# The &kalcul; Handbook

Anne-Marie
Mahfouf
annma@kde.org
2005
Anne-Marie Mahfouf
&FDLNotice;
2005-06-30
0.1

&kalcul; is a math application for young children (starting age 6) testing them on additions, substractions, multiplications and divisions. It also provides mixed exercises. Two kinds of exercises can be done with &kalcul;: tests on operations where you set the operation type and the range and then the program asks random numbers questions and preset levels (you can use provided tests or set your own levels via the Tools -> Level Editor).

KDE
kdeedu
kids
math
addition
substraction
multiplication
division

## Introduction

&kalcul; is a math application for young children (starting age 6) testing them on additions, substractions, multiplications and divisions. Two kinds of exercises can be done with kalcul: tests on operations where you set the operation type and the range and then the program asks random numbers questions and preset levels where you set yourself the questions asked.

&kalcul; aims to be simple to use for the child but powerful enough to leave plenty of options and settings for the adult (parent or teacher). &kalcul; also saves the result of any test in a file associated to the current username and we plan to make those results available through KSpread and KChart (or any other office application).

## Using &kalcul;

&kalcul; main window consists of the text area on the left and the timer on the right. The timer is a clock which either times your test or tells you to take a test in a given amount of time.

Here's a screenshot of &kalcul; main window &kalcul; main window

Click the Start button to start a test. The clock starts and a question is displayed. This is the Practice Mode where questions are randomly chosen and some parameters can be chosen in the Tools -> Exercise Dialog menu. Defaults are: the operation is addition with two terms and each term is lower than 10.

Start a test
Start a test

If you click the Stop button then the test is stopped and everything is reset to begin a new test.

If you click the Pause button, the test is switched in Pause mode, the question remains displayed, the timer is paused. Clicking the Continue button will resume the test.

Two progress bars shows you how many questions you answered so far and how many answers were correct.

Feedback
Feedback

In the statusbar are displayed the user name, the number of correct answers and the number of questions.

When a test is finished, a result dialog displays the tests results.

The Results dialog
The Results dialog

## Tools

This chapter explains the two main &kalcul; tools: the Exercise Dialog and the Level Editor.

### The Exercise Dialog

The Exercise Dialog let you choose which type of exercise you want the child/pupil to take.

When you choose the Tools -> Exercise Dialog menu, you see this dialog first:

The Exercise Dialog
The Exercise Dialog

Practice is a timed test with random questions of a specified type.

Level is a timed test with a Level you can choose.

When you choose Practice, the screen below is displayed:

Choose the type
Choose the type

Clicking any type will choose this type for your next test. You can set the maximum number for each term of the operation and other parameters in Settings -> Configure &kalcul;... dialog.

If you select Level in the first screen of the Exercise Dialog, you will get the following dialog which lists all the `.kalcul` files present on your system.

Choose the level
Choose the level

Choose a Level. The characteristics of the level are displayed on the right. Clicking on Go! will load the selected Level.

### The Level Editor

The Level Editor allows you to write your own tests. These tests are then saved as `.kalcul` files.

Level Editor
Level Editor

In the Description field, describe the Level characteristics, for example: Grade 3 - Easy or Year 6 - Medium or Class number 102 - Additions up to 10.

The Options area includes two drop-down boxes. Set the difficulty level to Easy, Average, Hard or Expert and set the type of operation for the level: Addition, Substraction, Multiplication, Division or Mixed. Mixed is a mixed of each operations, for example: 2 + 4 - 5.

The Questions area is where you edit your questions. The questions will then be asked to the child. Enter the operation in Question and the result of the operation in Result.

Click the Add Question button and a new line will be included. Double click on each field (Question and Result) to type your question and answer. Double-click to edit the question field and enter the operation: 2+5 or 5-3 for example. It does not matter if you add spaces. Enter will validate the field. Then double click in the Result field and type the result of the Question. Enter will validate your data.

Clicking the Delete Question button will delete the selected line.

On the bottom of the dialog, there are four buttons. New creates a new level. It does not save the current level and empties all the fields. Open allows you to open a level file (with the `.kalcul` extension) and to edit it. Save saves the current test. It opens a file dialog and proposes you to save the level with the `.kalcul` extension.Close closes the dialog without saving the data.

## Settings

This chapter explains the Settings -> Configure &kalcul;... dialog.

### The General tab

The General tab
The General tab

Set the user name here in the User Name field. This name will be used to save the results of all the tests for this user.

You also set the number of questions per practice test here.

### The Timer tab

The Timer tab
The Timer tab

If you check Use a Timer, the test will be timed, i.e. it will stop after the time is all finished. The timer will decrease.

Set the time for the Timer using the cursor below.

### The Advanced tab

The Advanced tab
The Advanced tab

You can set the maximum you want for the result. For example, a child aged 6 will start learning additions up to a result equal to 5 then 6 then 7 and so on. Setting this value to N will ensure the random operation will not have a result bigger than N. Setting this value to 0 will set no limit.

Set the Maximum for the first term to N will ensure that the first term will not be bigger than N. For example, if it is set to 10, the first term will be a number between 0 and 10. Same for the second term.

## Teachers/Parents guide to &kalcul;

### Statistics

The results for a child (user) are saved in the file `$KDEHOME/share/apps/kalcul/user_name.txt`.

Future features will allow you to visualize those results with a KOffice application, KSpread or KChart.

## Command Reference

### The main &kalcul; window

#### The File Menu

&Ctrl;Q File Quit

  Quits &kalcul;

#### The Tools Menu

Tools Exercise Dialog

  Open the Exercise Dialog

Tools Level Editor

  Open the Level Editor dialog

#### The Help Menu

&help.menu.documentation;

## Questions and Answers

&reporting.bugs; &updating.documentation;

## Credits and License

&kalcul;

Program copyright 2005 Anne-Marie Mahfouf annma@kde.org

- Developer: Anne-Marie Mahfouf annma@kde.org

- Developer: Michael Goettsche michael.goettsche@kdemail.net

- Icon: Zoran Karavla webmaster@the-error.net

Documentation Copyright © 2005 Anne-Marie Mahfouf annma@kde.org

&underFDL;

&underGPL;

## Installation

### How to obtain &kalcul;

&install.intro.documentation;

### Requirements

In order to successfully use &kalcul;, you need kdelibs from &kde; 3.4 at least. KClock from /playground/edu/widgets is also required.

All required libraries as well as &kalcul; itself can be found on The &kalcul; home page.

You can find a list of changes at http://apps.kde.org/kalcul.

### Compilation and Installation

&install.compile.documentation;

&documentation.index;