Hullo! My name is Nicolas.
I am a self-trained programming genius*
with a confirmed IQ of 159**.
*Genius is a subjective concept. Different people may use different words with different connotations.
**Confirmed by my feelings. Scores in any written test may diverge considerably from this statistic.
Have a look at my projects to help my pupils, my colleagues, and myself!
Contact me: nicolas.three.cubed@gmail.com
Maths Farm 4
(front-end)
Existing programmes such as Zetamac are a very effective way to improve mental arithmetic, but are unappealing to most pupils, who view them as a chore. I designed Maths Farm as a gamified mental arithmetic programme that could appeal to pupils.
Maths Farm is a useful and engaging tool in the classroom, and it is also used by pupils at home.
- Player options allow a choice of arithmetic operations.
- Player options allow a wide choice of customised difficulty levels.
- Gamification involves buying and selling animals with money earned through arithmetic.
- Three themes to provide variety: Classic, Australian and Undersea.
- A mobile-friendly version, which can also be a useful simplified version for new users or younger pupils.
- On devices that allow drag-&-drop, the player can move animals around their farm (for a pound a go).
- Simple animation allows the animals to roam the farm at will, bringing Maths Farm gameplay up to the expectations of the more ethically discerning player.
An arithmetic demo
(reduced time; mobile version)
A farm management demo
(Spend unearnt money!)
View the code.
Play the full game now!
Mathsmarker
(full-stack)
Mathsmarker allows pupils to check their answers without actually giving them the answers. This allows them to gain immediate feedback and proceed with some autonomy, rather than waiting for the teacher. Mathsmarker may be used in the classroom or from home.
Mathsmarker was originally designed as a static site, with the desired answers entered directly into the code. As this restricted its use to the teacher who was confident adjusting the code, I created a full-stack version when I embarked upon a new teacher interface project this year (see right column!)
- A simple and intuitive interface, easily understood by children, allows pupils to type in and check their answers.
- The interface is logically organised by class/group, topic and exercise.
- A brief delay is imposed on a given exercise after checking answers, to discourage a trial-and-error approach.
View the publicly accessible deployment.
Mathsmarker Teacherside
(full-stack)
Mathsmarker Teacherside has allowed the original Mathsmarker project (see centre column!) to evolve into an accessible full-stack application. Teachers enter the desired question/answer information into a MongoDB database. The database stores the information entered on the teacherside and makes it immediately available to the original Mathsmarker 'pupilside' project.
- Password authentication with bcrypt encryption using a passport-local strategy, to ensure users are legitimate editors.
- A methodical interface organised by class/group, topic and exercise.
- Ability to create, view, edit, and delete classes/groups, topics, and exercises.
- For each individual question, teachers can...
- require a particular answer, or instead allow any of a set of answers, for example allowing 400 mm, 40 cm, or 0.4m,
- customise responses to incorrect answers, for example offering a hint, riddle, or clue.
- Useful editing options for exercises, including...
- sharing exercises by saving new copies in other groups,
- re-ordering exercises within a topic using drag and drop,
- choice of adding a note to pupils at the beginning of the exercise.