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

My daughter needs to brush up her maths skills as she is falling behind at secondary school. Essentially she still needs lots of practice on the basics.

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 have the need.

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

The animations were fun and there was a generally light feel to the Smartick world. My DD liked that. I liked the tracking possibilities that the app offered.

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

It was more sustained. We have always enjoyed Squeebles - but this one has more emphasis on learning and working out a variety of tasks.

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

I like this - I think this is a crucial aspect - rather than just learning a technique temporarily, only for it to be forgotten.

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

I would. It seems fairly comprehensive. My only issue was that there was not much variety in the 15 minute session and it did drag, undergoing the same problems again and again. I think there could be 10 mins of one thing and then more other things to practice form recent sessions. The incentives are good - a bit like Explore. Aimed at younger children than mine really - but she still needs the skills, unfortunately!

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.)? I’d quite like them to enjoy maths and thought this may be a good way to get that balance.

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 had a couple of missed calls with a voicemail, sounded very polite/helpful but I didn’t ring them back.

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

Novelty at first but that soon wore off. I liked the emails saying they hadn’t done it, found them quite useful and a good reminder.

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

programmes you may have used? Haven’t tried any others.

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

Hadn’t noticed it if I’m honest, I just want them to enjoy learning so it’s less of a burden.

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

No. It is far too expensive. It has not been tailored to the English market (American accent, American words). It is too repetitive, the kids soon got bored with the same things - especially the 5 year old. There didn’t seem to be any advancement, or if it was it was too slow so they weren’t finding it challenging but boring. I’m struggling to get them to do it at all now and that started a week in.

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.)? I just want to make sure they really have a good understanding of the basics of maths and the retention of their multiplication tables to help them move forward.

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

Not needed.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions?

Buying pets and things in the market! Also being able to correct your answer when making a mistake. What do you as a parent like about I liked the email to know there done their session and how they had done.

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

programmes you may have used?

We have used Komodo maths in the past, and like it, the problem for us is fitting it in, so I liked with Komodo that you could do lots of sessions one morning then skip a few days.
Also in our house are often taken away for bad behavior and to make sure school work is completed before bed time etc so I didn’t want to bring them out to do maths.

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

Very important

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

Yes I think if you use consistently you’ll def see an improvement.

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 get him to actually do his Math work, He is above national average in Math however having adhd and Asperger's I struggle to get him motivated.

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 did not need to contact anyone.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick? I felt it was a good platform to explore and try to encourage my child to do Math in general, My son however did not like the set up and I guess having Asperger's found it difficult to work out most of the equations because he prefers a different technique.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math programmes you may have used? My son used MyMaths and found that easier to navigate using a mobile phone, with smartick he was not able to do this properly and caused much stress.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills? I think it is good when tailored to each individuals needs, I believe there should be more options of equations available across any platform.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not? Possibly if their child learnt how to work across such a platform with equations used and also if it helps the child progress.

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 is in EYFS and enjoys maths so far, so I mainly just wanted to encourage her learning and enjoyment of 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?

Yes I did. They called me to make sure everything was going ok. Tbh this annoyed me and felt totally unnecessary...and a lot of people won’t answer a call from an unknown number.

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

I like the daily emails.
My daughter liked the variety of topics and choosing the expressions on starting and finishing the session.

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

programmes you may have used?

We haven’t tried any other apps or programmes.

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

I didn't notice a particular emphasis.

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

Not sure. We’ve enjoyed it but my daughter is getting a bit bored of the same sort of questions. And it would be better if we could do additional sessions too as sometimes she’s wanted to do more. I also think the cost is quite prohibitive.
I do however think that the tailored content and interface both work well and encourage 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.)?

DD enjoys maths so this was to keep up the enjoyment and help her 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?

NA Did not talk or email anyone.

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

DD enjoyed the games and I liked the emails.

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

programmes you may have used?

NA

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

Very good.

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

Yes if not too expensive

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 tends to struggle with maths at school and has to really try to achieve his yearly standards.

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 speak to anyone

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

I liked the idea of Smartick in general a phone app as well as iPad would have been helpful. Both my son and myself liked the personalisation of it and the challenges it gave.

