Task Centre News

September 2004

• New Prices from October 1st
  1. Tasks will rise by 60 cents (+ GST) each from October 1st, 2004.
  2. This is the first rise since July 2000 and it has been made necessary by increases from suppliers and increases in postage.
  3. A kit of 100 tasks will rise by $66 (including GST).
  4. There will be consequent changes in other packages and in overseas prices.
  5. Task Centre professional development fees have not changed.
  6. As always, prices include delivery. However orders of less than 10 tasks will attract a small postage & handling charge.
  7. All tasks will now be supplied in a tough press-seal bag. Bags will not have to be ordered separately.
  8. If you are planning to purchase after October 1st you should budget using the following fliers.
     • Australia: Word or PDF
     • New Zealand: Word or PDF
     • Sweden: Word or PDF
     • United Kingdom: Word or PDF
     • United States: Word or PDF
     • Other countries: please use information for USA
  9. Poly Plug, which can be used to explore the whole class investigation life of many tasks, will also rise on October 1st. The new price for each set will be $14·96.

  From October 1st, our product range will also be reviewed:

  • The Working Mathematically Curriculum Pack will be refreshed to include 4 Maths With Attitude kits of your choice. The package is offered at significant discount.
  • Starting Maths300 & Tasks is also offered at discount.
  • The Chance & Data Replacement Unit remains, but Replacement Units in other strands will be discontinued in favour of the updated unit plans available in Maths With Attitude kits.
  • Points of View, Mixed Media Unit 1 remains, but Mixed Media Unit 2, Fractions in Action will be discontinued in favour of the updated unit plans available in Maths With Attitude kits. The price of Points of View will not change.
  • Watch for Discontinued Line Specials in the near future.

• Problem Solving for Infants
  Recently we have been asked several times about tasks for infants. In the past we have only been able to suggest a list of tasks which some colleagues have thought could be adapted to this level. However, in response to this renewed interest from teachers of the very young, we have updated the infant tasks link to include a description of the problem solving possibilities which develop when one views the Poly Plug resource as the hands-on material of a task. Check Tasks for Infants in the Resources link on the left.

• A Good Idea
  Les Holten, Northam Senior High School, Western Australia, has been pondering what to do with those computers that are discarded due to network upgrades. His solution suggests an expanded use for the Task Centre.

  They could be collected by the Maths Department and dedicated to running Maths300 software. They would not need to be on the school network and could be used in pods in maths rooms or in a dedicated Task Centre. They would not need to be connected to the Internet because the students don't need the web site and teachers would access it through the normal school network.

  These machines would operate as stand alone computers in the control of the Maths Department and the software would be easily distributed by CD-ROM. What an opportunity to invite students to use tasks to stimulate a problem solving experience and then go on to use computers, as a mathematician would, to continue the search for the solution to their problem.

• Professional Development Partnerships
  The new link on the left, PD Partnerships, summarises our professional development work. It will only take a minute or two to look through. Perhaps you will see something that interests you as a professional development alternative for later this year or into 2005.

• Recording Sheets
  Some tasks need a record sheet or work sheet. If so, this is listed on the card. Master copies of are always provided with every order of 50 or more tasks. However, things can go astray in a school storeroom, so these masters are now available in the Documents link on the left as either Word '97 or PDF files. In the process of adding these files, the whole Documents link has been revised and is worth a look.

• Did you miss the August News?
  If so you missed information about:
  1. Price changes from October 1st - still available above.
  2. Maths on the Move library updates (see link at left) which might guide your professional development planning.

Keep smiling,
Doug.

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