Basic Facts Boxes has been updated, four years after I first developed it. This version has several new features to improve the experience all coming under an altered basic facts focus and a different physical layout.
Basic Facts Boxes v2 focuses on the addition/subtraction facts to 20 and times tables, i.e. the first 100 multiplications. I work with students who have major gaps in knowledge and are often far behind expectations, so I need to figure out ways of helping them learn. The Numeracy Development Project takes children on a meandering path through number learning, which in my opinion makes children run sections of the path before they can walk. Focusing on the facts to 20 and times tables covers the main facts we English speaking people need as core maths skills.
To differentiate for those less skilled, there is now the option of choosing ordered or random. Ordered being the easier version... That's assumed, not tested. I would hope that students would be able to see a pattern forming so they can solve anything they don't know yet. Anyone who can't is likely to need a different level of education programme anyway.
- Increased practise frequency within a single "box".
- Smoother and faster number entry. Users now only need to use the tab and enter keys to move between cells.
- Improved screenshot captures.
- The ability to print to an A4 page.
Using a new format forced me to make improvements on the layout and programming. Everything except the title, grid, and buttons at the top are generated through the script. This brings everything one step closer to a "fool proof" spreadsheet where if anything (such as the grid) was deleted somehow, the whole grid would be reset/ regenerated by clicking a button.
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