User:BarbourLA/Virtual manipulatives for mathematics/Bhello14 Peer Review

General info

 * Whose work are you reviewing?

BarbourLA


 * Link to draft you're reviewing
 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:BarbourLA/Virtual_manipulatives_for_mathematics?veaction=edit&preload=Template%3ADashboard.wikiedu.org_draft_template


 * Link to the current version of the article (if it exists)
 * Virtual manipulatives for mathematics

Lead
The lead has been updated to reflect new changes made by the group. The lead sentence concisely and clearly describes the article's topic (virtual manipulatives).

The lead requires a brief description of the articles major sections: advantages, disadvantages, special education. Overall, the length of the lead is appropriately concise. Perhaps the part about common manipulatives should have it's own section?

Content
The content added is much more relevant and up to date than the original article. There are some recent articles cited that contribute to the content, but four of the eight articles are from 2008 or earlier. Perhaps there is an opportunity to add additional more recent content.

At the end of the article it states: "To use virtual manipulatives in mathematics effectively, stakeholders should evaluate the severity of student’s learning and cognitive disabilities and their needs prior to implementing virtual manipulatives ; evaluate mathematical applications with the use of rubrics for students with learning disabilities to validate the effectiveness of the application in connection with the learning goals ; consider the lack of or limited access to technology and funding in some schools ; and evaluate student engagement to ensure that students are engaged and achieve the learning goals through the use of virtual manipulative."

Perhaps this section could find a different place in the article or in it's own section, as it seems a bit out of place at the end?

Tone and Balance
The content is mostly neutral. It does appear that the majority of the article tend to be in favour of virtual manipulatives and the benefits that they bring to the classroom. The section on disadvantages is a welcome addition to attempt to balance the tone. Perhaps it should be expanded?

Sources and References
All the claims are appropriately backed up by peer-reviewed secondary sources. All of the links I that I clicked on worked. The sources are somewhat current but could use an additional source or two from the last few years.

1) This section is quote lengthy for only one citation: "The observed learning benefits of virtual manipulatives includes providing detailed instruction and prompt evaluation for assigned tasks. Students were seen to apprehend concepts better since this style of learning appeals to digital natives. Virtual manipulatives can often provide explicit connections between visual and symbolic representations. Moreover, it signals to students when they’ve made a mistake which encourages them to reflect and revisit answers accordingly. Lastly, virtual manipulatives prove to be more convenient because it is more likely accessible at home than concrete manipulatives. Perhaps it can be strengthened through the use of an additional source?

The advantages and disadvantages section are each backed up by one article/citation. It would make the article stronger if each of these sections had at least one more source.

Organization
The article is very well organized and easy to read. It is mostly free of grammatical and spelling errors.

Images and Media
Adding images or other forms of media would strengthen the article and help make it more visually appealing!

Overall impressions
The article has certainly improved upon the original article. The authors have done a good job at breaking down the article into easy to read sections that follow a logical structural order. The article is more complete and more balanced in tone than the original article. The content could be improved by adding a few more recent citations and ensuring that some of the sections are expanded upon (please see more specific feedback above). Overall, a very good improvement!