The Six "Learning Activities"

Click Below on What You Want to Learn About

“Table:  In Order”  Activity
“Table:  No Order” Activity
“Practice” Activity
“Test” Activity
“Flashcards” Activity
“Special Problems” Activity 

            The FlashMaster has 6 "learning activities" or modes.  Select one by pushing its yellow key.

 The "Table:  In Order" Activity 

This learning activity is primarily intended for students who are just beginning to learn a new "table" (for example, the 8-table in multiplication). 

To select this activity, push the yellow "TABLE:  IN ORDER" key.  Next, use the white "+  -  ´  ¸" key to select an arithmetic operation and then the white "LEVEL # or TABLE #" key to select a Table number.  Then push the green "START" key, and the FlashMaster will present all the problems in the selected Table in ascending and then descending order. 

If you miss a problem, the FlashMaster makes a negative noise and displays "NOT CORRECT" and then presents the problem again.  If you miss a problem twice in a row, the FlashMaster shows you the correct answer and allows you to try the problem again.

There is no time limit in the "Table:  In-Order" activity.  It ends and your results are displayed automatically as soon as all the problems in the selected Table have been presented and answered in ascending and then descending order.

The "Table:  No Order" Activity 

To select this activity, push the yellow "TABLE:  NO ORDER" key.  Next, use the white "+  -  ´  ¸" key to select an arithmetic operation and then the white "LEVEL # or TABLE #" key to select a Table number.  Then push the "START" key, and the FlashMaster will present all the problems in that Table in random order—each problem once if addition or multiplication is selected and each problem twice if subtraction or division is selected.

If you miss a problem, the FlashMaster makes a negative noise and displays "NOT CORRECT" and then presents the problem again.  If you miss a problem twice in a row, the FlashMaster shows you the correct answer before letting you try the problem again.  Also, after you correctly answer a problem that you have missed and then correctly answer a different problem, the FlashMaster presents the missed problem still another time to reinforce your mastery of it.

There is no time limit in the "Table:  No Order" activity.  It ends and its results are displayed automatically as soon as you have answered all the activity's randomly-presented problems. 

The "Practice" Activity

The "Practice" activity is the FlashMaster's general purpose "instructional" learning activity.  The FlashMaster: 

(1) presents either (depending on the Level selected) a focused or an all-inclusive group of problems in the selected one of the four arithmetic operations; 
(2) repeats each missed problem until it is correctly answered; 
(3) repeats the missed problem again immediately after both it and a different problem have been answered correctly; and 
(4) displays the correct answer to any problem missed twice in a row.
            To select this activity, push the yellow "Timed PRACTICE" key. 

Next, use the 3 white keys to adjust: 

(1) the per-activity Time Limit;
            (2) the arithmetic operation (+, -, ´, or ¸); and
            (3) the Level number.

Then push the green "START" key, and the FlashMaster will present problems of the selected arithmetic operation until the Time Limit counts down to zero. 

The selected Level number controls how frequently specific problems of the selected arithmetic operation tend to be presented (for example:  never, 1% of the time, 4% of the time, etc.). 

When its Time Limit expires, the activity ends and your results are automatically displayed.

 If you miss a problem, the FlashMaster makes a negative noise and displays "NOT CORRECT" and then presents the problem again.  If you miss a problem twice in a row, the FlashMaster shows you the correct answer and allows you to try the problem again.  Also, after you correctly answer a problem that you have missed and then correctly answer a different problem, the FlashMaster presents the missed problem still another time to reinforce your mastery of it.

 The "Test" Activity 

Compared to the "Practice" activity, the "Test" activity puts more emphasis on presenting a large number of problems within the selected per-activity Time Limit, and less emphasis on providing instruction in connection with missed problems.  Like the "Flashcards" activity (explained below), the "Test" activity is primarily designed 
(1) to give tests or 
(2) to develop speed and “automaticity” (the ability to answer problems automatically).

The "Test" activity can be used to give identical tests to a class of students individually equipped with FlashMasters.  Unlike comparable written tests used in many elementary schools, these tests are automatically timed and scored.  And missed problems can be automatically stored for subsequent practice by means of the "Special Problems" activity (explained below). 

            To select the "Test" activity, push the yellow "Timed TEST" key. 

Next, use the 3 white keys to adjust: 

(1) the per-activity Time Limit,
            (2) the arithmetic operation (+, -, ´, or ¸), and
            (3) the Level number. 

Then push the green "START" key, and the FlashMaster will present problems of the selected arithmetic operation until the Time Limit counts down to zero. 

The selected Level number controls how frequently specific problems of the selected arithmetic operation tend to be presented (for example:  never, 0.75% of the time, 1.25% of the time, etc.). 

If you miss a problem, the FlashMaster makes a negative noise (unless sound has been turned off by the "SOUND" key).  But the display does not indicate that the problem was missed, and the problem is not then repeated.  Nor are you ever prompted with the correct answer to a missed problem.  Thus, if sound has been turned off, you are not informed as to how successfully you are answering the problems until you learn your results after completing the activity—just as in a normal written test.

