World Maths Day
March 2010
Carrickfergus College Students Compete in the 'World Cup' of Maths!
The computer suites at Carrickfergus College have been taken over by the Maths Department with all Key Stage 3 Students taking part in World Maths Day 2010 (www.worldmathsday.com) on Wednesday 3rd March 2010.
Students from Carrickfergus College were going 'head to head' against students from all over the world in a series of on line competitions testing addition, multiplication and subtraction against the clock. Students once they had completed the basic levels were automatically moved up to the next level by the software. This resulted in all students being pitched against other students of a similar ability level across the world. All students had a sense of worth and achievement from this excellent fun activity whilst still being given questions to stretch and challenge them as the day progressed.
Students receive one point for every question they answer correctly in a 60 second period. The more tests they take the more marks they gain. They are allowed to take up to 500 tests in a 24 hour period. Each test is sat live on the internet and an interactive chart shows the student how they are doing compared to 3 other students taking the same test at the same time from a different school around the world.
As an example one test on Wednesday had Jamie F from Carrickfergus College, Tatianto Danto from St Patrick School Dominican Republic, Mohammed D from Saint Gregory School Australia and Moosa F from the Beaconhouse School System in Pakistan all competing against each other in a 60 second competition. Jamie came a proud first in that particular competition.
The organisers say they hope that the thrill of competition will help children sharpen their maths skills and prove that the subject is far from boring.
“This is a truly unique world event and a fantastic way to promote numeracy within your school,” reads a statement on the website. “Past results show that students will make significant improvements in their mental arithmetic skills and have fun in the process.”
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