NumBots |

Using Heatmaps to Support Parents’ Consultations: A Teacher’s Guide

Jenny Pierce — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 13:00:18 +0000

Challenge Mode in NumBots is designed to improve recall of key number facts, such as number bonds to 10 and adding single-digit numbers. It consists of 30 distinct, 60-second skill rounds, making it an excellent tool for quickly identifying students who are excelling or struggling with these foundational skills.

The heatmap data, drawn from Challenge Mode, provides a clear visual representation of each student’s progress, helping you better understand their strengths and challenges. Here’s how heatmaps can guide meaningful conversations during parents’ evenings.

What heatmaps show and where to find them

In Challenge Mode, students tackle key areas like addition, subtraction, and number bonds. As they progress, the heatmap visually records their performance: The addition and subtraction heatmaps display your students’ median answer speeds for each addition fact up to 10 + 10 and their subtraction inverses. This data-driven tool helps pinpoint where students are thriving and where they need extra support.

To view a student’s heatmap, simply click on the colourful heatmap icon next to their name in the Challenge Results table.

This detailed, color-coded display helps you quickly identify a student’s strong points and areas where they need additional support:

Red areas highlight challenges where mistakes occur frequently.

Green areas show topics where the student is consistently successful.

Why heatmaps are useful for parents’ consultations

When preparing for discussions with parents, heatmaps provide clear, easy-to-understand data that can guide the conversation. Here’s how they help:

Highlight mastery in key topics:

With green sections on the heatmap, you can show parents where their child has gained strong competence, giving them a concrete view of their child’s achievements in certain number skills.

Identify areas of difficulty:

You can provide targeted advice for home practice based on where a student is struggling. The red sections of the heatmap tells you exactly which topics need extra attention and can lead to a productive conversation about strategies for improvement, both in class and at home.

Track progress over time:

By looking at the heatmap over time, you can show parents how their child’s performance has evolved. This is especially useful for demonstrating improvement in response to interventions or explaining where further focus is needed.

Make the most out of heatmaps and turn those parent consultations into data driven conversations! For more information on interpreting NumBots data, visit the guide below:

Data guide

Five Quick Tips for Busy Parents: Integrating NumBots at Home with Ease

Jenny Pierce — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 10:52:33 +0000

Integrating NumBots into our daily routine has been a game-changer for both my kids and I. As a parent with over a decade of teaching experience I understand how hectic life can get — juggling work, school runs, and family time leaves little room for helping kids with homework, let alone motivating them to do extra practice. That’s why I’ve found these simple, low-effort strategies to integrate NumBots into our busy schedule:

1. Reminders with Alexa

From one robot to another: have Alexa (other devices available) remind you to log into NumBots!

We’ve set up Alexa to remind us about NumBots practice everyday. It’s one of those helpful nudges amidst the morning rush that keeps us on track. This simple routine ensures that both my children know exactly when to start their daily sessions.

2. Aim for Short Sessions

We aim for just three minutes of NumBots each day. While it might not seem like much, this short duration fits perfectly into our morning routine. My daughter enjoys completing three Challenge modes (each for one minute long) independently during this time she chooses which challenges to tackle, allowing her to lead her own learning.

3. A Story Level a Day

Beyond the three minutes of daily practice in either Story or Challenge mode (whatever they feel like doing), my children aim to pass one Story level a day. Some levels can be tricky, so if they start to feel frustrated, one parent is always there to lend a hand by reading the question together, walking them through the answer, or trying to find clues on how to pass it.

4. Keeping it Positive

If frustration does creep in (and let’s face it, during the busy school week, that’s likely), we take a breather. We might explore the cool badges they’ve earned, build a bot in the Custom Shack, or listen to one of the many growth mindset audio stories. It’s a reminder that learning should be enjoyable, even when we’re busy or tired!

5. Weekend Break Time

We take a break from NumBots over the weekend. This break helps them recharge for the week ahead and keeps NumBots sessions fresh and exciting when Monday rolls around!

Those are my top tips for integrating NumBots at home seamlessly – practice at home feels effortless and enjoyable! And relax!

via GIPHY

3 Top Tips for Mental Health Awareness Week

Tor Caldwell — Fri, 05 May 2023 11:17:30 +0000

Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week, which starts on the 15th May, we’ve put together three top tips on how to create a more enjoyable playing experience on NumBots.

1. Hide the Timer in Challenge Mode

The timer in Challenge mode can be distracting for some children, or it can even make them feel tense…which is exactly what we don’t want children to feel when they’re playing NumBots!

To reduce those uneasy feelings caused by the timer, you can remove it by simply clicking on the timer icon itself. Or head to Settings (the small orange cog) and toggle the ‘Show Timer’ to the left.

2. Allow More Time to Pass Story Mode

Did you know? On all types of account, you can change the game settings to increase the time allowance to pass a level. This allows children to focus on their answers rather than the time.

To find out how this is done, please read the article below:

Change Game Settings (Teachers)Change Game Settings (Families)Change Game Settings (Tutors)

3. Check out our Audio Stories

No matter how you’re feeling, or what situation you’re in, taking time out to listen to a story can help you to relax and focus your mind on something else. Listen to our NumBots Scrapheap Stories, our series of uplifting and motivating audio stories. Each tale presents different growth mindsets and positive values.

You can listen on all the main streaming services, including: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Audible, and YouTube.

3 Top Tips for Staying Safe On NumBots

Nicola Reddy — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 15:07:02 +0000

At Maths Circle our absolute priority is to keep your children safe. We have no chat functions, no in-game purchases and no adverts. It is important to us to keep your data secure and protected. We are GDPR and ICO Age Appropriate Design Code compliant and are also Cyber Essentials Plus certified. Show your children our “child-friendly” Privacy Notice (found here) and talk to them about the importance of keeping personal data safe.

1. Unique Passwords

Make sure each child is set their own unique password that is not easy for other children to guess. You can use animal pins for the younger children who may struggle to remember. Sounds obvious, but in school DON’T use the same password for all your children and DON’T display passwords on the class noticeboard. Use our auto-populated username labels and parent letters to easily and safely share login details with parents/carers.

2. Log Out

Always remind your children to log out after playing NumBots.

3. Talk About It

If your child is “hacked” by another child who logs into their account and spends their coins on unwanted robot purchases – use this as an opportunity to talk to the children about the importance of keeping passwords secret, even from friends.

Tell them that it is not cool to log in to someone else’s account and remind them not to share their passwords or leave them visible on their desk. The good news is that in NumBots, teachers can refund the purchases made (in Settings & Admin > Avatar Refunds), so better to learn that key lesson here than in real life which could be more costly!