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

programmes you may have used? It was more child focused i.e. cartoon/ things that would make a child more likely to want to take part. However, it was also a lot more repetitive. My son found it quite easy and it didn’t seem to get any more difficult as it went on.

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

They were good but not difficult enough for my child. He struggles with maths at school but found Smartick really easy which was good at first but quickly became boring for him.

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

I would for younger children but my son had his Y2 SATS while he was trialling this app and the things he needed to learn for school were not on 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.)?

To improve her confidence and try to get her to enjoy maths tasks.

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 wasn’t contacted and I haven’t contacted them.

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

Honestly, nothing! I don’t know if we set it up wrong but I found the questions badly worded, the site difficult to navigate and the methods unclear. We would jump from a reception level question to one I don’t even understand at the age of 35. We also had a question that asked about the length of an American school time; semester etc. As if we’d know! DD has used both mymaths and mathletics through school and both are far superior.

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

programmes you may have used?

It’s awful in comparison. I’m honestly shocked how bad it is and can’t help but think we must have set it up wrong as everyone else is saying how good it is. There’s no labelling, it’s not clear what the different parts of the site are, it’s babyish and a lot of it is pointless.

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

I think it’s very important.

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

Absolutely not. It kept freezing on my smartphone and it wasn’t any clearer on the laptop. The only reason we haven’t persevered is because it was so bad initially. If the first session is confusing and not age appropriate it doesn’t motivate the child to complete any more. We gave up because we found it frustrating and almost verging on the ridiculous.

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 is doing ok but she definitely could be pushed to achieve her full potential which is why I signed up.

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

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

Ease of use - easy to login and progress

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

programmes you may have used?

Not as good.

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

I think it’s really important for children to learn these skills for real life use

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

Maybe for my younger child, but I tested with my 13 year old and she found the format ‘babyish’

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.)? i wanted my daughter to progress beyond what she’s currently being taught 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 have never spoken to anyone from smartick

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

my daughter loved getting to play with her character and buying things for it like pets so she was always very eager to get to it, I personally also love that it doesn’t feel like work, she loved doing it and I never had to remind her. I also love that I get emails letting me know how she did and letting me know if we forgot to complete it the day before

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

programmes you may have used? its the only and first math programme I’ve ever used but i think it’s really great

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

its so important, and one of the reasons I love the programme so much is that she’s learning things other children in her class may not have been exposed to yet and hopefully when the harder years come she won’t struggle as much as she may have already developed more problem solving skills

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

i would definitely recommend, I think it’s a very useful programme, it teaches and keeps children entertained

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.)? Both my son and daughter need to be a bit more confident and comfortable with 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? Somebody did email me, it was helpful.
2. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick? I loved the fact they can use it on their tablets because it's in an app form. They treat it as one of their games.
3. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math

programmes you may have used? I noticed my son use it automatically like when he goes on one of his games and that is a big thing.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills? They both seemed to enjoy it and that is the hardest thing to accomplish.
2. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not? Yes definitely.

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 children both have Autisim and struggle with retaining math skills. They have gaps that need filling and some areas where they are ahead.

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 need to contact anyone.

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

My children both liked the award/achievements that the gained after completing 20+, 30+ questions in a row this really encouraged them. I liked that I receive emailed feedback after each session letting me know how they did.

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

I feel that Smartick has a very good approach areas of weakness seem to be picked up and adapted for the next days session.

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

My children need to build up their skills in this area, so I am happy with the emphasis.

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

Yes I would.

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 is 4 and in reception and loves maths and I thought she would find it fun.

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.

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

She found it easy to navigate by herself. She found it was at her standard. I liked that she could do it independently"

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

programmes you may have used? We haven’t used any other programmes

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

Really good, it really challenged her in a good way

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

Yes

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 loves maths at school so wanted additional help in a fun stress free way at home.

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 speak to anyone but received helpful emails about the process.

1. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick? She liked the questions and fun way they were out across. I thought it seemed educational for her.

1. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math programmes you may have used? Previously used Reading Eggs which was mostly reading it did have maths questions as well, would say they were both similar.

1. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills? I liked the way they were asked and varied selection.

1. Would you recommend Smartick to friends/family? Why or why not? I liked it but it didn't keep her interest as the assessment was quite repetitive which put her off and it is really expensive. It would be beneficial to those looking for extra help but wouldn't say it was worth the price.

