Find out what MNers think of Smartick’s online after-school maths programme

[JustineBMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the Mumsnet users who tried and tested Smartick’s online after-school maths programme for children. This product test was open to all UK MNers with at least one child between the ages of 4 and 14, that have access to an internet-enabled computer/laptop or tablet.

Here’s what Smartick have to say: “Smartick is an award-winning, AI-based, online maths programme designed to develop mathematical abilities in children ages 4 to 14. Smartick promotes an understanding of maths through personalised and accelerated learning by adapting to each child's level and learning pace in real time, allowing them to work according to their maths needs and capability. Each child has a unique and personalised path that constantly adjusts to help fill in gaps in knowledge.

There are more than 20,000 users of Smartick in over 100 countries. We've collaborated with the MIT G-Lab and been published by Harvard Business Review and Forbes as well as featured as an app favourite by Apple.”

Testers please answer the questions below:

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)?

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?
2. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?
3. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used?

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?
2. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

All testers will be required to leave feedback on this thread on Mumsnet and also fill in a short survey. All who do so will be entered into a prize draw where 3 MNers will win a £100 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)? My six year old enjoys maths at school and was interested to see if his skills would improve

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

No I didn’t

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about

He found it challenging at times and got frustrated but enjoyed what he viewed as games and getting things correct

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used? We have only used jotters before with simple maths so this was a bit more complicated and varied

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

A bit too difficult for him mostly as he didn’t take time to read the instructions

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

Yes if it was free but not to purchase

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)?

My ds absolutely loves maths and a challenge. I asked him before I signed up to the product test and he was very keen to improve his maths

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

No I haven't needed to

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

My ds loves the different things they have every day, some he has already covered and some new things. It makes him feel grown up having his own log in

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math programmes you may have used?

We have only ever used times table rocks tars and it's very different to that

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

I think it is good in some ways but there is an element of letting children be children and letting them learn their own way.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

Yes definitely, I will be adding my other ds to the programme if it allows me. Although I wouldn't have signed up if I'd had to pay as it is expensive.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)?

DD6 is one of the top performing children in her class and additional maths at home would encourage her in a way she isn't always able to have at school

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

I emailed and the answer was detailed but it didn't solve my problem because of the app's limitations not because of the advisor

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

DD6 liked the ticks, the variety of tasks, the speed of the questions, the ability to alter the avatar, do competitions against others. I liked the way the app reads out the question and the email afterwards to give me her progress.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math programmes you may have used?

DD6 likes book based ones but this engaged her in new ways every day.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

DD6 enjoys those kinds of tasks; they really engage her so she enjoyed them. However when they were too hard at the assessment level she crumbled and felt useless

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

Yes and I have done for the free trial but the paid for version is more than anything we subscribe to as a family so there's no way we can afford it

What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)?

My DS is exceptionally talented at maths. He loves puzzles and working out the relationships in the maths world. I wanted something that would challenge him and push his knowledge further without being a repetitive app simply focussing on the times tables.

Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

I did not. I had a call from someone then the day got away from me and did not manage to eventually speak with them. I don't know that it was needed to speak with someone anyway. The platform is quite self explanatory and offers so much more than others out there. The only reason I would want to speak with someone is to question the mean/mode/median about how they rank my child.

What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

DS loved the certificates. He liked earning stars and spending them on his dog.

I liked the tutorials. They were very simple and explained in detail what the concept was but in a fashion that would connect with a child. I liked how I could see each days performance and share with DS how he was doing.

How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math programmes you may have used?

The platform offered a great view of what children were focussing on and what they should perhaps practice more.

In terms of other programmes, I liked the idea that this was AI. I am not sure what that actually meant though. What specifically does it record and is it really tailored to my child? There were a couple of days when it seemed that exponents (for example) were really covered in detail. I think he got 78 questions on them on one day. He got the concept but I want to know that longer term he can recall them rathrer than rote learn by day.

