Rounded Pi is a very common use for this irrational number that has an infinitely long list of digits after the decimal place. To shorten this magic number, it is often rounded up from 3.14159265359... to 3.1416. It just so happens that Rounded Pi is the same as today's date in the Gregorian calendar.
If you are a Pi Day aficionado, you may choose to start your celebrations every 3/14 at 1:59:26 p.m. Today gives us a reason to celebrate all day long! 

So Happy Pi Day!
​Here's to looking for magic ratios and irrational numbers all around us!

AlgebraCARDS is at the National Title I Conference: Frontiers of Opportunity.

​We strive to see the epiphany in every child as they learn Algebra, and we salute the teachers and administrators who are making a difference in the lives of all learners.
Stop by our booth! #426


How Is AlgebraCARDS perfect for Title 1?
When we designed AlgebraCARDS, we built metacognitive strategies directly into the program. It's critical that curriculum addresses the specific needs of diverse learners while giving them time to absorb and practice new concepts. AlgebraCARDS works in dynamic ways to do just that in a blend of technology and math.

• We made free podcasts for every card. Listening while reading improves cognition.  Try a sample podcast!
• Each card has a different layout, so a mental picture can be readily recalled.
• Each card is brightly colored, clear, and easy to read with fun ways to remember the steps of a problem.
• Each card is a made of a special rewrite-able surface that works perfectly for dry erase problem practice.  
• AlgebraCARDS is multi-sensory, appealing to learners in a unique way.

We made sure everyone can learn from AlgebraCARDS.  We know you're going to love using them. Try a sample podcast!

Education has been perpetually seeking the most accurate means of assessing student achievement. So far no one has found the "one size fits all" method of assessment. This makes sense, because each learner is unique with his or her own background experiences, hereditary make up, and access to learning tools. With the use of computers, apps, and small data, we have begun to personalize education in a way that tends to be more time efficient than traditional ways of standardized testing, differentiated instruction, supplementary programs, and one - one tutoring. These reactive methods of assessment and "remediation" are very slow in that they rely on trial and error. Teachers can scaffold and implement multiple modalities of learning. but still most assessments require a teacher to infer comprehension level. There is no way to see exactly what a learner is comprehending and certainly no way to predict what the learner may be able to understand....until now!
Straight out of Stanford Medicine, here is a study that predicts student ability to learn math. 

While this is a baseline study, the results suggest we are rapidly nearing the point where brain imaging will be used in the development of educational programs specific to learners. 

In every deck of AlgebraCARDS the second page says: 

"Algebra is a form of exercise for the brain.
The practice of going through the steps for a given problem builds new connections in the brain and helps you learn and be a strong thinker.  One of the best exercises for cognitive function, Algebra obligates you to show each step and requires concentration while learning something new.  
By practicing and doing homework everyday, you will expand your Brain Power. This discipline empowers the brain performance.  
By practicing & practicing & practicing with different machines (Pre-algebra, Geometry, Algebra, .......) focus and attention are targeted and trained."

With these cards and the podcasts, we have designed a technology that builds your brain power.

"Researchers tracked more than 400, 1st and 2nd grade students whose parents provided different levels of help with their homework. They also assessed both parents' and kids' attitudes toward math at the beginning and end of the school year.

Students whose parents reported high math anxiety made significantly less progress in math over the course of a year, and they were more likely to become anxious themselves—but only if their anxious parents sweated through helping them with homework."

See the full article here.

We all know that strawberry pie is the best, but today we celebrate another kind of pi. The ratio of any circle's circumference to it's diameter is the magic number "pi." This ratio is about 3. That means it takes about 3 times longer to walk around a circle than to walk across it's center. 
This pattern shows up all throughout nature. It has been observed in the way ripples form in water and other fluids. It's seen in the pupils of eyes, the helix of DNA, and many more natural ways. Albert Einstein, who was born today, showed that the full length of a river is near 3.14 times longer than the straight distance of that river.
It happens that this "about 3" or 3.14 ratio is really a never ending decimal number. The first several digits of this number are 3.141592653. It also happens that once every year millions of people celebrate this magic number on March 14th at 1:59 p.m. because it coincides with the first few digits.
This year is special! This year we can celebrate, yes we celebrate Pi Day, to more digits than any other Pi Day in this century. That's right the next time this day will happen is on March 14th, 2115. So join us in celebrating this remarkable event today. We will be thinking of you at 9:26 and 53 seconds a.m. (and p.m.), where the date and time will be 3/14/15 9:26:53, while we eat a slice of strawberry pie. 
Happy Pi Day!!!!

Hello Chicago!
We are at the 2015 L.D.A. Learning Disabilities Association (L.D.A.) 2015 Conference in Chicago, Illinois. It's a high of 24 degrees, yes 24 degrees, outside today; but inside you'd never know it. There is so much love for learning at the conference and in the exhibition hall, everyone is chattering with excitement about how they will use AlgebraCARDS and AlgebraCAST with their students and in their schools.