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.)?

DD is 4 and in reception but has missed more than her fair share of school this year due to illness. She loves maths but her confidence at school seems to be ebbing away.

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 talk to anyone from Smartick.

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

It took DD a while to get interested - at first she liked playing about with her avatar but it's the mini games that she's really into now. She also likes getting ticks and 'streaks' and the certificate that she got.

As a parent I like that she can do it independently as it has the option to read out the question.

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

We've only used a few small apps which don't really compare.

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

It's a good thing. However it would be nice to have the occasional demo question to illustrate what is required of the child rather than leave them to figure it out, I've noticed that DD often gets the first question in a new block wrong and she gets frustrated by that.

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

I may recommend that others take a look at it to see how they get on. For the (rather eye watering) price, I'd honestly expect a bit more from it. There's also a lack of explanation about how the site works. Why, as a parent, can I not alter the times of the sessions slightly so that she only has to do 5-10 minutes on a busy day and, say, 2x10 minutes per day at the weekend? Why can I not control/turn off friend requests without turning off access to the whole virtual world? Why can I not set a limit to the number of questions in the same topic per session; why can't I choose the topics that she needs to go over?

I haven't really found that the questions challenge DD much - the sheer amount of repetition is leading her to complacency and silly mistakes which then means she gets more of the same questions that she's (understandably) getting bored with. Often fifteen minutes is too long for her, again leading to silly mistakes. It's nowhere near the standard that she's working at in school, which I presume is because it's a US-based system and at her age she wouldn't have started school in the US yet. That said it's definitely made her a bit more careful at reading and making sure she's completed a question as she hates getting an answer wrong, which are great skills, but I'm not sure I've seen an improvement in her maths yet.

. 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 main aim is for my daughter to keep up with school curriculum as is not attending currently. She has asd and adhd so this is one way of teaching in 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 found all the info i required on the web.

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

My child enjoyed the rewards and that she could correct her wrong answers to gain more ticks. I thought the site is interactive and can be independently used. I would prefer an app so could be used on phone out and about.

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

programmes you may have used? There was one other program i used through school but it repeated itself so she easily got bored.

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

Excellent can only help stimulate their brain.

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

Probably not as too expensive for people i know

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 is only in reception but she is getting slightly behind in her maths. I thought this would be great to help her try and catch up a bit.

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 talk to anyone.

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

My daughter really enjoyed getting the ticks! She felt great getting the questions correct and then spending them in the shop.

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

programmes you may have used?

I haven’t used any other programmes.

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

I think it’s great, it’s training the brain to work out problems and get used to counting. I did think sometimes that my daughter needed to work on higher numbers but I have seen them increase over the weeks. Initially it was 1-6 which she has no problems with, it’s 11-20 that she really needs to work on at the moment.

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

I would, if you stick at the program then I think you will see better results. The only thing is that my daughter was getting a bit bored of doing it all the time. I did have a look at the price and I’m not sure that I would be willing to pay anywhere near what they are looking for, it seemed way too expensive.

Further feedback from DD:

1. It would be good if an area of weakness could be directly addressed by linking the tutorial to what you have done. Rather than having to go away and find a tutorial that will help.
2. It would motivate her to want to learn more if she actually had a task or game to play such as you have to build a spacecraft to visit Mars and we will perform maths tasks to achieve that.
3. She would like to be able to do more than 15 minutes a day.
4. The progress charts should be in a format that they can work with and understand. Explain the progress and again where necessary direct them to a tutorial in areas of weakness.
5. Have an option during questions to state how comfortable you feel with this technique. On some tasks she was happy and on others she was frustrated. Rather than a summary of satisfaction at the end.

Further feedback from DS:

1. He is desperate to become a top 1%. Show him how he can do that.
2. It would be good to know where he is aligned to his age group and compare this with a curriculum. He loves stats and data!
3. The turning your house into a castle task seems unachievable. He worked out that even with bonus starts etc it would take 6 months to do so. Perhaps have the chance to earn many more stars if you persevere with areas?
4. Please make it clearer when he is being assessed. He despises not knowing if he should know this or if it is just a level assessment.
5. He also likes the idea of turning this into a game whereby you have tasks to achieve.
6. Whilst he does enjoy solving problems doing 70/80/90 of them in a row does get boring.
7. If you miss a day, could you make it up the next day? He missed a couple of sessions whilst away overnight and was frustrated that he could not earn those stars somewhere else.

