Manipulatives can be simple household items such as buttons or dice, though
commercially manufactured products designed to meet general or specific educational aims (e.g.,Legos, puzzles, pattern blocks, Unifix cubes) are also widely available (Spikell, 1993). More recently, advances in educational technology have led to the creation of virtual manipulatives. Virtual manipulatives are computer applications or applets that enable students to manipulate virtual replicas of physical manipulatives (Reimer & Moyer, 2005). Through interaction with manipulatives, students can thus relate mathematical concepts and ideas to practical, real-world
experiences (Rittle-Johnson & Koedinger, 2005).