Greengairs Primary pupils loved using the Nintendo DS Brain Training throughout Maths and Golden Family challenges. The consoles were fantastic and the children noticed a significant improvement in their number, shape, problem solving and mental maths .
Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to use the consoles. We hope we can borrow them again in the future.
At sSt. Michael’s we have borrowed both the iPods and the Nintendo dsi’s. We have found that the iPods are much more useful.
The dsi’s are limited with what you can do with them and we really only used them as a warm up or early finishers activity during maths time or as a treat for Golden time. One of the games requires the children to speak into them which wasn’t great when other children were working and therefore the children couldn’t use this feature.
The iPods on the other hand are fantastic and there is really no limit to what you can do with them. We used them for research on the internet and maths and language games. The children thoroughly enjoyed using them. The range of apps that are available are fantastic and there are lots of really good free ones available too.
I used this with my P3 class during Term 3. They
really enjoyed the language games but did
struggle with the maths ones. This is a resource I
would definitely use again, perhaps with an upper
school class.
ICT was identified by HMIe as an area for improvement within the school. As a staff we felt it would be beneficial to widen the learning experiences through using other types of equipment. As a result of this we have borrowed the consoles twice over two years. Previously they had only been used in P7. On this occasion all classes within the school were given the opportunity to use the set of Nintendo Dsi. All children responded very positively to the use of these in class. The equipment was used to motivate learners and to develop skills in maths and language through the brain training activities. In some classes the children recorded their scores and set themselves personal challenges to improve. The scores that the majority of the children were receiving by the end of the term showed a good improvement in speed and accuracy. They were also used during Golden Time and had a positive impact on behaviour in some classes. The children were so disappointed when they had to be returned and we would definitely look to use them again.
Our P.4/5 class had the pleasure of borrowing a set of DSi consoles this session.
They had an absolute blast using them! Not only were they a wonderful way to consolidate learning in Maths and build on quick thinking skills, but they served as an excellent motivator for my reluctant workers.
An excellent teaching and learning tool which I’d thoroughly recommend and would love to use again.
This is the second time in 3 years that Kirkshaws have had the use of the DSi’s from the loan service. The last time they were used solely by the P5 class. During this load period their use was spread from P3 to P7. The DSi’s were timetabled for use across these classes for the whole term.
The brain training game proved very popular with children creating their own personal challenge targets over the time we have had them in school. Mixed ability paired participation was also used to improve ‘brain age’ in P3.
The DSi’s were also used as a motivation tool with identified children and played a part in the ICT group during the ‘Go For Green’ reward afternoons. The overall experience was very positive, from both teachers and pupils. They will be missed!
Pupil Comments
Zoe, ” We used them during maths times a lot, but I think the game really helped me with my spelling.”
Monique, ” I loved using them. They have helped me to do division and my tables. They make you think a bit quicker too. I wish we had them all the time.”
Casey, ” My favourite thing was taking photographs and making special effects with borders and squiggles and stuff. I got a brain age of 70 once. It would be good to use them again.”