What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

I love children learning these skills. They are necessary for life. We use them whilst shopping to ensure they understand how you can apply this to real life.

Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

Yes. I am going to carry on with this tool. DS is in the top 3% of Smartick users and wants to become the top 1%. I think it has made a difference to him and gives him a challenge each day. He is currently aiming on getting the Ada Lovelace certificate and is proudly displaying his other diplomas in his room.

Other feedback:

It would be good for the children to see whether they are practicing learned skills or being assessed. My DD was annoyed when she got an assessment out of nowhere and felt that she was 'failing' that day.

Perhaps a clear visual depiction would help.

I would like to see in a graph how DS and DD's performance is improving.

It would be good if areas that were identified as weaker were informed to the parents and then a clear path for fixing these was communicated. The tutorials were great. We loved them but knowing which ones are suitable for which child would be great. There are so many of them that it is difficult to just watch them all. Also, if they are too hard or too simple it would put off DCs from watching. A pathway for learning based on assessments would be great.

My DD remembered over 45 simple simon memory notes. She was so pleased with herself. Then the platform crashed and lost her level. This was really upsetting for her.

Some of the additional questions were really simple. My DD was annoyed that they thought she was only capable of seeing a robot had his left arm up and not his right arm. She is 11 and felt this was patronising.

Overall we loved the app. We will definitely be using this again and will be referring others to it.

Thank you for the opportunity to test this.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)? My little one starts school in September so I wanted to encourage learning before she gets to school as she's nearly 5 so chomping to learn

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful? No need and only contact was email about updates
2. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick? choosing a character and seeing progress.
3. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

not used any others but it was great to be able to look at how to increase maths day to day programmes you may have used?

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

in this age I think these skills are invaluable.. all too often games just have one purpose and children and society are starting not to think for themselves but ask Google etc

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not? yes but to an see audience in my opinion when you know and are able to assess if they need additional help outside of school

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)?

To improve their current maths and so they realise maths can be fun as well!

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

Yes they rang me and she explained a bit more about the parent page.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about

They loved collecting the stars and getting to buy things and choosing their characters.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used?

They’ve only used the free maths apps you can get which obviously don’t have the same incentives.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

It made them read the question and think more.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

Yes I would. However having looked at the price of it I’d find it hard to justify the cost.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)? My eldest son is in year 1, but he is an August baby so the youngest in the class. I have been worried that he is behind in maths, so this was a great way to help him practice in a fun way.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

No, I didn’t need to talk to anyone.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick.

Both my children really enjoyed the questions and the gold stars and ticks. They liked the independence of the programme because they could do it without me. My four-year-old can’t read but because there was an audio option, he enjoyed doing it on his own. They loved the games once they had completed a session. I liked the way each programme was tailored to their age and the gold stars etc for doing a good job, very encouraging.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used? It was more fun, more varied and kept their attention.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

Really effective and such good learning.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

I would recommend and I think it lets them learn in a fun and relaxed environment. My only improvement suggestion would be to limit the emails. I received too many about the children not completing a session. In reality, we weren’t able to do it everyday so didn’t need reminders.

My main motivation for getting my son to do additional maths practice is that he really struggles with Maths at school and always has done. He does not like sitting down at home and working with anyone and when left to work alone with books gives up very easily. As this was an online resource I felt it may be more successful in getting him practice Maths at home.

I did speak to someone from Smartick via the phone as they called to see how my son was getting on with the programme and how he was finding it. Also to check whether he was working with it independently. It was nice for someone to check in so early on as it gave the opportunity to ask questions (although I did not have any). I also liked the fact that they did not hassle me with regular calls. I received the initial call and could then contact them if needed (I have not needed to do so).

