Belize

In October 2013, the STEM Foundation completed its third project in one of the most beautiful countries located in Central America: Belize. Eight schools spanning across two separate districts were included in the project. After doing some community research, we discovered that the schools had the greatest need for teaching materials, writing materials, and new technology for the students.

iPads were the best technology option for the project due to their simple, intuitive nature, as well as their ability to make learning more hands-on and engaging for the students. The devices were also outfitted with military grade cases designed to maximally increase their durability and lifespan. The iPads included special iCourses, which are 1-5 day customizable programs used to assist in teaching any subject using educational apps from the app store. The iCourses can be built for a particular grade, or even a range of grades, which allows for plenty of flexibility in the classroom. Before rolling out the new technology, teachers were properly trained on how to best use the iPads and iCourses with their students. In addition to the iPads and iCourses, new books for the school libraries were also donated by the STEM Foundation.

Six months after successfully introducing the iPads into the classrooms, interviews were conducted to measure the impact that the new technology had on the students’ progress in learning multiplication tables. Excitingly, all findings were positive! Students reported a notable increase in their problem solving skills after utilizing the iPads. Instead of counting with their fingers, they were able to rely on mental math to quickly solve math problems. Below are some of the students’ testimonies.

"It has helped me because if there was no math we would be dumb. And the drills feels like games but they are teaching us how to understand our times table."

-Adrian Grajalez, std 3

"It has helped me by learning my multiplication better to be quick so then I finish 60 in one minute."

 -Lindsay Caldera, std 3

"It has helped me by not counting on my fingers and by not making sticks to count my multiplication. The game math bingo has helped a lot and now I can do 60 multiplication in a minute."

 -Handel Garcia, std 3

"The iPad has helped me because in my math drills I am doing more than I did before."

-Student, std 1

"The iPad has helped me a lot with my 8 & 9 times table."

-Student, std 4

"By teaching us how to multiply better and faster. The bingo bug at the end of a game without mistakes is really encouraging. You want to know your multiplication tables well in order to get a lot of bingo bugs."

-Student, std 5