Virtual Manipulatives

This article discussed the use of virtual manipulatives in mathematics classrooms. I have never heard with or used such virtual manipulatives before in either my schooling or my teacher preparation classes. I think the idea of virtual manipulatives is great and I think the majority of students would really enjoy working with such things. Today's students are going to enjoy working with virtual manipulatives because they enjoy working with computers and tend to always be using some form of computer based visual. If given a choice of using a computer or using a sheet of paper to perform the same task, I feel most students will choose to use the computer.

The virtual Cuisinaire rods applet used methods that showed students the movement of ten ones blocks to one tens blocks through animation. This animation might be instrumental in helping students to visualize what is happening when grouping. Many students need this type of visual stimulation when trying to learn a new concept. Many students have difficulty learning when all they are given is a verbal description. However, the physical manipulatives also provide this visualization. I wonder if students who need to learn by hands-on experiences would benefit more from the actual Cuisinaire rods than from the virtual manipulative.