World Maths Day is almost here

It is all go for Kiwi “mathletes” who can train for the world’s largest on-line education event – World Maths Day on 4th March.

“We expect more than one and a half million students around the world to take up the challenge and I’m really looking forward to seeing NZ mathletes shine on-line,” said 3P Learning NZ general manager Yvonne Blanch.

World Maths Day is an on-line maths game engine where students compete against other students from around the world in real time to answer mental arithmetic questions. The focus is on speed and accuracy and students are matched according to their age and ability.

“This event really turns old notions about maths on its head – maths can be cool, fun and exciting as thousands of mathletes will tell you.”

World Maths Day is free and open to all school students. All they need is access to the internet and to register on-line by 1st March at: www.worldmathsday.com

Students can practice on the World Maths Day site in preparation for the big day on 4th March.

“Half a million children from 219 countries have already registered and at that rate almost two million will take part – way beyond anything we ever imagined,” said Ms Blanch.

More than 25,000 NZ mathletes competed against students from 163 other countries in 2008. The best placed NZer finished 19th and NZ was placed fifth overall.

“An Australian student was last year’s World Maths Day champion after answering a staggering 65,199 questions correctly so my challenge to Kiwi kids is to show that we too can be world beaters.”

World Maths Day is run on 3P Learning’s unique game engine Live Mathletics, part of the Mathletics learning platform – www.mathletics.co.nz

Tens of thousands of NZ students use Mathletics each day at home and at school as part of their maths learning.

Mathletics is a recognised global leader in on-line learning. Its innovative approach earned 3P Learning a prestigious 2009 BETT award in London last month.

“We all know that being good at maths is critical for a child’s development and self esteem and Mathletics helps by making maths exciting and relevant,” said Ms Blanch.

Teachers can enter their classes into World Maths Day. Matu Pene from Otumoetai Intermediate in Tauranga said his class last year revelled in “the excitement, the challenges, the camaraderie, the fun and most of all, the learning.

“I was so amazed at the improvement in the students’ maths in this short time, even from those who didn’t like maths at first.”

“It’s wonderful to see the satisfaction students get from putting their skills on the line and seeing how their mental arithmetic improves,” said Ms Blanch.

“I’m really looking forward to NZ mathletes giving it their best shot on 4th March.”