My son did initially struggle with the sessions as he found the voice highly irritating and also found the format too young as he is 13. But he said the last session he completed was actually ‘fun’ and this is a word that I never thought I would hear him use to describe Maths! He is still not keen on the voice on the programme. He didnt make use of the area where you play with the character as again this was too young for him.
I personally like that the sessions are short and that you receive a report immediately after every session letting you know the results. This immediate report allows you to discuss the session with your child straight away. I believe this is important as it will be fresh in their mind and any discussion at that point would be beneficial.
I also like that you get to learn the areas of maths that your child is weaker at.
The format of the programme has actually enabled my son to access maths at home. This is something that I have struggled with and I am grateful that we have had the opportunity to utilise this resource.

We have not tried any official maths programmes preciously apart from home made ones making use of books or paper based activities. For my son Smartick has been a better maths programme because it has been something he has actually engaged in.

I think it is important for children to learn
critical thinking and problem-solving skills and they are transferable skills which can be used in many areas of life and will undoubtedly be useful to them in the future.

I would recommend this to friends and family as it is something that can be done daily (based on the short tasks) and will be beneficial even to those who have a better level of Maths than my son. However I would only recommend it to those with younger children because I believe the format is aimed at younger children and may not be motivating for older children.

Testers please answer the questions below:

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)? To assist her development of her maths skills and knowledge, supporting what learning at school.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful? No I didn’t need to

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick? My daughter enjoyed playing games and I liked the updates. However personally I thought age 6 she was a little too little for it as she struggled to understand the exercises and to read the instructions in time without help and she got very upset/frustrated as a result.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used? I haven’t used any yet.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills? I thought this was clever and a good idea but my little one struggled with this.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not? Yes I thought it was really good but for older children.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)?

My daughter really loves maths and I have been trying to a way to encourage this and thought this would be perfect.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

No I didn't, as I didn't have any issues.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

My daughter really enjoyed doing the daily assessments and especially enjoyed the tutorials. She was able to navigate round the site easily and liked that she could earn ticks, stars and certificates. She has asked every day to do her maths, which is great to hear as a parent as I know she is enjoying it while learning. I really enjoyed the assessment emails that I got each time she completed the daily assessments. I liked how simple the site was and how easily my daughter could find her way around.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math programmes you may have used?

Smartick is a lot better than other programmes that I've looked at and used. It is more user friendly and easy for my daughter to navigate and use.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

I really liked this emphasis as these were two areas that my daughter needed to improve and we have noticed a real improvement to her skills since starting Smartick.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

Yes, I would. I think it is a really good system, very user friendly and a good way to compliment what kids are learning at school. This could also be a good system to market to schools for use alongside classroom learning.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)?

To improve math skills and encourage children to do maths on a regular basis

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

Yes, I had a lengthy chat with someone from Smartick and it was helpful except they advised me there were suitable games for my 14-year-old; however, I couldn't find any such games.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

DS 8 enjoyed learning new aspects of maths e.g coordinates
DD 14 enjoyed the thorough tutorials and focused questions.
I like that it gives my children more maths work on a regular basis and that I don't have to generate the questions for their practice.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used?

It's engaging and it's more focused on the individual

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

I think problem-solving is shown; however, critical thinking could be made more evident.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

Yes because it feels personal and is very helpful.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)? My daughter (6) is doing well at school and usually completes her homework fairly quickly, so I thought it would be good for her to have some extra activities.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

N/A

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

Unfortunately my daughter didn't enjoy using Smartick, her school uses 3 other platforms for homework, the most recent one being a specific maths website. She didn't find this as user friendly and found the initial assessment very long.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used? Other programmes we have used are probably better tailored to her age. I noted some words were not in English or the instructions were not clear (I assume to make it universal across languages but I didn't think this was a positive aspect)

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

Good, I tried to encourage, but my daughter preferred to use the school programmes she was used to.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

