does anyone use maths whizz??

[Jaycie]

just curious really to find out how accurate the "maths age" is? does anyone know much about it? how much can they really tell from a few questions?
also wondering how much it helped your children?
thanks

I wouldnt really worry about the maths age. It is actually better for the maths age to be be below their ability so that the lesson/subjects are taught from the basics and move up step by step, accurately, through the levels.

If you start too high, your child can miss out on basic structured lessons.

If you feel the age is too wrong, you can redo the assessment but readjust the ability level.

Will come back to you later, computer needed. But yes, its a great product

The maths age is built up as a progression based on the tutorial games being answered. The pass rate is 80% and if you struggle with questions and get an answer wrong, then the question is broken down into stages. This is classed as Help, so at the end of the game you might have had a number of helps but still pass.

This is a tool that you need to use. If you see a lot of helps, then you know that your child is struggling, but may still pass. The games are broken into sections under replay. 100% played quickly, 100% but slow, 80-99% and under 80%. You can replay the games, to beat your time, but also to revise the topic. You can also compete against other players, this can help with confidence. Its all about learning to respond quickly.

Whizz is very gentle, and builds up on a topic slowly, so that the games all look very similar and they think they have done it, and again, confidence builds.

Personally, I do think its a great package, but you need to build a daily/weekly structure to benefit from it. It covers all topics of maths and you cant bypass a topic because you dont want to do it.

My kids are good at maths, but I found out through this programme that they did have gaps and clear lack of understanding in certain areas. Because of Whizz they now fully understand these topics are their confidence has improved dramatically.

The maths age was given for each topic, and some were way too low, others just about right. I dont really agree with the maths age motto, but the maths lessons are absolutely spot on to their ability now. It has taken over 100 lessons to get to this stage.

tbc

The lessons are usually very clear to understand. If your child struggles then chances are they have not understood previous steps. This can be a problem if the maths age is set to high

The benefits of Whizz vs other packages is taht you cannot decide what year level of maths to set for your child. Just because for example a child is in Year 5, it doesnt mean that they can do Year 5 maths. Whizz sets lessons based on how they completed the assessment.

The assessment can be short or long, depending on where you set the confidence button at the start, and then gives an average age. It isnt 100%, but its a working tool. You cant push the ages up by covering the same topic all the itme, the lessons appear (you think at random, but they are actually structured) and you have to do the lessons in the order they appear.

There is a topic section that covers all the games that you have played so you can revise, in addition to the replay panel.

As I mentioned earlier, it is well worth using these options in addition to the tutorial section.

THe maths ages are based on the UK curriculum year groups and cover topics appropriate for each year group.

I would 100% recommend Whizz, but its a working tool that needs to be utilised fully, and not just rely on the tutorial. Its really important to use replays to increase your time, reduce amount of help and helps with confidence.

Sorry am repeating myself a bit.

If you are still not sure, why not set up another trial?

If your child cant do an exercise, then a lesson of a lower age will appear next time and it will build back up from there.

Hi Homeboys. No I am not anything to do with Whizz, but I do like the programme, even though there are issues with it.

I think the assessments must vary, because when we did one, there were six separate lessons, plus the tests and loads of other questions, it was quite thorough. However, we did it again saying we werent good at maths and there were very fewer questions.

I also agree that sometimes the kids are not ready to move up and the lessons move you forward. This is why I suggest you work on the replays over and over again, rather than keep on with the tutorial.

I have complained about the help and still getting 100%, but if you feel its wrong, you should also give feedback. If more parents say they dont want their child to pass at 60% then maybe they will do something about it.
(I think I said it was 80% so sorry).
I also think the same lessons should be repeated, especially if you didnt get 100%. This to me is the only way of knowing if your child really does understand.

But it needs parent power to make changes.

I am also finding, as the age increases, the lessons seem to be getting easier, but I dont know if this is because I understand a lot more now. I have found it invaluable for teaching me the modern way of understanding maths.

Whenever I see this threads and have a look at the site it says

Maths-Whizz has proven over the last 3 years that students who use Maths-Whizz for 90 minutes a week improve their maths age in the first year of use by, on average, 2 years.

90 minutes a week for an extra 1 year improvement? (they should have made 1 year improvement in 1 year without Maths-Whizz)

Doesn't seem very impressive to me...

Surely you could improve a child by '1 year' yourself with 10 minutes a day 1:1 far quicker...

You're right IndigoBell, a concentrated 10 mins a day can also do the job.

However, there are lots of reasons why parents use programmes like Maths-Whizz:

1. The family has more than one child
2. The parent lacks maths confidence themselves
3. The child resists help from their parent
4. Not enough time to research and prepare materials

I'm a former maths teacher but due to no.1 (I've got 4 ranging from 2 - 11 yrs old) and a little bit of no.3 from the 11 year old, I've outsourced part of my role of supporting their learning. My oldest 2 are on Conquer Maths programme (I signed them up before I discovered Maths-Whizz) and my 4 year old is doing Reading Eggs (as recommended by another mumsnetter). I also like the fact that these programmes are a great introduction to self learning and my children don't take it so personally when the computer tells them that something is wrong or needs to be repeated.

I still sit down with the oldest 2 and do fun maths things like analyse the stats in The Top 10 of Everything or watch a video about maths history and there are times when they need the Conquer Maths work explained to them.

