Computer math - what are the options? which are conceptual/formulaic?

[diaperjoys]

We're considering math on the computer for one of my kiddos, and I'm trying to figure out our options. What else should I be considering? I know about:

 

Teaching Textbooks....a complete curriculum, some use it a year ahead...What is the approach - formulaic or conceptual, mastery or spiral?

 

Math Whiz...intended as a complete curriculum, I think? ahead or behind grade level? mastery or spiral? pros and cons?

 

Dreambox....a supplement, conceptual?

 

What other options do we have?

[Aconnolley]

Teaching Textbooks is spiral (though I have heard, not as incremental spiral as something like Saxon, which we have never used) I would not consider it conceptual like MM or Singpore. (I hope that I don't get jumped on here.) ;) The word problems are much easier. That said, it is what worked for my son. We spent a miserable year with MM. It just didn't click for him. (not a good match for the student, not that MM isn't great) He has gained much more confidence this year! In fact, the other day we ran onto something about how many tons a certain animal was and he was happy to be able to say the he could easily figure how many ounces that would be. Maybe that should be simple for a 5th grader (or younger) to do out of the blue, but last year he wouldn't have even attempted it, much less volunteered the information without me walking him through each step. Needless to say, he will be continueing with TT next year. If he were a mathy kid, I am not sure that we would go that route though. We do use it one year ahead, and almost could have done two years, but I wanted him to have a solid year and also didn't want to hit pre-algebra too soon. Admittedly, I do supplement a bit too. There just wasn't enough review on fractions for him. I also try to supplement a bit with problem solving, because that is where I see TT being a little weak and we have to take the ITBS every year for our state. (only the problem solving/data interpretation part) For us, TT is working and I am very glad to have found it!

 

My 6yo dd is doing a trial of Dreambox right now. From the little bit that I have seen, it seems very conceptual, but I wouldn't consider it a complete curriculum. (maybe I just haven't seen it all yet) It seems to be to be a very nice supplement.

 

We did a trial of Math Whiz last year. I wouldn't consider it a complete program either.

 

Another option is Aleks. I think that maybe some use it as their core math. I would have a hard time doing that since it lets the student pick which topic to work on out of their pie graph. My son would never get enough review that way. It also presents the explanations to read. With my son being VERY auditory, this wasn't the best option for us. It is a good program though.

 

We tried T4Learning too. (Can you tell that I was desperate to find a computer math program that would work for us?) :lol: It is animated. (especially in the younger grades) It didn't have any review though, and didn't allow me to make asignments. I could track what he did, but he could easily skip quizzes and I might never notice. It also wasn't as good as TT when he was having difficulty with a certain problem. It gave the same explanations over and over and, even if they weren't helpful. I still like T4L as a supplement (especially for language), but it just didn't cut it as our sole curriculum. It does work for some though.

 

Just my opinions, and what worked/didn't work for us... I hope that it helps a bit. :D

 

Angela

[Hunter]

These are old but free http://college.cengage.com/mathematics/resources/computer_tutor/students/index.html

 

They work on Vista, on down, but not Windows 7. I just fired up an old XP netbook to use a couple of old computer educational programs that don't work on Windows 7, but are just too effective to stop using.

 

Aufmann Math is written for remedial and regular junior college and it just plain WORKS. The software generates as unlimited # of word problems of each type. You can get old textbooks to supplement the software at Amazon for just pennies. The excellent word problems are the strength of Aufamann math.

 

My today's standards the software is antiquated looking, but if you think of it as an interactive power point lesson, it's a little easier to appreciate.

 

I have used these programs with multiple students and multiple levels and with multiple learning types and everyone made fast and deep progress. I had lost this link for awhile and thought they were gone, but was desperate enough to spend hours searching for them recently, and was very happy to see them still around.

 

The titles cover basic math through intermediate algebra.