Technology is often promoted as a solution to our educational challenges, but truly effective, research-based innovations are few and far between. However, a new partnership announced today brings together nationally recognized math education resources with an engaging new social learning platform for math education.
The Math Forum, the leading online math education community and a unit of Drexel University’s School of Education, and CueThink, a peer-to-peer iPad application for math problem solving, announced a partnership that will integrate The Math Forum’s award-winning problem-solving programs with CueThink’s social math learning platform. The partners aim to create new opportunities for teachers to address standards for developing mathematical thinking and to use technology strategically to enhance learning.
“This partnership is based on a shared vision of the importance of problem solving and student interaction as a basis for developing mathematical thinking,” said Sheela Sethuraman, CEO of CueThink.
“The partnership between The Math Forum and CueThink has the potential to positively impact classrooms nationwide,” said Nancy Butler Songer, PhD, dean of the School of Education. “It showcases our commitment to enriching education through technology.”
Since it was founded 20 years ago, The Math Forum’s award-winning educational site has become a comprehensive, online source of math learning, teaching and communication for mathematicians, educators, parents, students and researchers worldwide. From professional development issues to parental homework crises, The Math Forum is renowned for mentoring, problem solving, collaborating, sharing and advancing research in math education.
“We’re thrilled that this collaboration will allow The Math Forum community’s wealth of problem-solving resources to be more readily available to teachers and students across the country,” said Steve Weimar, director of The Math Forum. “Through this partnership, CueThink and The Math Forum will generate innovations and research-based insights into effective student learning and teacher facilitation in the 21st century classroom."
Subscribers of CueThink will immediately have integrated access to the free portion of The Math Forum’s popular Problems of the Week. CueThink customers also will have the ability to purchase the Math Forum’s Premium Bundle of Problems of the Week within the CueThink platform, beginning January 2015.
About CueThink
CueThink is an innovative peer-to-peer iPad application designed to improve students' critical thinking skills, math language and communication. Learners in grades 4-12 will develop systematic problem-solving skills, read for understanding, think more deeply and learn from each other while building a rich portfolio of strategies. CueThink leverages what students already know and do well – social media, content publishing and gaming – and brings those experiences to the math classroom, thus deepening student engagement and learning. Our companion web-based teacher dashboard provides access to rich content developed and vetted by our experienced education staff. Educators can also incorporate their existing curriculum as well as create and share their own content with the community. CueThink is funded by the National Science Foundation, Small Business Innovation Research Grant and is an Alumni of LearnLaunch Accelerator and Paypal’s StartTank. For more information, visit www.cuethink.com.
About The Math Forum
The Math Forum is an online mathematics education community that grew out of National Science Foundation-funded research, and is best known for its free and subscription-based interactive services, such as the Problems of the Week, Math Tools, Teacher2Teacher and Ask Dr. Math, with millions of visits per month and over one million pages of content generated by its online community. The Math Forum was featured in a one-page highlight in the 2011 US Department of Education’s National Education Technology Plan as an exemplary online learning community with deep content expertise. The Math Forum is owned by Drexel University and, as part of the School of Education, offers online courses and graduate programs that build on its extensive archive of student work and mentored interactions. These programs are informed by over 20 years of work in schools, coaching and supporting the development of problem solving and mathematical communication that improves student learning and achievement. For more information, visit http://mathforum.org.