NEW FREE ONLINE PROGRAM TO HELP PARENTS TEACH KIDS MATHEMATICS LAUNCHED TODAY

Parents have been thrown a life-line by Australia’s largest mathematics education organisation, which has launched a free online resource to help keep primary school children learning even if isolated at home due to COVID-19.

ORIGO Education, creators of the popular GO Maths and Stepping Stones maths programs, has been working around the clock in Australia and the United States to develop the new free online resources to keep students engaged in mathematics.

“With over 70 countries around the world closing their schools due to the Novel Coronavirus, we decided to step up and do what we could to help the community, especially mums and dads at home with children needing to continue their education,” said Co-Founder and CEO of ORIGO Education James Burnett.

“ORIGO Education’s team has loaded free resources to our website and already hundreds have started to use them,” said Mr Burnett, who has over 25 years’ experience in the mathematics education publishing industry.

“The online resource contains daily activities designed for use by a parent, caregiver or remote teacher who is away from their school. It is also particularly helpful for those in communities and schools that may not have the infrastructure to support digital classrooms.

“These free resources complement year level mathematical concepts and skills. No login is required.”

ORIGO Education released the new ‘learn from home’ and ‘teach from home’ activities at 10am today via their website – origoeducation.com.au/athome/

ORIGO Education has been the industry’s leader for more than 25 years, supporting over 800,000 primary school students with its products.

“Our main focus is to support continued education that keeps students engaged in mathematics over the coming days and possibly weeks,” said Mr Burnett.

“Children need to touch base with key learnings on a daily basis to ensure progress isn’t lost. It may not be as much as they would normally undertake in their classroom, but it’s something to help them maintain concepts and skills during this downtime.”

ORIGO Education Co-Founder, Dr Calvin Irons said the organisation would be releasing the free content each week, noting it had been specifically created to align with the curriculum typically taught at this time in the academic year.

“We are looking to develop a 6-week plan that has the potential to be expanded to 8 weeks, if not more. This is not a situation that is likely to dissipate in a short amount of time, so we have to be prepared to support our young learners in any way that we can, which includes offering backup to their at-home support network,” said Dr Irons, who has been in the mathematics education industry for over 50 years.

ORIGO Education already has core programs online that are accessible for teachers, where content can be shared digitally and also via a digital classroom environment. 

Dr Irons said the new online resource provided an opportunity for parents to gain exposure to the current mathematics curriculum.

“We understand that many parents are concerned about the continued education of their children while at home, and may not feel well-equipped to support that learning,” he said.

“By developing content that engages both the student and their carer, we can facilitate continued understanding on both sides of the equation which places everyone at an advantage upon returning to their classrooms in the future, whenever that may be.”

For more information on these resources and how they can be accessed, visit https://www.origoeducation.com.au

ORIGO At Home: New topic each week

Monday – Read and discuss (Years F-2) or watch and talk (Years 3-5)

Tuesday – Hands-on maths

Wednesday – Problem solving 

Thursday – Game day (digital practice)

Friday – Practice

MEDIA NOTE – To interview Mr Burnett or Dr Irons contact Wings Public Relations Director Deanna Nott on 0422 504540 or email deanna@wingspr.com.au