CandaceC Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 (edited) Do any of you have opinions on which one of these is better? The Math Shark is just over half the price of Flash Master on amazon right now...but I've heard more about Flash Master... So, any opinions?? thanks! ETA: the other option is to just make some flashcards. Ha! We have GOT to do something, though, cause my girls are not learning these facts! Edited January 23, 2011 by CandaceC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I don't know if I've just had bad luck, but we've had two math sharks and both of them quit working properly within a few months. One or several keys wouldn't work. It was really frustrating. The first one a friend sold me, so it was used but only for about a month. The second one I bought new thinking the first probably had had hard use or something. The new one did exactly the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceC Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 Thanks Janet! Any other experiences?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgonczi Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I do not know anything about the Math Shark, but we have A flash master and it has served us well. We bought it used off of eBay for around $35 including shipping. The thing I like most about it is that it lets parents review the results of the last 9 (or 10?) problem sets. It is a way to make sure your kid actually did the problems if you weren't around. It tells you what the problem set was and how many were right / wrong. It does not actually show you which problems were missed, which would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I got one of these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00004TFGA/ref=dp_olp_collectible?ie=UTF8&qid=1295828371&sr=1-1&condition=collectible for about 15 dollars with shipping and it has withstood being dropped and sat on for 2 years now. I hate the voice, but it gives kiddo something to fiddle with in the car when he has another child along who is busy fiddling with his toy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 We have a Math Shark and we haven't had any problems with it. That said, it's not "fun," so ds never enjoyed using it. He used it for a while, but I honestly think we got better results from plain old flash cards. Flash Master sounds like a better product to me, but again, I'm not sure there's much of a fun factor, and I'm not sure it's worth that much more money than the Math Shark. We also used Quarter Mile Math and Timez Attack, and although they were more fun, I'm not sure they worked wonders, either. I personally thought Quarter Mile Math was the best for speed drills. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceC Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 thanks so much ladies... I am leaning towards not spending the money right now. I did put an app on my i-touch that they can do - called Flash Tables, I might see how that goes for awhile before I make a purchase... I'm just at a loss, we have GOT to get these facts down, it is really keeping them from moving on and doing well with their math lessons. ugggg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arstephia Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 My friend had Math Shark and then bought a Flash Master and much preferred Flash Master. I bought a Flash Master myself. I think Flash Master has more function options, easier to use and track scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I got one of these:http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00004TFGA/ref=dp_olp_collectible?ie=UTF8&qid=1295828371&sr=1-1&condition=collectible for about 15 dollars with shipping and it has withstood being dropped and sat on for 2 years now. I hate the voice, but it gives kiddo something to fiddle with in the car when he has another child along who is busy fiddling with his toy. I find these frequently at thrift shops for about a dollar or two. We love them, and have about four different models. It might be worth checking at a local consignment shop or Goodwill if you have time. They frequently come up on E-bay too. FWIW, we have a Math Shark (found at a thrift shop for ~$3), and the Turbo Twist gets more use here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Someone posted on the K-8 boards recently about simply using flashcards and letting the child work with Cuisenaire rods to *see* the facts, working through each one until they are solid with them. That might be a cheaper option, or even just an option until you can find the electrical device you'd prefer. There's also a really cool rainbow chart of multiplication facts somewhere online which would be fun to draw and fill in. Sorry I can't remember where I saw it, but I do remember it was a Waldorf-type activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 thanks so much ladies... I am leaning towards not spending the money right now. I did put an app on my i-touch that they can do - called Flash Tables, I might see how that goes for awhile before I make a purchase... I'm just at a loss, we have GOT to get these facts down, it is really keeping them from moving on and doing well with their math lessons. ugggg. I had (note past tense) several fun electronic flashcard things. My two older girls never managed to memorize their facts no matter how much they played on them. The only thing that ended up working was giving them real, paper flashcards and have them work on them together for 20 min. a day. They had the facts through 12 down in a week. I honestly think the real paper aspect was somewhat of a novelty to my computer geek kids. Just a plug for index cards and sharpies here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 We have 2 Flashmasters and 1 Math Shark, both gathering dust. Almost never used. The screens are small and the numbers are hard to read (for me anyway) compared to a computer. They are boring. Really boring. My dc learned math facts best when I quizzed them, always returning to whatever was difficult for them. For electronic math, both kids loved TimezAttack and (to a lesser extent) Quarter Mile Math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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