Task Centre News

March 2004

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In this News you will find:

• Prices Beyond Australia
  We have always tried to show our prices in your local currency (NZ, SWE, UK, USA) to make it easier for you to understand the costs involved. This policy will continue. However:
  • Fluctuations in currency exchange rates will affect our prices from time to time.
  • Developments in Internet Banking mean that your cheapest option is to pay in Australian Dollars (AUD) by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
  • BUT, before you order, you must contact Ina Koetsier, Distribution Manager:
    • T: +61 3 9726 8316
    • F: +61 3 9727 4644
    • inak@blackdouglas.com.au
    to find out the exact AUD price of your order.
  • The charge will be the Australian Price plus freight, and the freight cost varies with the order.
  Prices for our products in both Swedish Crowns and American Dollars must change on April 1st. New prices (small changes only, and only to some products) are already listed in the Resources link on the left
• From The Old Days
  During the Maths on the Move program in Cairns at the end of February we met up with Ray Elias who is currently working at the Cairns School of Distance Education. Ray was involved in Task Centres in the 'old days' (before the TC Project began) and delighted us by digging out from his resources some of the original tasks he used. Wow!! Talk about coffee table quality puzzles. Ray had enlisted the help of students at the local Technical College to fashion these fabulous pieces. You can see photos in the What Is A Task? list on the left. They really are worth a look.

• MOTM is Moving
  We have always made it clear that we will take our Maths on the Move workshops anywhere. Next stop Darwin. And not long after that ... Doncaster, England. Check the Maths on the Move link.

• Resources Reworked
  We have been working with the Maths300 site to make the inter-connection of the two sites more efficient for us to manage and smoother for you to navigate. As a result the Resources link on the Task Centre Home Base has been redeveloped. New information has been added, so you might like to check it through again.

  You might also like to print and display the many pages of information about resources available to support what one teacher recently described in an email as ...the exciting task centre adventure.

• Mat-e-matics
  Physical involvement (kinaesthetic learning) is a key component in playing out the whole class investigation 'life' of many tasks. One of the aids that can be used to challenge students in this way is a large plastic mat with cells big enough for a student to sit inside. Until now teachers have had to make their own, or have had such a grid painted in the playground. No longer is that necessary.

  Matt Skoss, experienced task centre teacher and consultant, has found a way to mass produce these mats. There are many learning opportunities that develop when you have one of these mats. I have used one many times in my teaching and professional development work. Matt's details about this equipment are:

  Maths Mat

  • 7.5m x 3.6m mat made from virtually indestructible shade cloth
  • 3 x fluoro elastics (many applications eg: geometry)
  • 17 x LamiPanel labelling sheets (postcard size - 6" x 4")
  • axes for graphs
  • packed in a suitcase on wheels
  Price
  • $450 + GST + Freight
  Contact

  Matt Skoss
  Possum Educational Services
  31 Battarbee St.
  Alice Springs NT 0870
  Australia
  Phone: 0418-624 631
  Email: matt.skoss@switch.com.au
  ABN: 77 540 358 153

  You can find more information about the Maths Mat here.

• Did you miss the February News?
  If so you missed information about:
  1. release of a new task
  2. the introduction of new links Library Kit and Integrating Tasks
  3. the latest news on Maths With Attitude Kits
  4. some more amazing Sphinx developments
  5. an idea for using Numeracy Circles

Keep smiling,
Doug.

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