At the recent Swale ITN, Morag from Tunstall suggested we look at http://www.tutpup.com/ for encouraging pupils to practise and speed up their maths and spellings. A teacher will need to create a free account for their class, and pupils can register with a pseudonym as part of the class. Then they can go online and attempt the challenges, timed, against pupils from all over the world. No personal details are exchanged but success gains awards and entry into league tables. The youngsters at Tunstall love it, and it is completely free, at least while it is in its Beta stage, with no advertising evident on the website.
TutPup was featured Website of the Week back in June 2008
"It is free, has no ads, doesn't grab kids personal data and allows them to play competitive maths games against their friends or students from around the world in a safe educational environment."