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There are two types of Manipulatives. The first one is the Traditional, and the second one is the Digital, which includes Virtual Manipulatives. Here are some advantages and disadvantages between the two.

TYPE OF MANIPULATIVE



TRADITIONAL

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DIGITAL/VIRTUAL

ADVANTAGES



  • Learning while playing

  • Multi-sensory output

  • Physical Interaction

  • Collaboration between students

  • Concrete objects used for abstract reasoning

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  • Progress can be monitored, and saved

  • Attention-catching, fun  and motivational

  • A lot of potential for improvement in terms of programs

  • Availability at the comfort of home

  • Learning by discovery

DISADVANTAGES

 

  • Tendency to focus on nothing else

  • Supervision needed especially for the early grades

  • Progress is hard to monitor, and cannot be easily documented

 

 

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  • Tendency to focus on nothing else

  • A lot of distractions in the World Wide Web

  • Some programs/games can be addictive

  • Digital Divide

Types of Manipulatives

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