No, not for a 6 year old and in its current format, perhaps for an older child, but I wouldn't consider paying for it.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)? For my dd to improve her fluency in maths.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful? No it was straight forward
2. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick? It took a lot of coaxing to get her to use it. The level for her age group starting was very basic and she got bored very quickly. I liked that I could see her progress
3. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used? Similar to other programs we have used, but the adjustable avatars did keep my dd interested.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills? Good but needs to have ability banding so as the age categories didn't work for us.
2. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not? I wouldn't recommend for my dd age group as it didn't really work for us, but would recommend for younger children as my dd didn't find it challenging and I found it hard to keep her engaged in it.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)? Older child struggles with math so we thought this might help. Younger child enjoys math so we wanted to see if this would push them to a higher level.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

Everything was very self explanatory so no help was needed.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

Younger child liked the virtual world. Older child liked that they could actually understand and answer the questions and see a score. I liked that I could check on their progress.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used? Youngest (6) has enjoyed working at a pace that suits her. Oldest (10) feels happy that she can make mistakes without feeling judged by other children.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

I found it really useful as it will help them to gain confidence in independent thinking and problem solbing in both their math and other life skills.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

I would. It is a concept that allows the child to develop their math understanding at a pace that suits them. This will help with confidence , I'm sure.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths practice?

My daughter is homeschooled,so we often try different methods of teaching maths and see how it goes, what the improvement is and just how engaging and understandable the method is. While languages and art are her preferences, maths has been the weak point, so I was hopeful she will find inspiration and encouragement to do more maths every day.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

I did not,because I didn't feel there was any need-detailed report via e-mail after every maths session felt like just enough.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

My daughter enjoyed the activities,personalizable character, additional games,earning rewards and being able to spend them,too. I liked how modern and interactive Smartick is as well as detailed reports with scores,extra information and advice.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math programmes you may have used?

My elder daughter has used MathsWizz in the past and the advantage of that maths programme was being able to receive explanation presented in a fun and simple way. Currently if my daughter finds any Smartick task hard she cannot find any explanation,just the correct answers which sometimes causes frustration and tantrums.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

I think it's very important and should be emphasized.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

I would definitely (and have already multiple times) recommend Smartick to friends and family for its clever,interactive programme and great detailed e-mail reports on child's performance.

1. Main motivation: my daughter is 5 and really loves maths so I wanted something that would encourage her interest ( She is in reception and the topics covered she can already do so is getting a bit bored)
2. Did we talk to anyone: yes we emailed on several occasions as there were quite a few issues with it crashing or aspects of the virtual world not working properly. They responded within 24hrs on week days but often the problems were not really resolved. We did not speak to anyone on the phone.
3. What did she enjoy: she loves earning points and then being able to spend then in the virtual world - she also loved playing the games to improve skills such as memory and reasoning. However quite often the games or aspects of the virtual world were not working which she found very frustrating and disappointing e.g you cannot actually buy a necklace for some reason.

How does it compare: we have used splash maths which is pretty similar but does not have the virtual world so my daughter prefers this program Although I found that with the other programme I was able to request year 1 level - with this program you input the child’s age so we found that the level is pretty basic/easy e.g repeating numbers 1 -10 meaning she did get a little fed up. Reasoning skills: I think this is useful to help with understanding how math fits into everyday life. We liked the additional games to help practice some of these skills further 6.would I recommend: maybe if it was cheaper at present I am not finding that the exercises are helping her learn anything as it’s too basic at her age level but hopefully over the next few weeks this might change. I think the virtual world reward and games are good ( when they are working). If it’s possible to still leave feed back in a few weeks I will update when we have had longer to test it.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice?

DDs school focus primarily on reading (year 1) and I really wanted a way of getting her to work on numeracy.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

I didn’t need to contact them.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about ?

Dd loved being able to show her understanding and was over the moon when she got stars

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used?

I have no experience of other programmes.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

I think it’s an excellent, innovative and engaging way of teaching children to work through maths problems in a supportive way.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not? I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it if it was more affordable. I feel it’s prohibitively expensive for many families.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)?

