First of all, I think a site with the goal of "revolutioni[zing] math" has a lot of potential. I like the clean layout that is easy to follow. With that being said, I am not a huge fan of the fact that it is one continuous page. And, when you click on a link it opens in the same page so you have to constantly be clicking back and saving the documents you like elsewhere. That can be a pain in the butt, but thats only a minor functional detail of the site.
When I did open up the available resources, I was interested and intrigued by what they had to say. One point that particularly stood out was in the document about Unlocking Children's Math Potential. It mentioned the importance of making mistakes. This was a point that I also noted in Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk that I discussed a few posts ago. The thing that I liked about YouCubed's article is that it had evidence and research to support the claim that mistakes are important.
I also noticed that a lot, if not all, of the articles were written by Jo Boaler, the driving force behind the site. I am hoping (and thinking) that as this site gets off the ground, there will be more contributors to make for a more diverse and reliable resource.
I liked that they had some ideas for math games for students but I would have liked it more if they were interactive, perhaps even designed for SmartBoards. Then again, there are already some sites like IXL that provide a great variety of interactive math games for students. (Plus IXL even directly relates to the different provincial curriculums, which is a huge bonus!)
Overall, I enjoyed this web-based resource. I like how they have an "In the News" section that keeps readers 'in-the-know' and refers to up-to-date information. I think YouCubed has excellent potential and an appealing design that will help make a mark on the mathematics education community. I look forward to checking back in a few months when the site is fully operational and ready to go.
Somehow it's O.K. for people to chuckle about not being good at math,
yet, if I said "I never learned to read," they'd say i was an illiterate dolt.
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