Thank you for choosing us to try and review Smartick for Mumsnet. I will be as honest as I can leaving this feedback. The last time I was able to leave feedback for a product trial I left one right at the beginning but this time I've tried to resist leaving feedback until nearer the end to be able to leave a better, more comprehensive review.

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 is pretty good at maths, she accepts and adopts maths explanations really quickly so maths has never been something I have really worried about with her but as a home educator that tries to follow the current curriculum I thought that this would be a great accompaniment and fill in an gaps that I was offering in our maths lessons. A bit like the workbooks you can buy that support the current curriculum and help to reinforce how to work out maths problems. Megan sat her year 6 sats in year 2 and I was hoping to capitalise on this natural aptitude for maths.

2. 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 but it took them longer than I expected to get back to me, I actually thought I wasn't going to get a reply to be honest as there was no acknowledgement of receiving my email. The section of the website meant to be available after the child finishes their session wasn't letting my daughter access the games room and as the games are all maths centric I felt that she was benefitting from 'playing' these games after her session. She hadn't been able to access them in a week but I could access them as the teacher...

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

She enjoyed earning ticks and liked getting streaks (although now she panics when she thinks she's going to lose her streak). She hasn't converted any of her ticks yet because she doesn't want to waste them. She wants the triceratops but wants other things too and that damn dinosaur costs quite a few ticks. She also enjoyed being able to get an extra tick for correcting any wrong answers.

She was really enjoying the games afterwards as they acted as reward for her hard work but they stopped working and apart from watching tutorials or spending ticks there was little else she could do.

I personally liked that I gave her a little challenge every day(although not quite every day as she's had tonsillitis and trying to concentrate with that is horrendous). I like that it's something she can access herself and do on her own.

I also liked being emailed her progress after each session and being able to go into it and see the questions that were actually asked.

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

We haven't tried any other online maths programmes but compared to traditional maths it certainly didn't follow the current curriculum in the UK so some of the questions she was asked have not come up in our maths lessons and it took her a couple of questions to understand what they required of her which stressed her out. A demo or tutorial before new concepts would be great here because if you've never studied a concept before this can be quite jarring.

Each session is timed and while my daughter was getting the questions right, the feedback was telling me that she was slow to answer, except word questions apparently she was super quick in those and this was annoying/upsetting her because, while she knew they were timed questions, she didn't realise how stressful it would be to have the hourglasses appear down the side while she was trying to work some of them out- she found that they drew her eye, distracted her from her calculations and made her panic. She's good at fast maths when I test her (and was when she attended a mainstream school) so I think it's the focus on speed they have that really gets to her. She can do it but it was really stressing her out and maths has never stressed her out before.

Also, although you can use a PC or tablet to navigate Smartick, it is clearly geared towards the tablet as the response time on the computer was slow. My daughter doesn't get a lot of screen time- yes I am that pain in the a$$ parent that doesn't want their kid stuck to a computer, phone or tablet so just navigating the laptop took some time, especially with being timed. She was getting the answers to the questions quickly but then seemed to take forever getting the mouse to hover over the tick button, I assume on the tablet you can just hit it as soon as the answer is in the box. The website and timer definitely didn't account for using a mousepad.

After her sessions I would review the questions and centred some of our lessons on the concepts for her to try in our lessons as many of the questions were just not part of the curriculum- I've looked, she's doing work on Smartick usually attributed to year 9, she's in year 6. This is fine because she understands what she's doing but like I say, it was jarring for her at first as we hadn't covered it in any detail.

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

I liked this element and Megan liked the emphasis on this the most.

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

Yes. And no.

Yes if you're looking for your child to be taught maths concepts that they are not currently learning at school and you want them to expand their knowledge and build up their skills.

No if you are hoping that this accompanies the current curriculum. It's also quite repetitive so if your child is going to get bored answering 90 similar questions with the odd deviation at the end, this is not the online programme for them.

The questions are usually bizarrely worded too and as they aren't read aloud, some children that struggle with reading may find this off putting. Apparently you can have them read out but I don't have a clue where it says that.

