Fraction Nation

Software Title and Publisher (provide vendor information, URL link) Fraction Nation by Scholastic

http://www.tomsnyder.com/FractionNation/program-overview-scope-sequence.html

Price: individual or volume licensing information It cost $9,000 for unlimited use/licenses.  However, there are a lot of grants available to help with the cost.  The grants are:

Title I, Part A—Improving Basic Programs

Title I, Part A—Supplemental Educational Services

Title V, Part A—Innovative Programs

21st Century Community Learning Centers

Enhancing Education Through Technology

Special Education/Response to Intervention (IDEA)

Note the type of software. This is a mathematical device software application.

Note the target content area. Math, grades 4-8

Note any learning standards alignment.  Fractions is one of the content strands for the Math learning standards so it is aligned with the NYS standards for Math.

What kind of documentation or online help (tutorial) is available? How user friendly is the software for the target audience? There are tutorials and support help available on the scholastic website.  This program is very user friendly.  I took a virtual tour of the program and it is really age/grade specific.  The program targets different areas of fractions.

Note computer requirements and the Operating System compatibility.

Recommended requirements for a server to run the software most efficiently

Operating System Windows 2003

® Server

Macintosh

® OSX 10.4 (or later)

Server

SUSE Linux Server

Processor/

Processor Speed

3.2 GHz Dual-Core Xeon

Memory 2GB

Free Hard Drive Space 5GB

CD/DVD-ROM Yes (for installation only)

Client Workstation Technical Requirements

Recommended requirements for a client workstation to run the software most

efficiently:

Operating System Windows XP or Vista or later;

Macintosh OSX 10.4 or later

Processor/ Processor Speed P4 HT Processor

Intel Mac Dual-Core

Memory 1GB

Free Hard Drive Space 5GB

CD/DVD-ROM Yes (for installation only)

Look for additional available resources that might supplement the software. Does it come packaged with lesson ideas? Are online resources available?

Fraction Nation is organized around 9 comprehensive topics which focus on the key areas of fractions and decimals: quantity, equivalence, and addition & subtraction. The content spans across 64 lessons which are carefully designed to build students’ fraction fluency in 15 minutes day. This program also comes equipped with a teacher's guide, interactive whiteboard capabilities, and a progress monitoring chart.
I tried to search for lesson plans on the scholastic website that accompanied this program but I had no luck finding any (but that might be due to the fact that the program comes with 64 lessons).

Share an idea or two about how you might use the software in your classroom. How might you integrate the software application?

This software could be used at the beginning of a lesson as an introduction to the concept on fractions.  The software could be used by the student during free-time and the teacher wouldn't have to worry about not being able to assess it right away because it has progress monitoring.