Long Distance Math

[OverlayHunter]

My granddaughter struggles with math and her parents can't help her much.

I'm trying to think of way to use our computers (along with a phone call?) to do math since we are separated by many miles.

With my limited tech abilities, I'm thinking maybe a graphics pad for each computer as a possibility but I don't know if that's the best solution or how to get it to appear on her computer when I write and my computer when she writes and - preferably - both our computers when each of us writes (split screen?).

Does anyone know of any reasonably priced ideas to accomplish our goal?

Thanks for your assistance.

[bigmack]

With GoToMyPC you're able to access her computer while she's online. You would be able to see everything she did in real time and be able to navigate her computer and do calculations from your computer.

https://www.gotomypc.com/members/login.tmpl

[sonnyp]

i'm raising an adopted boy on my own. i'm older and for years he and i had a female guardian who became a mother figure to him. because of the economy, her and her husband had to move. really created a huge void for him and me.

we bought a logitech camera for our laptop ($25) and joined "skype" and it's wonderful. they chat every day and it's just like she is sitting in the room. wonderful technology and free. i'm sure you'll feel she is right there with you.

[wilderness]

sonny,
has the video of those Logitech's improved?

I saw some of the early ones (in fact have one) in action and they were pretty sad.

[sonnyp]

we got ours about 3 months ago and i'm no tech wizzard by any means. came with a disk to install step by step.

went to skype.com and set up an account and viola, just like you're talking face to face. real time, real speed.

takes some of his "missing" her away.

and don, after the purchase of the camera, the skype is free.

[Dave Schwartz]

GotoMeeting. Not sure if they have a free version or not. Probably not.

There may be something similar that is free.

[wilderness]

Windows Meeting Space (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Join-a-meeting-using-Windows-Meeting-Space)

[OverlayHunter]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll look into them.

[JustRalph]

48 bucks on Amazon gets you a Logitech 720p camera

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-960-000593-720p-Webcam-C510/dp/B003LVZO92/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303459654&sr=8-2

It has a good enough picture where I am embarrassed to use it. Way too detailed for a face made for radio.........How's that for quality....? And tiny too.

has a built in microphone........works great

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/418DcgvH6oL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[wilderness]

Many thanks Ralph.

[JustRalph]

I have two of those and they work great :ThmbUp:

[DJofSD]

My granddaughter struggles with math and her parents can't help her much.

I'm trying to think of way to use our computers (along with a phone call?) to do math since we are separated by many miles.

With my limited tech abilities, I'm thinking maybe a graphics pad for each computer as a possibility but I don't know if that's the best solution or how to get it to appear on her computer when I write and my computer when she writes and - preferably - both our computers when each of us writes (split screen?).

Does anyone know of any reasonably priced ideas to accomplish our goal?

Thanks for your assistance.
What grade? What kind of math and what is the problem she is having?

[OverlayHunter]

DJ -

Thank you for your questions.

She's 11 and in the 5th grade. Sadly, her problems are with the basics - addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. At the risk of sounding harsh but needing to be realistic, she literally barely has a clue and has never developed a good foundation in the basics.

She's received extra help at school but she barely can keep her head above water. Her parents don't/can't give her enough assistance.

She spent several days with us the week (Easter vacation) and I worked with her enough to have a basis to believe I may be able to help her some. How much? That remains to be seen.

[sonnyp]

DJ -

Thank you for your questions.

She's 11 and in the 5th grade. Sadly, her problems are with the basics - addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. At the risk of sounding harsh but needing to be realistic, she literally barely has a clue and has never developed a good foundation in the basics.

She's received extra help at school but she barely can keep her head above water. Her parents don't/can't give her enough assistance.

