Virtual Manipulatives Handout

By: Arnaud, Danielle, and Taryn

Discussion questions:
When would virtual manipulatives be more beneficial than physical manipulatives?
Would they lead to distractions? Or success?
What would make a teacher more hesitant to use virtual manipulatives? What are
strategies to prevent this hesitation?
Use of the manipulative:
Virtual manipulatives can be used whenever computers or iPads are available to
the class. Without technology, this form of manipulative is not possible. There is a
variety of virtual manipulatives, therefore the use of them is very broad and can
only be determined by specifically choosing one. They can be utilized in the K-12
curriculum wherever the teacher feels is applicable.
Specifically, the example, Triangle Solver, we provide in our video is a manipulative
that can be used to practice Pythagoreans Theorem, sum of angles, the use of
cosine and sine laws, and the definition of sine, cosine and tangent to solve for an
unknown side or angle of a triangle.
Suggested activities:
The use of virtual manipulatives can vary from sponge activities, formative
assessment tools, practice problem sets, motivators, or to even provide the
students with a chance to incorporate technology into their lives and their learning
experiences.
Specifically, the example, Triangle Solver, would be a great activity to introduce
when the students are learning about trigonometry. It allows them to perform
Pythagorean theorem and trigonometry laws on multiple triangles to get the most
diverse practice without the teacher having to come up with effective practice
problems all on their own.
Curricular outcomes/ grade levels used for:
Once again, virtual manipulatives span across all grade levels, it all depends on the
specific manipulative you choose to present.
Specifically, the Triangle Solver game followed the SLOs below:
Math 10C (Measurement)
o SLO 4: Develop and apply the primary trigonometric ratios (sine,
cosine, tangent) to solve problems that involve right triangles.
[C, CN, PS, R, T, V]
Math 10-3 (Geometry)
o SLO 4: Demonstrate an understanding of primary trigonometric ratios
(sine, cosine, tangent) by:

Math
o

Math
o
o
o

Math
o
o
o
o
o

applying similarity to right triangles

generalizing patterns from similar right triangles
applying the primary trigonometric ratios
solving problems. [CN, PS, R, T, V] [ICT: C64.1]
10-3 (Algebra)
SLO 1: Solve problems that require the manipulation and application of
formulas related to:
Perimeter
Area
The Pythagorean theorem
Primary trigonometric ratios
Income.
[C, CN, ME, PS, R]
20-1 (Trigonometry)
SLO 1: Demonstrate an understanding of angles in standard position
[0 to 360]. [R, V]
SLO 2: Solve problems, using the three primary trigonometric ratios for
angles from 0 to 360 in standard position. [C, ME, PS, R, T, V] [ICT:
C64.1]
SLO 3: Solve problems, using the cosine law and sine law, including the
ambiguous case. [C, CN, PS, R, T] [ICT: C64.1]
30-1 (Trigonometry)
SLO 1: Demonstrate an understanding of angles in standard position,
expressed in degrees and radians. [CN, ME, R, V]
SLO 3: Solve problems, using the six trigonometric ratios for angles
expressed in radians and degrees. [ME, PS, R, T, V][ICT: C64.1]
SLO 4: Graph and analyze the trigonometric functions sine, cosine and
tangent to solve problems. [CN, PS, T, V] [ICT: C64.1, C64.3]
SLO 5: Solve, algebraically and graphically, first and second degree
trigonometric equations with the domain expressed in degrees and
radians. [CN, PS, R, T, V] [ICT: C64.1, C64.4]
SLO 6: Prove trigonometric identities, using:

Reciprocal identities

Quotient identities

Pythagorean identities

Sum or difference identities (restricted to sine, cosine and

tangent)

Double-angle identities (restricted to sine, cosine and tangent).

[R, T, V][ICT: C64.1, C64.4]

Math 31

Links to 2 main virtual manipulatives websites:

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives: http://nlvm.usu.edu
Learn Alberta: http://www.learnalberta.ca/Search.aspx?
search=gizmo&grade=&subject=Mathematics&lang=en

Link to specific game: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/grade_g_4.html