CAMI Educational Software is a certified member of the Curriculum Online Project (COL). No software may be used in British schools without first being authorized by COL of British Education Department in the UK.

We spent last term looking at a Maths program called CAMI Maths (Computer-Aided Mathematical Instruction) and have decided to go ahead and purchase it. Having looked at a lot of support packages for Maths and other subjects, the major complaint I usually have is that they are very 'gamey'. It's not that I particularly have anything against games, but my observations over a number of years have convinced me that with this type of package, the strategy that the children use is the 'pump-action shotgun' approach, repeating the same level over and over again in rapid succession until they succeed. While this is very effective in games, it does not, I believe, help their thinking in Maths. Consequently, I was very impressed by the CAMI approach; it does not resort to a games-style interface or activities. Nevertheless, it is highly motivating to the children and we have had them demanding to use it during breaks.

"Over the past ten years in South Africa I have seen a great many Mathematics programs come and go - but the one that has stayed is CAMI. So, if improved speed and accuracy is what you want, consider CAMI."

A number of us who have worked with Mathematics students over a period of time were fed up with hearing about systems that would teach Mathematics; and not only because we did not like the idea of being replaced by a computer! Many of the products I looked at were worse than useless and I remained skeptical about the idea that all that was necessary was to plonk any student in front of a screen and they would wing their way through to the required level. CAMI does not pretend to teach students - rather it aims to reinforce and consolidate ideas through practice, repetition and the introduction of a variety of approach.

My present school has been so pleased with CAMI that it will be also be installed onto the 23 computers in the new Independent Learning Centre to be opened in September. This has proved necessary as most mornings pupils are queuing to get into the CAMI Club before school. Also, although CAMI has only been in use for two terms at most, the teachers can already see the impact that it is having and want to ensure that their classes get to use the system on a regular weekly basis. This has meant increased timetabling pressure on the ICT suite. With time, as people gain experience and become more familiar with the system and use of its reporting facility, it is hoped to further improve on the initial learning gains. As pupils who have been brought up on CAMI come through the school I envisage standards steadily rising, with all the pupils having a good conceptual understanding and well-developed skills. This will leave us all more time to teach the critical thinking skills that I believe to be vitally important.

We were flabbergasted to see Standard 8 (Year 10) pupils giving up their break time to 'Just come and practice our speed tests'.