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Mathletics

20 replies

fivegomadindorset · 04/11/2011 22:59

What is it? How long does it last for?

why do they have to coose whether they are a boy or a girl?

are the problems different?

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schnitzelvoncrumm · 04/11/2011 23:10

the avatar is a boy avatar or a girl avatar.

The problems are graded by year group/age.
You can do it from YR to Y11 I think. DS1 did it for a while on a home subscription and enjoyed it.

HoneyandHaycorns · 05/11/2011 08:54

DD has an account provided by her school. She really likes it. She loves buying clothes and accessories for her avatar, which you can do when you have earned credits by doing maths exercises. There are practice sections linked to the national curriculum as well as "live" games where kids can compete against other kids elsewhere in the world. You can also gain certificates etc for doing a certain amount of work each week.

We like it, but no idea how much it would cost to subscribe individually.

DamnDeDoubtance · 05/11/2011 09:32

Is it better than maths whizz? I was about to subscribe to maths whizz which we have used before.

Savonarola · 05/11/2011 09:37

And a geek question - I can't get Mathletics to run on an iPad1. Is there any way to get it going? (Something I could install that an iPad will accept?)

fastweb · 05/11/2011 09:41

It's different from mathswhizz.

I think maths whizz is better for younger kids, and those who need far more detailed step by step instructions. DS loved it the year we used it and at that time I wanted the course laid out for me in a systematic fashion, with lots of recycling.

But mathletics allows you to chose which areas to work on which suited us better last year and this. And the live challenge is fabby for imporving the metal arithmatic of a competative xhild (points to DS)

fastweb · 05/11/2011 09:42

Mathletics only has live challenge on the ipad at the mo.

Probably cos the main site uses flash I guess.

fivegomadindorset · 05/11/2011 09:42

This is DD's 'homework' for this week is to play on it. Had a quick look last night, hoping that this is also in conjunction with written homework but will ask the teacher on Monday.

OP posts:
Savonarola · 05/11/2011 09:46

I had a nasty feeling that might be the case!

"playing" on Mathletics isn't as pointless as it sounds - the tea her can set the level of question, and the game is essentially to do lots of chunks of sums in order to pimp your avatar.

It's not mathematics - it's arithmetic, but a good way to get children to practice.

DamnDeDoubtance · 05/11/2011 09:50

DD is justs starting out in year 2 so I will probably stick with maths whizz.

I had a look at mathletics but couldn't see any way to try before you buy, to see if it suited her.

fastweb · 05/11/2011 10:00

There is no try before you buy option with math,etics (which I think is a bit mad myself), but you can see demos on youtube (not quite the same thing though as getting your own hands on it)

On the plus side however their customer service is extrodinarily good and if you don't like the product they bend over backwards to let you cancel. I bought their spelling programme too, hated it and they brought up cancellation and money back before I had the xhance to.

HoneyandHaycorns · 05/11/2011 12:41

It's more than arithmetic, Savonarola - my dd has done stuff in shape, measures, data handling etc. Though the live games are all arithmetic.

fastweb · 05/11/2011 13:18

It's not mathematics - it's arithmetic, but a good way to get children to practice.

The live challenge section is mental arithmatic, but the main area (and rain forest maths as a freebie extra) are not maths free zones.

My son improved a lot using mathletics specifically for geometry and algebra for example.

GreyRosesAreMyFavourite · 05/11/2011 16:08

My nine year old has been playing on it all afternoon Grin She likes it much more than Maths Factor she also has a subscription for.

carocaro · 06/11/2011 10:00

DS1 aged 9 loves this, they school has it and they have a user name and password, he's on it all the time, had to drag him off it last nigh to go to a firework display! He loves the against the clock games.

RoadArt · 07/11/2011 00:20

I use both programmes (Whizz and Mathletics) and both are excellent but they are very very different and you cant make true comparisons.

Mathletics is very cheap in comparison and offers a whole range of lessons within each of the curriculum topics. You can assign (if you cant then contact Mathletics) year levels or curriculum levels. There is less to do on the year levels.

On each lesson there is a ? where you can be taught how to do the subject, but before you start the lessons there is a quick test to do first to see how much you understand on the topic (these questions tend to come from the earlier age). When you complete all the lessons there is a test at the end to see how much you understood.

You can repeat the lessons as many times as you want, but points stop accumulating after three goes.

Mathletics isnt quite as good at explaining new concepts, so if you struggle with something and dont understand the lesson then you are a bit stuck.

Mathletics uses a lot of technical maths language from a very early age.

It is a fantastic programme for revision revision practice revision.

The Live Programmes are also really good for practicing basic facts and if your child likes these then encourage them.

There are also problem games, which from aparents point of view just like games and you want them back on the lessons, but they are very important for learning how to read questions from a different point of view.

The downsides are you pick an age or curriculum level but sometimes children do vary on the levels in the different strands. Mathletics can make adjustments but parents cant.

Overall it is a fantastic product for the price, and if used regularly for 12 months doesnt really cost much per week. To get the best out of it they recommend a minimum of 30 minutes but you will see improvements if you use it for 90 minutes a week. (times pinched from Whizz recommendations)

Questions are not gimmicky with fancy graphics and you can get through lessons very quickly.

RoadArt · 07/11/2011 00:25

DamnDeDoubtance

Over the two products, I personally prefer Whizz. Main reasons are because of the teaching of new concepts which are explained much clearer.

Also children cant avoid lessons they dont like, whereas on Mathletics I find they will only do lessons that they already understand.

I prefer that Whizz has questions at different age/curriculum levels to suit the knowledge and abilities of the child.

However, on saying that, my children are using Mathletics more and more over Whizz because it is quicker to get through lessons, they are now bored with all the fancy graphs, they think it is too slow (and hate doing lessons for subjects they dont like).

They are very different products and I am finding it helpful that my children use both programmes. This has helped reinforce topics they might not have been so clear about - because they are presented in different ways

If you look at the money you spend over a 12 month period then it doesnt seem quite so bad.

Both are good products and it is probably down to personal preference of what suits your child.

Ed01 · 07/11/2011 22:13

Just on the iPad and Mathletics, iSwifter will let you access any flash based sites. It's worth trying out, it'll let you use all the other stuff on the internet that you wouldn't normally be able to through the iPad.

Oh, Android tablets will work just fine with Mathletics straight out of the box!

You can find iSwifter here:
itunes.apple.com/au/app/iswifter/id388857173?mt=8

Ed01 · 07/11/2011 22:19

Hiya RoadArt, thought i'd chip in with some info about setting curriculum levels. If you have a home licence you can change the curriculum level up to 6 times a year.
Teachers can also now put students in a number of different groups (a recent upgrade to the site added this one!), giving them access to activities from multiple courses at the same time.

The kids can also attempt 'something harder' or 'something easier' questions in each course, which come from the grade above or below.

Pretty cool : )

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