Also if you are using a computer this programme seems to be geared towards tablet use and is slow on the computer.

It's also very expensive and at the moment, I don't think it's worth the money for what you actually get.

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 Daughters struggle with maths and any extra help is good. Making learning fun.

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 didn’t need too

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

My children loved it. They used it everyday and really enjoyed learning.

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

programmes you may have used?

It is a really good,programme

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

It was fun but easier and good traditional maths added aswell.

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

Yes I would. Because it really helps with the 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.)?

DC both enjoy maths but what they do at school is rarely interesting or challenging. I am always looking for something they can do independently but that makes them think for themselves and broadens their understanding.

2. 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 been intending to get in touch when someone called and left a message, so I e-mailed my concerns.
Yes it was helpful. Both children had been working at very easy levels, and were finding Smarticks 'boring' as it turned out to be more of the mindless repetitive stuff they do at school. The challenge was to stay attentive when asked the same type of question for the umpteenth time, when they didn't stay focused they made silly mistakes, so did not progress. They weren't learning any maths.
I sent detailed descriptions of what DC are able to do, apparently the pedagogical team looked at it, and both were (re-) assessed and now have significantly more interesting work!

3. What did your child enjoy about the sessions? What do you as a parent like about Smartick?
Initially the only thing they liked was manipulating their avatar, and buying things with their 'ticks'.
Now they both enjoy the actual sessions too, especially the more 'logic' type of questions. And they enjoy the 'brain games' too. DD is disappointed she cannot do more than one 15 minute session per day.
I like that (after the re-assessment) they get varied types of questions that make them think, and that they enjoy it, and that parents get to play the 'braingames' too!

4. How does Smartick compare with other online math programmes or traditional math
programmes you may have used?
We have used Mathseeds (by the ReadingEggs people) before. In contrast, Smartick does a lot less 'teaching'. The rare tutorials are a lot less fun and child friendly. There is no way to change the level as a parent. There is a lot more actual practice.

5. What do you think of the emphasis on children learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills?
Didn't notice it at all initially. After re-assessment, they get some interesting questions occasionally, but the makers seem to have very low expectations! The emphasis would be good but could be much more prominent!

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

• Just for someone who likes to do a little extra maths: No. Too expensive, there are plenty other options out there.
• Someone who really is looking at getting a tutor: Yes, give it a try. Daily 15 minutes will get you further than a weekly session with a tutor. But do use the pedagogical team, don't wait, get in touch with them as soon as you have any concerns that the level is not right. Also, push for technical issues to be fixed - at that price, it really shouldn't be as bug-y as it is.

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 is Home Ed so we used it for additional practice and variety.

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, wasn't necessary.

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

He liked the certificates and mini games, I liked it was timed and marked the work, it made it easy to evaluate what we need to practice more on.

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

programmes you may have used?

It is a good alternative, my son really liked the gaming aspect and it encouraged him to play.

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

This was the bit I loved as critical thinking is very important to us, so anything that reinforces that gets top marks.

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

Yes, I would and I would also mention the price. Hopefully their may be offers or more affordable options in future.

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 general 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?

I didn't have any contact with anyone

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

I had to nag too get DS to complete his sessions, although he liked it well enough when he did it.

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

programmes you may have used? We haven't tried any others

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

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

I'm not sure, I particularly didn't like the Americanness of the emails I received, a major bugbear is that it is maths not math, If you are marketing to the British market please use the correct terminology!

1 - I home educate my 8 year old and I’m not very good at maths. My main motivation to try this app was to keep my daughter up to speed and stretch her maths knowledge alongside the workbooks that we do.

2 - no I didn’t speak to anyone. A lady called me but I was driving, I said she could call back later but she never did.

3 - my daughter liked the clear screen and the fact that she could work the app and the games by herself. She enjoys changing her characters and winning medals.
I like the fact that I can have minimal input but still keep an eye on what she’s doing. It’s easy to navigate and fun.

4 - we haven’t tried any other maths apps or online as they’re all quite costly, this one included.

5 - I like the idea that it supports critical thinking and problem solving. I think these are areas much more likely to be used in real life.

6 - I would recommend d to friends but sadly when our trial ends we wouldn’t be able to afford to keep it up which is a shame.