SumDog, Mathletics, MangaHigh or something else?

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Can anyone recommend a good online maths program? one that doesn’t force you to play online with others if you don’t want to?

Plus, are they actually any good?!

The secondary school kids I teach enjoy sundog. Mangahigh games always felt a bit forced ("we WILL make this game about maths!") and the avatar in sumdog can be edited which they like. You can play against other people or against a robot.

Thanks, this is for Y1 so I’ve realised I’d probably too high a level as it says it’s from age 7.

Any more I should be looking at?

Topmarks website is good

Thanks dancingcamper, I’ve never heard of that one. Will look.

Queenofpi, do you use SumDog in the classroom or just recommend for at home?

IXL

No games but clear topics by year. Each topic broken down into different methods of questioning.

Our school (pe prep) recommends Mathletics and has set us all up with an account. Those doing it in Reception will have finished 2 or 3 levels by the summer. I think you do have to play online against others though...

Our kids' school uses Times Tables Rockstars. That's very effective and fun. You can get a private subscription to it.

Oooh more I haven’t heard of, thanks.

My child's primary started using TT Rockstars when she was in year 6, they liked some of the games on there.

Do they work? I mean obviously if the children use them it’s great but do they actually improve Maths ability?

We’ve seen an improvement using Mathletics in the home but you've got to start at the right time/age or you’ll find the level too easy and the child might get bored.

My ds used to use Sumdog when he was infant school. He doesn't use it now. I'm not sure what age it goes up to.

Another one is Komodo Maths - you can get a subscription (can’t remember but I think maybe £9.99/month??) and they’ll test your child first so that they start at the right level. Then use an app on the iPad that your child can log into and use as often as they like. There’s a reward scheme so after they have done a certain number of levels they can claim the reward. There are email updates that tell you how much your child has done and the score. Mine have done it at various stages in yr 2, 3 and 4 and now my ds in yr 3 is doing it again after a break of a year or so. Lots of times tables and adding/subtraction. If they don’t do well then they will automatically get more questions on that topic, whereas if they get everything right they can jump to the next level, so this stopped my kids getting bored and doing the same stuff over and over again if they knew it. Works for us but I haven’t tried all the above - it’s just very child friendly.

Mathsisfun is quite an interesting American website. It's got a mixture of information/challenges tasks etc. It goes to quite a high level but it would be good for expanding an older child's understanding.

Maths-whizz. www.whizz.com. It's used by many prep schools. It starts with an iterative test which goes on and on until the child can no longer solve the problems. It then calculates the child's maths age and determines problem areas. It will then tailor teaching for the child. It constantly reports the child's progress. It's pricing is a bit steep compared to others but you can get a free trial first to see if it suits.

Doesn’t your school give it for free? The schools get a huge discount per pupil.

It is always worth asking your school if they will buy the licence for your class. For the cost of about three home versions, you can fund a class of twenty. It’s easy to set up, the school would get the results (always useful to have extra data especially at inspection time and evidence for more able pupils) and it’s added value for the parents.

Such a system improved our pupils marks by over two grades in one academic year. Why would a school not do this? They are getting the benefit without the work!

With TT Rockstars we have seen 100% success, from DC not knowing tables at all to knowing them all, up to the 12 times tables, every which random way. I think that's pretty amazing progress.

Doodlemaths is really good.