The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives is a great website that gives students the opportunity to learn through the use of using manipulatives, such as counting blocks, on a computer, iPad, or SmartBoard. Students of all ages and learners of all levels have access to this website and are able to use the materials easily.  A website, such as this one, can be integrated into a learning environment through the use of iPads or a SmartBoard and can be used individually, in small groups, or even for whole group instruction.  I feel as though the more students interact with manipulatives and are able to see first hand how math concepts emerge, the better understanding of the material they will have.

Base Blocks
Learners in grades Kindergarten through twelfth can use base blocks for a variety of math concepts.  This manipulative can be used in the early grades for learning basic concepts of addition and subtraction, while older students can use base blocks for counting numbers in a variety of bases (thousands, hundreds, tens, ones).  While exploring The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives, it showed how students can use base blocks for learning a variety of concepts just by dragging or clicking on the blocks they need.  They are then able to use the base blocks to add, subtract, or count to large numbers.

Using virtual base blocks to learn addition and subtraction. 

Using virtual base blocks to count number bases; thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones.