ARI-LAB 2

ARI-LAB 2 is an open multi-environment system for developing skills in solution to arithmetical problems for children of the primary and the lower secondary school. The project of ARI-LAB is based, on the one hand, on research on hypermedia and communication systems and on the design and implementation of visual microworlds; on the other hand it takes into account the research in mathematics education with particular reference to the studies in applied problem solving, on the role of visual representations in learning processes and on interactive learning. In ARI-LAB problem solving is carried out by exploiting the action, representation and communication possibilities made available by the different tools which have been integrated in the system. ARI-LAB 2 addresses two kinds of users: the teacher and the pupil. By interacting with ARI-LAB 2, the pupil can build his own solution to some arithmetical problems, by interacting with a structured and interconnected set of environments of different kind. These environment include: 10 microworlds for solving arithmetic problems; an environment for building and describing problem solutions; a communication environment through which a student can interact with his own mates and/or with his/her teacher by sending messages and solutions; a database of solved problems. Apart from the previous environments, the teacher has also at his/her disposal an environment for planning and customizing the educational activity with his/her students: writing problem texts, constructing problem solutions, examining and commenting the students' work, configuring the system for every student of his/her class. In ARI-LAB 2 it is integrated a vocal synthesizer for developing and validating the basic mathematical skills (such as the counting, the coordination between the oral and written representation and that in digits of a number, the numerical equivalence, etc). There are also some movies in Italian for deaf-and-dumb to adapt the system to the specific demands of the deaf children. The interface of ARI-LAB 2 is currently available in three languages of the European Community: Italian, English, and Spanish. Ari-Lab 2 has been developed through the European project named ITALES - Innovative Teaching and Learning Environments for Schools (IST-2000-26356), within the Fiveth Project, key action "School of Tomorrow").