Helping Your Child Master the Times Tables - The Element of Technology in Learning

One area where many children struggle with learning is the introduction of the times tables. The whole concept behind multiplication can be confusing for young minds. Luckily, there are a few things parents can do to help their children to learn and memorise the basics of the times tables, a cornerstone of all future math study.

One of the simplest ways to aid your child when he or she is learning the times tables is to add technology to the home learning environment. Software for learning can add important elements to the whole process of learning and memorisation.

How technology aids in learning the times tables

In William Bender's book, Differentiating Math Instruction, he notes that there are many elements to effective math learning - support at home is very important, as is visual instruction and an interactive learning environment.

Technology can add all of the above to the learning process, as well as some other important elements:

1. A visual element: For some students, reading straight from the textbook, or just listening to a teacher, isn't enough. With technology-based learning, the software, the colors and the different way of presenting the material itself all add visual cues that aid most students in learning.

2. Interactivity: An interactive learning environment, where the student can receive immediate feedback on his or her work, helps with faster learning. Technology-based learning usually includes this level of interactivity, without the need for parent or teacher intervention (although, of course, parental involvement enhances the learning experience).

3. Memorisation: Another benefit of computer-based learning is that it aids in memorisation. A study done with students in Korea showed that, once a student has a basic grasp of a concept, the best way to further aid memorisation is repetitive review and testing of the material. Most computer-based learning materials provide this element.

4. The fun factor: Finally, most children enjoy working with computers and technology. Using computer-aided learning tools adds the element of enjoyment which can help a child to develop a love for math.

When it comes to this crucial building block of all future math study, adding a computer-based element can help your child to learn and memorise the times tables faster. Tools, such as our own Times Tables Tutor, will help with this. Sometimes, real learning comes with simple methods. For parents who want to help their children grow in math, the computer can be an indispensable tool.

Why Laptop Computers Are Steadily Replacing Desktop Systems

The need for students, home users and business professionals to work remotely is growing therefore laptops are becoming increasingly common to fill this need. Laptops are useful computing and entertainment machines because they are powerful and portable. Many homes and offices are equipped with wireless and networking capabilities enabling a laptop computer to be used in the facility for gaming, entertainment, work, and watching television. The growing computer and technology industry has been able to make smaller and more powerful laptops therefore the difference in performance between desktop computers and laptops is steadily becoming narrower. The need for people in society to work remotely, on location and to use their computing device in different places creates a need for the mobility that laptop computers provide. They are a good tech solution for people who travel and need to bring their computers with them to perform work.

Laptops are smaller in size and much lighter than desktop systems. Their frames and internal components are much smaller than their desktop counterparts. Many of them are equipped with LCD screens that come in a range of sizes to provide consumers with options. Some consumers may prefer a laptop with a 14 inch screen and others may prefer a full sized 17 inch screen for a wider display area. Thickness is another factor that differentiates laptop computers and desktop systems. Today laptops can come in very thin sizes. Apple MacBook laptops tend to be some of the thinnest that are available in the market. Many people value laptops because of their compact size, their significantly lighter weight, and their portability as compared to desktop computers. Laptop computers tend to range between five and seven pounds although some models can weight much less.

Users may need to sacrifice durability but the hardware and capabilities of laptop computers is advancing and becoming more powerful. There was a time in history when the performance of a desktop computer was unparalleled but that gap has significantly narrowed over the years. Laptop computers come with hard drives and storage capacities that can be in the terabytes and powerful processors including quad cores. There are also high end gaming laptops available in the market such as the Alienware M14x R2 AM14XR2-6111BK 14.0-Inch system or the MSI Computer Corp GT70 17.3 inch system. In the computer industry laptops have become more than simple word processing and computing devices. Laptops have become powerful multimedia, entertainment, and gaming systems.

The biggest benefits for students, home users and business professionals that use laptop computers are mobility and networking. It is becoming increasingly important for people to have their personal computer or computing device with them in locations other than the classroom, home or office. Desktop computers are too heavy and large to carry around to different locations and generally anchor their users to a single work location. There have been advancements in cloud computing, networking and remote data access but a computing device is still required to perform the work.

Laptops fill the growing need for students, home users and business professionals to work and use their computers remotely. Desktop computers are not portable and mobile whereas laptops can be easily carried to different locations. Laptop computers will continue to become equipped with better hardware and capabilities as technology advances to close any existing gap in performance with desktop computers.