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herdingkittens
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| Posted: April 29 2011 at 8:25am | IP Logged
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We are using Singapore right now and love it, but I want to farm out my drill practice to the computer (both for saving me time and fun for the children) - however, I am not a fan of the ad supported sites.
I was looking at IXL, but it would cost $120 a year for just my 3 oldest  . I LOVE the look of it, and my PS teacher husband loves all the state standards stuff. 
Anyone using a online program or software that they love for drill or even instruction that does not cost an arm and a leg?
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LML22
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| Posted: April 29 2011 at 10:31am | IP Logged
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we use Timez attack, the free version for multiplication. My kids love it and it has helped them so much.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 29 2011 at 12:03pm | IP Logged
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have you checked out math is fun
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hmbress
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| Posted: May 03 2011 at 12:31pm | IP Logged
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I've been using quizlet to make flashcards, but my son drills by playing the games. The scatter game times him, so I have him practice until he can do 20 facts in consistently under a minute. I've linked to an example set I created.
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SallyT
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| Posted: May 03 2011 at 7:45pm | IP Logged
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IXL. It's relatively pricey, but in my mathematically-challenged household, I'm finding it to be worth every penny.
Sally
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herdingkittens
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| Posted: May 03 2011 at 9:06pm | IP Logged
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Thanks all for the suggestions... 
Sally - how long has your family been using IXL? Are you seeing a big difference? How do you use it in your home?
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SallyT
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| Posted: May 04 2011 at 7:13am | IP Logged
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We've been using it for some months now, with a first grader, a second grader, and a seventh grader. The first grader finished a workbook about a month ago, and I've been using IXL basically as her daily math till the end of the year. It's also a good mental-math warmup for whatever lesson we do for the day. I am seeing greater math *confidence* in my first grader -- both my daughters (12th and 1st) take a very emotional view of anything math-related, and this has helped the first-grader over her total math resistance.
With the second grader, I've used it more sporadically, and more as a way of testing what he knows. It is a fun way to get in some diagnostic evaluation. The seventh grader uses it as a self-teaching resource -- we have to do state-mandated standardized testing, and he wanted to raise his scores from last year, so he's been using it daily as a review. He also will work independently on anything he has trouble with, and their explanations of missed problems have helped him to master concepts in pre-algebra (he does Saxon Algebra 1/2 right now). I'm anxious for them to put up algebra 1!
You can use it as a free sample kind of thing -- it gives you so much time daily for free practice on any level you like, though you have to subscribe to have it record your student's work. That's one thing I like about it -- they send out weekly bulletins and printable certificates related to a child's performance, and my younger children love the feedback. I find the scope-and-sequence aspect of it very helpful in filling in gaps as well.
It is a lot of money for the amount of time we spend on it -- sometimes a lot, sometimes not so much -- but to me the quality of the experience is worth paying something. I do pay for all 3 of my kids who use it, though it occurs to me that if you didn't care as much about the personalized feedback, you could subscribe one child and just practice on different grade levels with different children.
I will say this, too: their tech support is fantastic. We were having problems with the site at one point, and I sent an email inquiring about what was going on. I figured I'd get some form email back, but instead I got a personal phone call from a guy who talked to me for over an hour, trying to work out what glitches in my computer were causing the site to malfunction for me. He was incredibly nice, and all the de-bugging turned out to be an interesting lesson for my kids, who were gathered around as he talked to me.
Again, it is pricey, and if I had to trim my budget, that would be the first thing to downsize or ditch, but right now I'm not really missing the money, and I'm finding that having an online resource which keeps me on track (instead of just random games, or one game the kids play over and over) is hugely helpful. I love the idea of living math, but the experience of my first child, who never memorized the most basic facts (in her four years in an English state school, doing very conceptual, creative math), has led me to be much more drill-oriented with my younger children than I would otherwise have been.
For a free option, by the way, we've also liked the games at Funbrain.
Sally
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herdingkittens
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| Posted: May 04 2011 at 7:53am | IP Logged
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Thanks, Sally - that is really helpful!
I did find PeakSmart It looks similar and is free... Did you look into this one?
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SallyT
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| Posted: May 04 2011 at 11:56am | IP Logged
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Thanks - I'll check it out. A free option would be nice. Do they have upper-level (ie middle and high-school) math?
Oh, well, never mind, I'll go check it out. Thanks again!
Sally
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SallyT
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Wow, Peaksmart does look great. My kids love the little prize-y things you get (pictures of stuff on the computer, but they love them) with IXL, but I may switch to PS for my younger two, and just keep IXL for the older one.
I'm especially looking for things for us to do this summer, and this may fit the bill.
Sally
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AtHomeScience
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I am a subscriber to ExploreLearning Gizmos, which we love, and they just launched a new website called ReflexMath. I am going to sign up for the two week trial to see how good it is.
The price is $35 per student for one year. I don't know if you can get by with purchasing one student if you are just going to use it for additional practice. Our interest is strictly for drilling math facts and not for math concepts.
