Online Tutorials Update: New Subject Added

Our online tutorials for Zimsec syllabi continues to grow with many students and candidates joining class of our experienced and qualified virtual tutors. From February, only Maths and Accounting classes were available for Ordinary Level students

Beginning yesterday, Commerce class is live and open for registration. The major tools used in these tutorials are Illustrative, step by step video lessons, exercises and tests. The methods are proving to be effective since students are exposed to real world examples through videos of trade and commerce. This is an advantage to students who are not familiar with business and commerce activities usually centralized in urban areas.

Like a traditional class, the virtual class will receive at least 4 lessons per week, two exercises and end-of-the-topic test. The tutor will be often available on whatsapp for enquiries and for students assistance if they have any questions. Past paper questions will also be used in exercises and tests.

Zimsec and Cambridge tutorials will continue to add more subjects until June and these includes Intergrated Science, Business Studies, geography and History. This is one of our major step to become a complete online school for home schooling and online learning for students in Zimbabwe and the region.

For more details, you can contact:
WhatsApp +263 733 796 118

Greenbook App from Zimapp Review

Zimapps, the developers of the Provisional License Test app have ventured into Educational apps. Their website notes that they have realized the potential of Edu-apps after massive market acceptance  of their Provisional Test Preparation app. Zimapps 'Green book" app is now available for download on their website.

I managed to download and install their apk file on my android device and perused through the apps contents. As a MATHS teacher I was just checking the arrangement and presentation of their questions. I expected to see past papers in pdf format and posible solution just like a hard copy green book.

Android App for Zimsec Video Lessons 

Features

The App comes at a time where many Zimbabweans in the diaspora and working class are registering for subjects like Maths, English and Science. The development of such apps provides conviniency for many since they can't buy the hard copies in the diaspora or just the portability conviniency.

DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW

Question Presentation

I was impressed by how the presentation of questions and posible answers. The questions are in large fonts and fit to screen. This is more convinient to students who use very small screens and those with poor sight. They can at least read the questions even from a distant.

Every question or part of the question displays on its page and there are three buttons for 'prev' , 'next' and 'solution'. This gives a student an opportunity to first attempt the questions and then click the 'possible solution' button to view the answers. 

Subjects 

On opening the app it gives you the option to chose for O Level or A Level. If you click the O level button there are currently 4 subjects with the past papers, which are Mathematics, English, Commerce and History. 

The Maths section has papers from June 2008 up to November 2014. I also checked the commerce section and there was only paper 1 for November 2014. I couldn't open the english section. The history had few papers also. 

The A level option can't open and displays the message "coming soon" 

The solutions come in a different color. The questions are in black and when you click the solution option, the possible answers come in purple/blue color. 

Areas that needs improvement 

1. There are no workings for the Maths solution.

The are just answers when you click the solution option. This makes it difficult for the student to understand how to work out the problem to arrive at the suggested solution. It's the same weakness that the Greenbook has and students find it difficult study on their own. 

2. The payment procedure is very long. They Intergrated Ecocash and Telecash wallets among other forms of payments. On Ecocash, the app directs you straight to the dialler but on TELECASH they provide a procedure which needs you to exit the app and message them at some point. 

There is need to adopt online payment systems like Paynow which accepts all debit and credit cards, including mobile wallets. 

3. On opening the App, it requires your name and surname, and the name of your school. 

There are many private candidates who can use the app than students in schools. The option might act as a restriction to the school going candidates only. 

NB: This review is based on personal experience with the app and have no strings attached to Zimapps. If you have any questions concerning the app, enquire on their website.

Graphical Functions: Exam Areas

Graphical function option is one of the easiest and most rewarding option in the second paper of Ordinary Level Maths Exam. There are just few things tested on the graph, some of which are too basic.

The major areas tested on the topic are
1. Function Table - filling up gaps
2. Drawing the graph using the function table
3. Finding a gradient of the curve by drawing a tangent at any given point.
4. Drawing a line that cuts the graph, given the equation
5. Finding the roots of the equations
6. Area under a curve
7. Translation of a curve.

There are few things to note on each question.

In the next few post, I will discuss how to easily attempt each question and garner highest possible score.

Which Section B options do you think are cheaper than this? 

