Lab to make learning mathematics fun

Vadodara school introduces Math lab to enable students to learn mathematical and geometrical concepts in a practical way

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Mathematics has generally been considered a difficult subject for students. While most of the students hate the subject, there are of course a few who love it.For the students of Zenith school in Vadodara, however, maths is now no more a tedious subject of calculations only; it has become an enjoyable activity these days, thanks to 'Maths lab' launched in the school. The project aims at making the vital subject of mathematics simpler, easier and fun to for the students. NIIT installed the 'NIIT e Guru Math Lab' at Zenith school in Vadodara on Friday, first of its kind in the city. “NIIT eGuru Math lab' is a lab which provides Math lessons with the help of objects and software. After Ankleshwar, Vadodara is only the second city in the state where this kind of lab for mathematics has been established. The lab provides practical learning of different Mathematical topics. You find geometric shapes, charts and pictures on wall along with specially made software and mathematical objects.The Math lab enables school students to learn and explore mathematical concepts and verify mathematical facts and theorems using tools such as the Geometer's sketchpad which is a dynamic construction and exploration tool that spans mathematical curricula from class 1 to 12. The lab offers multiple teaching and learning aids comprising of technology applications, videos, measuring instruments, tables and charts.Talking to DNA Vikas Prakash, a sales counselor, NIIT, said based on three pillars of 'imagination, investigation and interaction', the lab provides opportunity to students to understand, initialize, discover and verify basic mathematical and geometrical concepts through concrete objects and situations, thus building interest and confident of the students.Launching the lab, MS University professor Dr SK Kothari said, “Children need all the tools at their disposal to rise to the challenges of a progressive nation. This kind of lab will help make their mathematics strong.” Margi Shah and Megha Patel class 10 students had no bounds to their joys at the launch of the lab. “The lab has made maths a totally practical oriented subject and we are very much exited to explore this world of math in our lab through innovative ways.” they told DNA. “We are confident that through this lab students will not only be able to comprehend Math but will also excel in their grades,” SP Nandi, principal of the school said.