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Figure 3: The Ten Frame Tool

cating objects, the tidy button for clearing the whole screen, and the Zoom In and Zoom Out but tons for adjusting the workspace view. This con sistency is an asset for students or teachers learning how to use new tools. A third strength of MathsBot is its ability to save teachers time. Making visuals for lessons or assessments is a time - consuming task. With MathsBot, teachers can quickly create a clean representation, then use their computer ’ s snipping tool to capture and paste the image into another application. Finally, the simplicity of MathsBot makes it a great tool for students to use to demonstrate their understanding in a remote for mat. Students can be taught how to use Flipgrid to record and narrate their work with the virtual ma nipulatives, giving teachers insight into their under standing and misconceptions. One of the main drawbacks of MathsBot is its lack of written instructions for the tools. While some of the tools are self - explanatory and easy to figure out (e.g., Fraction Wall and Tangrams), I find others to be less intuitive (e.g., Directed Counters). For the teacher who is looking for step - by - step instructions for each button, you won ’ t find them on MathsBot. Sometimes you can find a short video about the tool on YouTube or Twitter but doing so typically takes some digging. The lack of detailed instruc tions can cause some teachers or students to miss out on the full functionality of a tool, but Mr. Hall

hopes to add in - depth instructions to the site in the future (J. Hall, personal communication, October 26, 2020). Another small drawback is the absence of attribute blocks and counting bears, two tools typically used in the primary math classroom. A final drawback of MathsBot is that it does not yet show up in the first few pages of a Google search for virtual manipulatives. MathsBot has so much to offer students and teachers, but right now it feels like one of mathematics ’ best kept secrets.

References

Hall, J. (n.d.). MathsBot. https://mathsbot.com. Manners, T. (2020, June 24). ResourceFULL #4 - mathsbot.com [Video]. YouTube. https:// www.youtube.com/watch? v=zdZrgbWvFBs.

Tracy Proffitt Teacher Lynchburg City Schools proffitttj@lcsedu.net

Virginia Mathematics Teacher vol. 47, no. 1

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