Math Heads is presented in a television context. The opening channel, Get a Head , asks children to design a surrogate character by choosing a head, hat, body, and personality. Although Math Heads attempts to attract kids to math through its MTV-like flashiness and sound bite appeal, it offers few worthwhile mathematical experiences. One of the better mathematical activities, Go Mental , uses a game show context to engage children in interpreting methods for solving word problems. The computer reads the problem aloud and shows the TV personality's strategy with words and numbers.
Players have unlimited time to agree or disagree.
This is a strong mathematical activity, as analyzing different strategies is an effective way to expand mathematical understanding. Another activity, Dance 'til You Drop , is less successful. It offers mathematically rich problems, but its rather strong time pressure and emphasis on hand-eye coordination takes the focus away from the math content. Next, children are presented with a series of problems. They estimate the answer to each problem by sliding a platform along a number line so that its width spans a number range that includes the correct answer.