Math Galaxy

Ever wish you had a math tutor for your child? Math Galaxy offers its services by promising to help K-12 students "connect abstract concepts of math to concrete experiences with graphical illustrations at each step..." Our family received a free download of Math Galaxy's computer program Whole Numbers Fun in exchange for this review. My second grade daughter, Sierra, assisted me in discovering the best and worst of Math Galaxy.

Whole Numbers Fun is one of six computer programs offered by Math Galaxy. Other programs include:

• Fractions Fun
• Decimals, Proportions and Percentage Fun
• Word Problems Fun
• Pre-Algebra Fun
• Algebra Fundamentals

Unlike my version, customers receive programs on CD for $29.95. Math Galaxy is currently offering FREE SHIPPING for any programs ordered.

With all the "FUN" mentioned by Math Galaxy in the titles of their programs I expected great things. Math has NOT been FUN for Sierra this year. With the promise of changing her experience we put Whole Numbers Fun to task.

Whole Numbers Fun is a very basic computer program. The graphics included are simple. There are no cute characters, rocket ships, sound effects, etc., just basic shapes and numbers.We could not discover an instructions page or help link, but most of the program was intuitive. Not realizing at first how very basic the program was, I double checked my computer's speakers to determine if the sound was off. It wasn't. There are NO sound effects or audio cues to guide students in the learning process. Math Galaxy programs are strictly visual.

Upon opening the computer program Sierra chose to practice addition and clicked on the button to let the fun begin. Next, she chose which whole number to use for addition practice, typing in number 6. The next screen presented an option of "random" or "in order" practice of addition problems related to number 6.

When testing a portion of the Adding section of Whole Numbers Fun the screen displayed large basic shapes at the top of the page and numbers organized in a number sentence directly below the shapes. A faint white box sectioning off ten of the shapes gave the visual cue to help students build awareness of the ease of organizing ones into tens for addition.

Unfortunately, when Sierra typed in her first few answers we couldn't find them on the screen. We typed the answer several times, tried to find a cursor with our mouse, but nothing showed up. Without a help icon or other instructions Sierra and I became easily frustrated. Fortunately, within a few minutes, we discovered the answer had appeared at the bottom of the screen not near the number sentence problem as anticipated. Sierra's previous typing attempts displayed an incorrect answer, and even though we tried to backspace to delete it, the program wouldn't let us. We finally solved the problem by hitting enter on the keyboard, which allowed us a second attempt at solving the problem. Math Galaxy teaches to mastery and will not allow students to continue to other problems without solving each one correctly.

When a problem is solved correctly a giant red message of CORRECT! appears as a reward. In addition, (pardon the pun) students are rewarded with "robots" for correct answers during a drill. These robots are used in the Labyrinth, a separate game aspect of the program. The games in the Labyrinth are reminiscent of early Atari games in design. They begin with a page of instructions/directions, but we still struggled to get the games to operate correctly. Many robots died in the Labyrinth due to our sad game playing ability.

Sierra summed up our game experience quite well when asked for her opinion."I kind of liked the robot game a little bit", she said. "I liked the different caves, but I didn't like it when we couldn't get the robot to move", she added.

Although the design of Whole Numbers Fun is not high-tech the material covered is comprehensive. Topics in the program are typical of grades 1-4 math curricula. They include:

• Adding
• Subtracting
• Multiplying
• Dividing
• Place Value
• Rounding and Estimating
• Patterns and Sequences
• Time
• Money Length
• Area
• Volume
• Pictographs
• Bar Graphs
• Probability
• Riddles

Games on the CD designed to stretch critical thinking skills include:

• Word Problems
• Word Jumbles
• Bridge the Swamp
• Riddles
• Labyrinth
• Word Jumbles
• Bridge the Swamp

Whole Numbers Fun, offers a relatively inexpensive option for math drill practice. By nature, computer programs usually last through multiple children making the initial investment a true bargain. Customers are offered a 30-Day money back guarantee at the company website, www.mathgalaxy.com. Coupled with the FREE SHIPPING offer I would encourage anyone interested in their own test market experience to give it a try.

Although I am not a fan of Math Galaxy, my experience with computer programs and children is that even the most basic are worth a child's time. What I view as simple is rarely met with as much skepticism by my younger students. Sierra summed up her experience with Math Galaxy by pointing out her favorite aspects of the program. "I like how they show you the problems with shapes to help you solve it. I liked typing on the computer too."