You can make two or more FlashMasters (of this model) present the exact same "Test" activity (the same problems in the same order, etc.) by pressing the same number key on each of them immediately before starting the activity (with the green "START" key).  The number pressed (the "Specific Sequence Number") appears in the right side of the yellow background at the bottom of the display.  (Of course, the FlashMasters must also be set for the same per-activity Time Limit, the same arithmetic operation, and the same Level.) 

When the Time Limit of a “Test” activity expires, the activity ends and your results are automatically displayed, including any Specific Sequence Number (see preceding paragraph). 

The "Flashcards" Activity 

Like the "Test" activity, the "Flashcards" activity is designed to develop speed and “automaticity” (the ability to answer problems automatically).  But the "Flashcards" activity's use of a per-problem Time Limit makes it especially good for developing speed and automaticity in the answering of difficult problems. 

To select this activity, push the yellow "Timed FLASHCARDS" key. 

Next, use the 3 white keys to adjust: 

(1) the per-problem Time Limit, 
            (2) the arithmetic operation (+, -, ´, or ¸), and 
            (3) the Level number. 

Then push the green "START" key, and the FlashMaster will present a specified number (normally 30) of problems of the selected arithmetic operation.   

The selected Level number controls how frequently specific problems of the selected arithmetic operation tend to be presented (for example:  never, 0.25% of the time, 3.75% of the time, etc.).  But each problem needs to be answered not only correctly but also within the selected per-problem Time Limit.

If you miss a problem (because you fail to answer it correctly or before its Time Limit counts down to zero), the FlashMaster not only makes a negative noise (unless sound has been turned off by the "SOUND" key) but also displays "NOT CORRECT" (as it does in all activities except for the "Test" activity).  But the missed problem is not then repeated, and you are never prompted with the correct answer to a missed problem.

The number of problems that will be presented in a "Flashcards" activity is displayed on the yellow background at the bottom of the display to the left of "FLASHCARDS".  When the FlashMaster is turned from off to on, it is always set to present 30 problems in the "Flashcards" activity, but this number can be changed to 20, 10, 80, 70, 60, 50 or 40 and back to 30 by repeatedly pushing the "PAUSE" key while holding down the "Timed FLASHCARDS" key. 

You can make two or more FlashMasters (of this model) present the exact same "Flashcards" activity (the same problems in the same order, etc.) by pressing the same number key on each of them immediately before starting the activity (with the green "START" key).  The number pressed (the "Specific Sequence Number") appears in the right side of the yellow background at the bottom of the display.  (Of course, the FlashMasters must also be set for the same per-problem Time Limit, the same arithmetic operation, the same Level, and the same number of "Flashcards" problems (see preceding paragraph).)

When the FlashMaster has presented the specified number of problems, the activity ends and results are automatically displayed, including any Specific Sequence Number (see paragraph above).

 The "Special Problems" Activity and The "Special Problems Memory"

The "Special Problems" activity is designed to teach or review problems that have been either recently missed or manually "entered".

To select the "Special Problems" activity, push the yellow "SPECIAL PROBLEMS" key.  Next, use the white "TIME LIMIT" key to adjust the per-activity Time Limit.  (The other two white keys are not used in this activity.)  Then push the green "START" key, and the FlashMaster will randomly present the problems currently stored in its "Special Problems Memory" until the Time Limit expires. 

The "Special Problems Memory" contains up to 15 problems.  Normally, these problems are those that have been most recently missed since the memory was last erased by the pressing of the "Erase:  Missed and "Entered" Problems" key.  But, as explained elsewhere, you can "enter" into this memory up to 15 problems taught by the FlashMaster by using the "ENTER PROBLEMS" key.  As soon as you "enter" one problem with that key, all missed problems are erased from the memory, and no more missed problems can be stored in it unless and until you later push the "Erase:  Missed and "Entered" Problems" key. 

When the "SPECIAL PROBLEMS" key is pushed, the number and kind (“MISSED” or "ENTERED") of problems stored in the "Special Problems Memory" appear in the middle of the top of the FlashMaster's display.  The "Special Problems Memory" can contain at the same time:  addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems, but not both missed and "entered" problems. 

When the selected Time Limit expires, the "Special Problems" activity ends and your results are displayed, including whether the problems presented were "MISSED" or "ENTERED".

If you miss a problem during a "Special Problems" activity, the FlashMaster makes a negative sound and displays "NOT CORRECT" and then presents the problem again.  If you miss a problem twice in a row, the FlashMaster shows you the correct answer and allows you to try the problem again.  Also, after you correctly answer a problem that you have missed and then correctly answer a different problem, the FlashMaster presents the missed problem again to reinforce your mastery of it.  (Missed problems are handled just as they are in the "Table:  No Order" activity and the "Practice" activity.)

 IMPORTANT:  Unless the "Special Problems Memory" contains important "entered problems", normally students should do at least one "Special Problems" activity at the end of each daily practice session to review and reinforce their mastery of problems missed during the session.

 VERY IMPORTANT REMINDER: 

If "entered" problems are stored in the FlashMaster's memory, the FlashMaster will not store missed problems in that memory unless the "entered" problems are erased by pushing the "Erase:  Missed and "Entered" Problems" key (or  by pushing the “RESET” key or removing the FlashMaster’s batteries).

“Math Facts” = Multiplication Tables, Division Tables, Addition Tables, and Subtraction Tables
The FlashMaster is the key to multiplication table mastery!