My son, age 11 and daughter, age 7, are both MA (more able) students and love maths. They already use a maths programme via their school, I wanted to give them and extra challenge and compare Smartick with their current programme.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

No, the option was available to talk to someone but it was not needed.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

Mixed reviews from my children. My daughter sailed through the maths and enjoyed choosing an avatar and gaining points to spend in the little village after the 15 minutes session was complete each day.

My son however did not like it. A lot of the maths was laid out differently to how he has been taught so he had to take his time to figure out what each question meant. This led to negative feedback from Smartick (eg: too slow, very slow. etc) which knocked his confidence. He is top of his class in maths, always scores way above average on his SATS and is although he is in year 6, he is completing year 9 maths in school so the negative feedback from Smartick did not represent his ability.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used?

The current programme my children use is UK based and the maths is the same as they use in school, Smartick seemed to be international and the layout of some maths was different to how the children are taught. Also with the current programme they use, they are not penalised for taking their time with the questions.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

Critical thinking and problem solving skills are very important so emphasis on this is always good, although the children shouldn't have to rush this type of thinking, particularly when they are first learning these skills.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

I would not recommend it as it is not specifically aimed at UK learners. My daughter has however recommended it a friend who has already signed up for the free 2 week trial.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)? We are home educators, and I thought it might be a fun way of introducing daily maths lessons (child is almost 5). It supported our other work and was more regular which was very positive.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

Yes I had an email with a personal contact who I could speak to if I had any questions. I also spoke to someone who called me to see how it was going, very nice lady who wanted to see if I had any questions. Would have been helpful if I did have questions (I didn't) but it was nice to feel supported.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

My child LOVED smartick. He thinks it's a game and doesn't realise he is learning (the best way to learn!). He responded well to the star 'currency' that he could spend in the shop and the pop ups to say he'd got 20/30 questions in a row. He loved the additional games available in the games area. I liked that it was very clever in the way it assesses children's understanding of a topic and consolidates their learning by asking in a different way before moving on to the next topic. I liked that it was a short sharp burst of daily maths, as I don't like my children to have too much screen time. I appreciated the parent section where I could see my child's progress. Particularly liked the emails to say how he'd done that day (didn't need the one to say it had been missed on days where we couldn't do it- but I can see that would be useful for older children).

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used? I haven't used another maths program, but I get the impression that smartick is a particularly good one. There is a club house where you can connect with other users, I didn't like this and I don't want my children connected with strangers online. If this is completely safe which I'm sure it is, maybe it would be helpful to have a pop up on internet safety and how this bit works. Just to say though- you don't have to use this part and it's easy to avoid, it's not part of the daily maths lesson.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

Yes very important, maths is not just about number! Keeps it interesting too.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

I would absolutely. It was a very positive experience for my child and I. There were a couple of bugs (sound lags unhelpfully in a couple of questions) and for the price I would expect to see a perfect product but it's very clear that there is an active team tweaking it all the time so I'm sure it would be. I have already recommended it to other home edders and a friend who's child is autistic as I think it would suit him well. Thank you so much for letting us test smartick!

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)?

Maths skills are valuable and relevant to so much in life, anything that encourages extra practice in a fun manner, outside of school has to be a good thing. If as a consequence, understanding of new concepts is gained and grades improve as well then that's a bonus.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful? N/A
2. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

My daughter says she likes that it helps her with maths. She likes to get faster at doing the tasks and progress to the next level. I like the fact that she asks to do the maths games and it isn't a chore in the way that homework tasks can be.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math programmes you may have used? Have no experience of other programmes.
2. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills? These are essential skills so I support this emphasis.
3. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not? I would recommend it to friends, especially over non-educational apps. I really like the way the questions can be spoken as I know my daughter would struggle with reading it all. I do however feel that their are some improvements that could be made to improve the product in particular creating an fully functional app for use with the Amazon Kids Tablet. I currently have to login to my profile and open it as a webpage which is not ideal.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice?