I've written a free ebook, Yes! You Can Be Your Child's Maths Tutor for subscribers to my newsletter, but the link will take you directly to the pdf. In it I suggest ways which points 1 to 4 above can be addressed, and how to set up those 10 free minutes a day, and also give ideas for free and paid sites that can be used to help support children's maths learning (although searching the mumsnet forums gives a much longer list of free sites)

I'd be interested to know how many teachers/mathematicians have their own children signed up to online educational programmes despite being able to teach/support their children themselves.

Caroline - I agree with points 1 - 4.

But I still think a recommended time of 90 mins a week (on a computer site!) is exceedingly excessive.

If your child is really struggling with maths - I wouldn't trust a computer to teach them.

If they're only a bit behind - 90 mins a week is an awful lot of time.

And if they're not behind - why are they doing extra maths?

Caroline - Why do your children need to do extra maths at home - are you not happy with what they are learning in class?

Any child can progress if they do an extra 90 minutes of maths at home in addition to the 5 hours they do at school.

But despite doing 5 hours at school, they dont always cover all aspects of a maths strand, there are disruptions, children who dont understand, they dont get it themselves, they only cover a topic in one lesson, it isnt explained clearly. There are many reasons.

Then the next time they cover the topic, its moved on a step, and they didnt get it the first time, so struggle at the next stage,and this builds up.

The teacher doesnt always notice because there are 30+ kids to cope with.

So then their confidence goes, they are no longer good at maths, they then hate maths and switch off.

Doing online maths isnt a chore, and I personally would prefer that that they are learnin something if on the computer rather than playing mindless games that have no educational value.

Doing 10-15 minutes a day is nothing, all they need to do is two maths games, or revise two maths games. They probably spend more than that in front of a computer.

The OP asked if anyone had used Whizz. We do and it works. It has its faults like all computer games, but it has helped fill in the gaps where my DC were actually struggling. I havent extended them beyond their year group, so they are covering their real year group of maths and consolidating everything that they have been taught, and are now clear on areas they struggled with.

Parents spend hours on computers. Look at the time we all spend on Mumsnet. Is this doin us any good?

Thats how I see it Roadart, My son loves playing on the computer so I would rather he is doing something with educational value!

I dont think education should be left to the school, and I want to help my children as much as I can, whether they are struggling or ahead, it shouldnt affect how much extra help they have at home. My son is reluctant for me to help him, he thinks he knows it all and we both get frustrated. This is alot less pressure. I also have 3 children so yes it is handy - my son can play on here while I listen to my daughter read, and they can swap! works well.

Thanks everyone, its given me alot to think about. I think I'll keep up with it as long as he shows an interest, he's only been using it for a few weeks so I'll be interested to see how he gets on.

Has anyone else used RM maths? Its really good and sounds a bit similar to Maths Whiz. My dd used it at school and then we found out we could get the package at home really cheaply.

We use the sample lessons atm - we are thinking of getting a proper subscription. However, the Dcs are good at maths so it is more fun for them than anything else and there are weaker areas such as writing where they are really struggling - think I'll start another thread about that though!

I would love to find a literacy programme that runs in the same way. We use Education City which is good, but doesnt have the same enthusiasm to get you through the lessons.

I like the way that you are automatically taken to the next lesson and would like to see a literacy programme run the same way

Education City is what the DCs use at school - I tested it at home and they appeared to be allergic to it even though it seemed decent enough. DS has been doing Headsprout and got along well with it though it is difficult to quantify in terms of reading ages and certainly not cheap.

I just worry about everything being screen-based from so early on (I came across grammar and punctuation games earlier on today) and I wonder whether this is at the root of their aversion to traditional paper-and-pen methods of learning. Even though we have cut TV down to about half an hour tops (if that) and DVDs to once a week (though Christmas hols will obviously disrupt this in a big way ), they are still easily getting several hours worth of screen time/day.

You are being swizzed!!!
I've just looked at the Maths Whiz demo and it looks very good. But RM maths that I bought for my daughter is better visually, does exactly the same and you can buy it for home use for £40 plus VAT. Plus you can set it up for all your children to use! I couldn't believe the difference in price. The only thng I could see better about maths whiz was the virtual shop!
I don't understand why RM maths is so cheap for home use but believe me its at least as good.

And its not an annual subscription.

The website says £284 ex vat. Where do you get £40 from.

Just looking at site now

sorry, just found it

hmm well my sons favourite part is the shop, so may give whizz a few more months and then try RM out, see what its like. I can alway go back to whizz if he prefers it.
I like that you can use it for all the children though.

I think Maths Whizz must be using exactly the same technology as RM Maths as they appear so similar.
BTW Road Art I agree entirely about going back to earlier stuff to fill in holes in their maths ability and also getting the child to do the section more times than required.
The RM program doesn't use maths age it does a placement test (sounds just the same) and then places the child on its own alphabetical levels. When you go into the parent/teacher section it does a graph showing the where your child is on the National Curriculum levels (or can be set to do Scottish ones). Its fun seeing the line on their graph going up and up...

I don't think these things are any better than parental time but they are very helpful in all the ways other posters have said and I think very sophisticated indeed.

You need to look in the 'basement' section of the RM site and they are very helpful on the phone.

thanks camicaze - I had never heard of RM either. Despite it's drawbacks, internet-based learning is great for lazy parents like me who would otherwise lack the enthusiasm to teach their DCs on such a regular basis.