She spent several days with us the week (Easter vacation) and I worked with her enough to have a basis to believe I may be able to help her some. How much? That remains to be seen.


allow me to share my experience. i adopted an infant with a bilateral cleft lip and palate who was abandoned with me. mentally, he checked out o k. mid-line brain, chromosones all ok.

through all the surgeries (23 to date) he did normally well early. pre-school, k,1,2 no problem. he got to a point in math, i could tell he was trying to memorize simple arithmetic. he didn't really understand the difference between addition and subtraction and then was lost in multiplication. i ound a way to send him to catholic school, certainly not for the religion, and they move right along. the stuff they do is at least a year ahead off the public schools.

first i had him evaluated for adt etc. and by public school standards, he was above normal. he was not interested in the math and was not absorbing the class work.

i hope you have some time. i got old fashioned flash cards (addition,subtraction and the multiplication tables. i also got an old fashioned abbacuss. you could use these with her via skype so she can visualize the various processes.) hour after hour, day after day, in the car, watching television i'd give him examples and quizzes. finally, like the sun rising over the mountain, he got the basic relationship. it's like the concept went from mud to crystal clear. without the basics, she'll struggle with it forever.

the nice part, once they gain the confidence they can do it...the battle is won. she'll enjoy her learning experience. be prepaired though, it can be exasperating.

best, best of luck and she's lucky to have someone who cares like you.

[sonnyp]

i keep thinking about your situation. my son is about to turn 13 and i'm much older than the other fathers. it was exactly in the 5th grade i felt i had to take action. i trained 2yo race horses with ambitious stake schedules laid out in front of them. naturally, the owners wanted the "babies" pushed along to meet the stake schedule. it doesn't work that way.....they come along at their own pace and if you try to accelorate that advancement, you break them down.

in the 5th grade, in my son's school, he was facing changing classes and multiple teachers, all new and requiring a level of maturity, if he went on to the 6th grade. like the baby horses, sometimes they need "extra" time to catch their breath. although his grades were good enough to go on, i decided to keep him back in the 5th grade. it didn't harm him one bit. i think he liked the breather, made the honor roll that repeat year and has stayed on the honor roll in 6th grade. in addition, he has gotten the hang of what he needs to do and does it on his own now.

i hope i learned from my years with the horses. so far, and we're facing some new challenges, things are working. just a thought about your grand daughter and again, much luck.

[bigmack]

Ralph is right. The best option would be for you both to be on Skype. (Free)

Each have a webcam. She should have her cam pointed at her math problems and you have yours pointed at a piece of paper. As she works her equations you can see how she configures them. Have her explain out loud why she is doing what she is doing. If she needs help she watches the video on her end as you solve the equation and explain the reasoning.

[DJofSD]

DJ -

Thank you for your questions.

She's 11 and in the 5th grade. Sadly, her problems are with the basics - addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. At the risk of sounding harsh but needing to be realistic, she literally barely has a clue and has never developed a good foundation in the basics.

She's received extra help at school but she barely can keep her head above water. Her parents don't/can't give her enough assistance.

She spent several days with us the week (Easter vacation) and I worked with her enough to have a basis to believe I may be able to help her some. How much? That remains to be seen.

Some people are visual, while others are either tactile or auditorially oriented. Try getting some marbles or checkers and literally, have her do the counting out loud: 3 marbles added to 2 marbles is -- count them - 5 marbles. Mix up the numbers. Do the same thing for subtraction, or, what makes more sense, take aways. Multiplication is just fast addition.

[OverlayHunter]

You folks have been very, very helpful. A sincere thank you to all for all the great ideas and encouragement.

[raybo]

Some people are visual, while others are either tactile or auditorially oriented. Try getting some marbles or checkers and literally, have her do the counting out loud: 3 marbles added to 2 marbles is -- count them - 5 marbles. Mix up the numbers. Do the same thing for subtraction, or, what makes more sense, take aways. Multiplication is just fast addition.

I remember my grade school teachers using this object method for addition and subtraction, as well as flash cards. The flash cards sucked, for me, but the object method made things easy. The rest is memory work, multiplication tables etc..