New Tricks For Paper 2

New Tricks for MATHS Paper 2 

The new way of answering paper 2 poses some challenges and benefits to candidates. As we discussed before that Zimsec follows the footprints of Cambridge standards, the new paper structure is now more similar to syllabus D of Cambridge. 

The new paper provides candidates with answer spaces like the first paper. This might have been caused by the need to upgrade assessment methods and adoption of e-marking. The paper structure remains the same, with section A having compulsory 6 questions and 3 options in section B.

The second paper is well know for the complexity of its questions and how it tests principles. The most popular topics in Paper 2 include Loci, Graphical topics like Statistics, linear Programming, algebraic functions, transformation. Bearing and Vectors in Two dimensions are also part of the set. The most avoided topics by both teachers and students are Mensuration and Transformation. Unfortunately Transformation is now part of the first paper.

What are the implication of the new structure?

1. Reduced Complexity of the question.

The most complex questions were on Graphs where the candidates were required to draw a graph on a full page given the scale and function table. The answering space now limits the complexity of the questions. They must suit questions to allow simple and short graphical answers that fit into the drawn graphs and scales. 

What to expect:

- interpretation of a graphical function

Candidates are likely to be tested on the meaning, equation or identification of graph features. A graphical function will be provided and then candidates required to identify items like type of transformations,  calculation of the gradient and percentiles and quartiles.

2. Simple locus. Some parts drawn

Like the Loci usually tested in paper 1, the paper 2 question is likely to be tested in parts. A base line can be already drawn for the candidates, making it easy to know the direction of angles and sides. The only challenge is when bearing is included in the question.

Shorter measurements and scales are likely to be tested.

3. Non-graphical Questions likely to be Complex

Since questions on graph will take a large space, the simplification of questions results in fewer marks being provided. This pushes more marks to non-graphical questions. They are likely to be complex to compensate the marks. 

Sections B questions are likely to be a mixture of graphs and non-graphical questions. More focus need to be on calculations part of the topics or compensatory topics like variation, matrices, quadratic equations and similarity.

Mathematics Whatsapp Classes

Mathematics Whatsapp Classes are starting on the beginning of March.  We are trying to improve convenience of online learning through a mobile messenger.

The class is easy to join at anytime. What the student only need to do is to join a whatsapp broadcast List of the tutor. 

Messages,  video tutorials,  illustrations and exercises are received by the subscribed students only.

The major topics for March include the following :

1. Scale
2. Similarity
3. Symmetry
4. Time, Speed and Distance
5. inequalities
6. Volume and Density
7. Estimations and Approximations
8. simple Interest

If you are interested in joining the class follow link  https://m.facebook.com/groups/718907334864332?view=permalink&id=975189422569454&refid=18&_ft_=qid.6253572079134038974%3Amf_story_key.975189422569454%3Atl_objid.975189422569454#footer_action_list

Focus on Locus 1: First Things

Focus on Locus 1: The First Things

Locus is one of the most crucial questions of Math Exam and contributes more than 6% (12 marks) to the final exam score. Candidates ought to take the topic seriously and carefully attempt the question.

There are few major concepts that must be mastered on the topic

1. Learn to construct a 60, 90, and 120 degree angles

These are most common requirements of exam questions. They form the basics of loci and other angles are build upon these angles.
Candidates should be able to construct these angles using compasses and rulers only. Accuracy and visibility of arcs, labels and lines guarantee a higher score.

2. Learn to bisect a line and an angle.
Bisecting an angle means to divide the angle into two equal angles. Bisection gives two or more small, equal angles. It's an important concepts in finding equi-distance between two lines, for instance,finding an equidistance between AB and BC.
Line bisection is finding the midpoint of a line and it's the basic concept of constructing perpendicular lines (90 degrees). This is the equidistance between two points for instance, an equidistance between A and B.

Bisection of an angle helps much in constructing odd angles like 135, 150, 105 and 150.
A 135 angle can be constructed using 90 angle concept and then another bisected 90 angle (45 degree angle). An angle can bisected further into 4, 6 or more equal parts.

Changes to Zimsec Mathematics Paper 2

Mathematics second paper will no longer be answered on separate answer sheets. The paper comes with provided spaces for workings and answers like the first paper. The structure of the paper and the questions have not been changed, the first section remains compulsory and Section B with three options.

We will only comment on the effects of this change to the paper after the exam but the likely effects can be: complexity/simplicity of the questions against the spaces provided, questions either graphs among other items.