Material Detail

            This application is an awesome tool that allows students to take the practice of exponent rules into their own hands. Thanks to the different categories, students and teachers are able to complete examples that are most appropriate to their current understanding of exponent rules. Along these lines, the “hint” feature not only gives students short statements of help, but also gives students a warning that they may be working on questions that are above their current level of understanding. The questions are written clearly, and the input box is easy to locate and use. The application allows multiple attempts so that students cannot simply give up and move to another problem before first figuring out their mistakes. Overall, this is a great tool that students can benefit from both in and out of the classroom!
            While using this program, students are not able to fully simplify problems as it does not allow for the input of fractions as final answers (we spend a lot of time working with students on not writing their answers with negative exponents). This allows for a discussion in class regarding how students could fully simplify the problem, and also allows for students to work with negative exponents and think about what they mean. Again, overall, this applet is a great addition to any exponent unit! Thank you for sharing it!