figure This does just that. There are
eighty activities that families can get involved with, and the challenges can also be printed and
distributed for students to take home. This can allow for instructions to be translated, and allows
for families to get involved without the need for a computer or online component.
Though it does not have too much for my specific age-group in mathematics, Generation
Genius is a great online resource for getting students engaged in the learning process. The
platform uses videos, games, and interactive lessons to help introduce new math concepts. It also
has hands-on activities that teachers can use in class to help get students engaged in the lessons
and excited about learning mathematics. The mathematics section of the site/platform is still
being built-up, but I have used this platform before for science and it is an amazing tool.
The last favorite from this virtual field trip is COMAP, the Consortium for Mathematics
and Its Applications. This platform is a great tool for teachers to find resources, read up to date
articles about mathematics education, find conferences or professional development sessions,
and more. It is an great professional group for teachers as well, and membership gives unlimited
access to all of the benefits of the Consortium. The website is clean, easy to use, and prides itself
on putting educators first.
There are a plethora of online resources for education, and unlimited resources at our
disposal as educators. Online resources offer accessibility, personalized learning, supplemental
learning materials, ease of differentiation, and numerous other benefits. Exploring online
r
ONLINE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT 9
learning platforms, integrating them into the lesson, and engaging with student learning is an
important part of mathematics education.
ONLINE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT 10
References
Coolmath Games. (n.d.). Cool math Games - free online games for learning and fun.
https://www.coolmathgames.com/
Figure this! Math challenges for families - Challenge Index. (n.d.).
https://figurethis.nctm.org/index.html
Fraction Games I Kids Conquer fear of fractions while having fun! (n.d.).
https://www.learn-with-math-games.com/fraction-games.html
Games and puzzles. (n.d.).
https://education.jlab.org/indexpages/elementgames.html
Generation Genius. (2022, November 7). Online math videos for kids | Complete lessons
plans for K-8 | Generation Genius. https://www.generationgenius.com/math-videos-for-
kids/
Illuminations. (n.d.). https://illuminations.nctm.org/
Index - National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (n.d.). https://www.nctm.org/
Interactivate: Arithmetic four. (n.d.).
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/ArithmeticFour
Interactivate: Home page. (n.d.).
http://shodor.org/interactivate/
Interactivate: Maze Game. (n.d.).
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/MazeGame/
IXL Maths | Online maths practice. (n.d.). IXL Learning. https://www.ixl.com/math
Kahoot! | Learning games | Make learning awesome! (2024, April 4). Kahoot!
https://kahoot.com/
ONLINE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT 11
Kaiser, B. (n.d.). Mathematics Resources and Contests - Consortium for Mathematics and
its Applications - COMAP. https://www.comap.com/
Kunin, D. (n.d.). Seeing theory.
https://seeing-theory.brown.edu/index.html#firstPage
Maths - ABC Education. (n.d.). ABC Education.
https://www.abc.net.au/education/subjects-and-topics/maths
Math Games that Kids Love to Play! (n.d.). https://www.mathplayground.com/math-
games.html
NLVM 3 - 5 - Number & Operations Manipulatives. (n.d.).
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/category_g_2_t_1.html
PBS LearningMedia | Teaching resources for students and teachers. (n.d.). PBS
LearningMedia. https://lpb.pbslearningmedia.org/#a
Quia - estimation - hundreds. (n.d.). https://www.quia.com/mc/65924.html
Siegrist, K. (n.d.). Apps. https://www.randomservices.org/random/apps/index.html
