Abstract:

The Basic Numbers application for smart mobile, but also available on desktop devices, was developed to practice an elementary mathematical operation. Therefore, it is primarily intended for primary school pupils. The application combines the main advantages of competing applications, but it also brings some new innovative features to increase the efficiency of teaching. For example, not only the range (from-to) of values for individual numbers in examples and for the final result can be set, but also for the individual steps of partial calculations at gradual counting. This is very important for the first grade of primary school. Individual examples are generated randomly within given limits, but the algorithm based on backtracking constantly verifies that the criteria for partial calculations are met. The count of numbers in examples and decimal places can be increased for more advanced pupils. Gradual checking of the results brings gamification elements. The examples are marked with color icons, each step of the evaluation is accompanied by sound effects and there is also a gradually increasing help, which, however, detracts from the star rating on each page with examples. Of course, there is also a final overall percentage result. The detailed analysis of each test is automatically stored in the application and can be retrieved at any time to check. It can be done by a teacher, parent or by pupil themselves. The application not only automatically evaluates the pupil, but also provides a feedback on the long-term development of his/her skills, specific mistakes in calculations, where revision is recommended, and, last but not least, the proof that the pupil has devoted themselves to this practice. The application can also be used for official testing. It is also possible to set the limitation of switching between applications on a mobile phone, so that the pupil cannot switch to a calculator app, for example. The entire access to the settings can be password protected, so that the pupil is not able to modify such test parameters in these cases. The development of the application continues, but already in pilot operation it has proven to be a good and useful tool for a modern way of effective teaching in the field of elementary mathematics.

Keywords:

Application, gamification, basic mathematics, primary school, software development, Android.