Tipperary students looking to progress up leaderboard after 1st round of the MATHletes Challenge 2014
Students and teachers from school throughout Tipperary kicked off the MATHletes Challenge 2014 last week. The new and exciting all Ireland maths competition which uses the Khan Academy, has seen large interest from schools in Tipperary. With the 1st round of challenges completed, Tipperary students from Scoil Ruain Killenaule, Thurles; Borrisokane Community College; St Mary’s Convent Newport; Cashel Community School; Thomastown National School; Coláiste Mhuire and Emly National School will be aiming to move up the league tables over the coming weeks and try and break into the top 10 on the MATHletes Challenge leaderboards.
However, it is Galway students and teachers who are leading the country in signups for the MATHletes Challenge 2014. Galway students have signed up at a rate over 2.5 times more per capita than the next highest county Carlow.
What is the motivation? To be named MATHletes Challenge Champion 2014, bestowing pride (and prizes) on their school, their county, and on Munster.
With registration opening on the 1st February, the first 10 days have seen over 700 students from 115 schools covering 24 counties sign up for MATHletes Challenge 2014. The number of entrants continues to grow each day. Spread by social media and word of mouth, these figures reflect the enthusiasm among Irish students and teachers to bring fun, competition and good ol’ county rivalry to the world of maths learning.
The brainchild of Sean O’Sullivan and supported by the Department of Education and Skills and National Education Centres across Ireland, Mr O’Sullivan said, “just two weeks into the Challenge, it is becoming clear that we can use Khan Academy as an effective tool and motivator to transform how their students learn maths. Most importantly, we see kids getting hooked on the MATHletes Challenge, and having fun. There is a real sense of momentum behind the competition, with thousands more students expected to sign up over the coming weeks.”
Students and teachers are reminded to signup now and start competing: the earlier a student signs up, the more time they have to gain points in the competition. There is still plenty of time to top the leaderboards at mathletes.ie.
What is it all about?
MATHletes Challenge 2014 aims to help students develop the confidence and competence to excel in maths by introducing Irish students and teachers to Khan Academy. With over 10 million users per month and 4 million practice problems solved each day, Khan Academy had been wildly successful in accomplishing its stated mission to provide “a free world-class education for anyone anywhere”. Founded in 2006 by the American educator Salman Khan, Khan Academy is the world leader in free online maths education.
With over €20,000 in prizes and the title of MATHletes Challenge Champion 2014 on offer, MATHletes will see students in each county competing online and face to face in county and provincial finals, with top scorers advancing to the national finals, which are scheduled to take place in early May.
Check the website for leaderboards, new weekly challenge problems, and tips for teachers to give MATHletes a more focused training experience. Students can register at mathletes.ie or find out more about MATHletes on Twitter @MATHletes_ie or go to the MATHletes Challenge Facebook page.
