Youcubed

Youcubed is a nonprofit website developed by Jo Boaler to provide parents and educators with free and affordable K-12 mathematics resources. The goal of this website is to make math enjoyable for learners, by basically changing the face of mathematics completely.

I found the article Unlocking Children's Math Potential very interesting. I think it is absolutely amazing what the brain is capable of. With hard work and perseverance, anyone is capable of learning math. Boaler also talks about the importance of not allowing students to limit themselves because of fixed mindsets; students have to believe in themselves. It is important to make mistakes in math, if there are no mistakes, there is no learning being done. Finally the article states that there is absolutely no reason to encourage speed in math, as all it does is cause more stress for the students. Boaler’s article ultimately backs up everything that I already believed in. For a student to be successful in math, they not only need to believe in themselves, they need someone like their teacher or their parent to believe in them as well.

There are also a lot of great games and ideas on this website to engage students with mathematics. I think students would enjoy the Crazy 8’s activity with the glow sticks as it adds a fun element to a subject that may otherwise be boring.

Overall, it is a great website with a lot of new ideas. I cannot wait for it to be fully operational so I can use it as a resource in my future classroom.