It wasn't because my child is falling behind in Maths or anything. I just think its a great to teach your youngster Maths and English at home as well as school. At the moment school only really encourages my child to read at home. Also I wanted to get more involved with my childs education.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

Did not receive any form of communication from Smartick.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

My child really enjoyed the games which she played after her Maths sessions. There was so many to choose from to keep her entertained.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used?

Smartick is by far the best Maths app ive used for my child. It was so easy to use and I love the idea of your child also saving ticks to build their profile.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

My child spends a lot of time on her tablet and I am encouraging more of educational games and apps to the many other games available. Also I personally think it will give my child a head start in Maths.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not

?

Yes I would most definitely recommend this app to any other parents I talk too.

Thank you for the opportunity to test Smartick.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths

practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)? My son has only just turned 5 so he is at the lowest end of the spectrum. However, he has been struggling at school with maths and is falling below the expected level so I really wanted him to have some additional help.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

Didn't speak to anyone. The programme was simple top set up and use and everything was explained well.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

My son enjoyed using the iPad (!) and earning stars to spend in the virtual world. He thought of it as a game which was great (although sometimes complained it wasn't as fun as other games!). I really liked the length of the sessions, they were just enough for him and I liked getting the email report on how he was doing.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used? We've used mathseeds which is part of Reading Eggs. That is clearly more aimed at younger children with games, characters etc. I felt this was a more concentrated learning programme and probably better at a slightly older age.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

Didn't notice this but my son is only 5 so his sessions were more basic.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

If someone was considering a tutor, I'd recommend trying this first as it's so convenient and would be cost effective. Otherwise I probably wouldn't recommend as it's an expensive programme as a "nice to have".

1. What is your main motivation for getting ysour child or children to do additional maths

(e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)? To improve my dds current grades

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it

We didn’t t need to, it was so easy to set up and use 😊👌🏻

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

My dd is not really enjoying it but shes making progress. Shes nearly 13 and maths is not her priority at the moment which i am trying to change 👍🏻

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used? we‘ve not used anything like this before so cant compare

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

I think its great 👍🏻

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

Yes definitely, purely because its so easy to use and its only 15 minutes a day.

1. What is your main motivation for getting your child or children to do additional maths practice (e.g. to improve current grade, to progress beyond what they are currently taught at school, etc.)?

She seems reasonably good at maths, so just want to encourage her.

1. Did you end up talking to someone from Smartick via phone or email – whether you reached out or they did? Was it helpful?

Yes, they called me. I told them that it seemed a bit easy (things like which pond has the most ducks), and also a bit repetitive, which was putting my daughter off a bit. She said that they would assess her over the next few days and adjust the level, and it seems to be better now.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?

She likes getting the stars - and spending them!

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math programmes you may have used?

N/A - not used any others

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

Good

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not?

Not sure, it is quite expensive. Also, would like the tutorials to be more integrated into the lessons.

1. I have always encouraged my children to supplement school work with assessment papers at home and decided to try an online-based version for the first time.

1. I did not require help from Smartick via phone or email

1. My children enjoyed earning the stars, although it took a lot of time and effort to earn a minimal number of rewards. My 6 year old enjoyed playing around with the avatar more than doing the actual sessions. I liked receiving the email straight after their session had been completed.

1. I have not used any other online maths programmes previously; learning online as opposed to traditional exercise books has a certain novelty factor as you know straight away whether the answer is correct or not. However, even though some of the questions are read out there were quite a few that were ambiguous hence my children didn’t understand some of the questions.

1. I cannot say that I noticed a particular emphasis on critical thinking or problem-solving skills.

1. I don’t think I would recommend Smartick as the website does not seem slick enough to warrant the price tag. My children were demotivated to have some questions marked as “wrong” due to the website lagging and not recognising that they had in fact typed answers in. A lot of the questions were quite repetitive so they found this quite boring as well.