Facts First/ Saxon Harcourt

Facts First, an on-line program distributed by Saxon Homeschool and created by Skills Tutor, a sister company of Saxon, had my attention when it showed up on the review schedule for TOS Review Crew. My family has been a fan of Saxon Math since the beginning of our homeschool journey, or rather should I say, I have been a fan, my kids, well.....

Facts First is designed to develop "fluency with math facts". This skill mirrors a major portion of the Saxon Math curriculum, but math fluency complements any math program, not just Saxon. The on-line subscription based computer program drills kids in basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division math facts through timed drills. Students as young as Kindergarten easily benefit from the program targeted to younger students. Students do not need to be able to read independently to be able to use the program independently.

Our family received a 90 subscription to Facts First in exchange for this review. My 2nd grade daughter, Sierra and Kindergarten son, Aidan couldn't have been happier.

After logging into the site for the first time it guided me to register up to 4 students. Students are represented by a basic avatar, labeled with their name. Once logged into the site even a younger child can find his account by simply clicking on his name. Since I only had two students needing to develop fluency in basic math facts I quickly had everyone registered and we were ready to begin.

Although I selected addition to begin our trial, each time a student logs in they may choose to learn and practice addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. These are represented by large mathematical symbols for each, (+, -, X, etc.) on a button. Clicking on the math symbol takes users to the first "Welcome" lesson for the topic.

Non-readers easily continue without assistance as all directions to create a personalized avatar character for the lessons are spoken and written. After creating the avatar by choosing a body, clothes, etc. students are ready to attempt their first pre-test to check their fluency level.

Sierra began her first lesson by watching a teacher explain to her class the concept for adding zero to a number. Next she was asked to practice the concept a few times before taking a quiz to check fluency. Sound effects accompanied her rate of speed encouraging her inner competitive spirit.

Speed is very important with Facts First as students will not be awarded credit for completed work if it is done too slowly. A chart known as The Math Fact Matrix displays students progress when attempted. Facts marked in green note the rating of "excellent", yellow equals "good", red notes "needs work" and blue dashed lines mark the fact as "not sure yet".

Sierra received the award of "not sure yet" despite receiving all checks and check pluses when drilling her facts. She was a bit frustrated with this aspect which basically penalized her for slow typing skills. She had answered all of her facts correctly, but been told by the program her work was less than satisfactory. Unfortunately, receiving a 42% for answering all questions correctly left her discouraged instead of encouraged.

Parent control settings with Facts First allow adjusting the speed required for math facts. This can be individualized for each student in case someone is a slow typist, but excellent mathematician. As I prodded Sierra forward she took the her timed test two more times in an effort to compensate for the lack of typing experience. She began to warm up to Facts First as her scores continued to improve. By her third attemtpt her speed had improved enough to warrant an award of 84%.

Although Sierra struggled getting to know Facts First she said she enjoyed the program over all. "I liked Facts First, because it helped me learn math. I like when you begin the lesson how it puts your character in different places; sometimes it's the school and sometimes it's at the recycling center or at home," she said.

Aidan, a future computer geek, loved every moment of Facts First. He easily sailed through quite a few lessons and I believe learned new addition facts from his time spent with the program. Due to his age, I had not spent much if any time instructing him in addition math facts. Facts First lit a fire within him for reciting addition facts which he now readily shares with anyone close enough to listen.

After spending 20 minutes with a math lesson Facts First rewards students with "arcade" time. A visit to the arcade simply means more computer math games to play focused around a carnival theme. Arcade time is timed and even when in the middle of a really great game a message of "times up" appears and the user is re-directed back to the lessons. I thought this feature was good, allowing me the freedom to set my little computer nut loose with Facts First trusting his time would be well spent.

"I really loved it! I liked the person (avatar) on the screen because he is very cool with his video game shirt. I really liked the math games I got to play at the end", said Aidan.

Facts First is fun oriented for the kids and practical for the homeschool parent wanting to monitor time spent "playing" on the computer. When logged into an individual student account parents can view a detailed report for each time test. Clicking on the title of a time test shows dates of the attempts, whether the student completed the task or not and a final score or percentage calculated by measuring their mastery speed level. The report also details how much time is spent on with each time test.

Facts First is comprehensive in its scope of basic math skills. Within the topic of addition there are 40 different time tests to master, not including pre-tests and final or post tests. Addition topics include:

• Adding 0
• Adding 1 and 2
• Adding 5
• Doubles (ie. 2+2 and 4+4)
• Doubles plus one (ie. 1+2 and 2+3)
• Sums 9 to 11
• Sums 12 and 13
• Sums 14 to 17

A one year subscription to Facts First is $49.99 and good for up to four users in one home. A free demo of the program can be found on the company website at http://www.factsfirst.com/