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Ramie
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We use the Math Shark for drill. I have them do it a couple of times a week, for 5-10 minutes at a time. They work on one operation at a time, and have to complete each set at a certain speed to count it as a success (I think it's around 10 questions at level 3 in 35 seconds). I expect 10 successes in a row (which ensures a big enough variety of questions) before moving on to the next operation. It's easy for them to use, it doesn't require me to give up my computer, and I've been happy with the results.
http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-8490-MathShark/dp /B00000IRMM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304548471&sr=8-1
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SallyT
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| Posted: May 05 2011 at 3:39pm | IP Logged
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We're trying out PeakSmart right now, and I like it, though my kids disliked the assessment quizzes we took today (about twice as long as an IXL session, and geared to what seemed to me a more advanced level for a given grade than either or regular math or IXL, so that there was a good bit of material my second grader had never seen, chiefly multiplication).
I like, though, that it's sending us quizzes based on what my kids apparently haven't mastered. This will make for a good, thorough summer review.
Right now PeakSmart is free, but they're in beta, which means that eventually this will be another paid-subscription thing, like IXL. I'm wondering how the prices will compare. To me it's worth a lot to have the personalized service and feedback for each child, and I like that PS will send quizzes as many days a week as we want customized to my kids' strengths and weaknesses as indicated by previous quizzes. That's really cool. It's especially cool while it's free, but I may decide it's cool even if they start charging what IXL charges -- I have paid math tutors before, and I'd be just as happy to pay a program like this to help my kids gain confidence and mastery in math.
Sally
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SallyT
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| Posted: May 06 2011 at 7:24am | IP Logged
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Another thing I potentially like about PeakSmart: review questions on the daily quizzes, so they keep practicing concepts already mastered and don't forget them. I've found this to be a drawback of MCP math, which we otherwise love -- my second-grade math whiz flies through things, but then doesn't remember what he did two chapters back. I'm thinking, yet again, that PS will make for excellent summer review.
Sally
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SallyT
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| Posted: May 06 2011 at 7:26am | IP Logged
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Ramie, I've seen those Math Sharks. Good to have a review -- not having to give up my computer would be a nice thing!
Sally
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AtHomeScience
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Homeschool Buyer's Co-op has a drill program called Quarter Mile Math Deluxe. You can get the online version for 1 month for free with Smart Points, and you can purchase a 1 year access for $17.48 that allows multiple students to play it on different computers simultaneously.
I've been checking out PeakSmart, too. At this point it I'll be trying these other things before ReflexMath. I emailed HSB to request they try to get a group buy for it, so we'll see.
The Math Shark is a good idea, though more expensive and only one can use it at a time. Does it keep track of progress and can it keep track for multiple students?
Thanks!
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Ramie
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| Posted: May 07 2011 at 3:33pm | IP Logged
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AFAIK, the math shark does not keep track of progress. I simply created a "math drill log" for each child which looks like a simple table with 2 columns and as many rows as fit on the paper. One column is for writing the operation they are working on, and the other long column is where they track their progress. They make an X or O at the end of each exercise to note whether or not they completed it in less than 35 seconds (the shark gives you 10 problems to solve, but if you get one wrong, it adds it to the end, so the set isn't finished until you get them all right). They don't bother to mark anything until they start getting the drills completely in the timeframe (it takes a while to get to that speed). Once they start getting them done that fast, they start marking, and and then it is easy to tell when they've done 10 in a row.
I have them start with addition, then when they've got their 10 in a row for addition, move on to subtraction, then multiplication, then division. This takes a long time. My 4th grader started doing this in the 2nd half of 2nd grade, and just finished division near the beginning of this school year. Now I just have him do it informally, less often, just to keep it fresh. I can't really say how it works for all kids, only having gone this for the one so far, but for him it has worked - he knows his facts well (we use Singapore also, so he really isn't getting any other drill). My 2nd grade dd is working on subtraction right now, and I imagine she won't be drilling mult. and div. until 3rd grade.
It does require an initial investment. But OTOH, you aren't limited to a timeframe like you are with a subscription. And you can use them at any time and in any place. You will have to take turns, but then most people have to share computers too. When I figure how long I have it, and for how many kids (assuming it doesn't break, which ours hasn't), it's not bad compared to subscription type services.
I have 2 complaints about the Math Shark: One is that I would like it better if it were backlit. And the other is that the numbers are wearing off of the buttons. My kids have memorized what goes where, but I will probably have to write them on with marker for my next one if I use it with her, and I don't know how well permanent marker stays when being rubbed with fingers.
Sorry for the long post. I didn't want to go overboard with my explanation the first time around, but well, now I've gone and done it. ;) HTH.
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herdingkittens
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| Posted: May 09 2011 at 9:28pm | IP Logged
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SallyT wrote:
| We're trying out PeakSmart right now, and I like it, though my kids disliked the assessment quizzes we took today (about twice as long as an IXL session, and geared to what seemed to me a more advanced level for a given grade than either or regular math or IXL, so that there was a good bit of material my second grader had never seen, chiefly multiplication). |
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Yes, the assessment quiz is crazy time-consuming, and it seemed like the material was way above grade level. I really had to emphasize that it was okay if they did not know the answers. Granted, we have been moving slowly with math this year.... 
SallyT wrote:
Right now PeakSmart is free, but they're in beta, which means that eventually this will be another paid-subscription thing, like IXL. I'm wondering how the prices will compare. To me it's worth a lot to have the personalized service and feedback for each child, and I like that PS will send quizzes as many days a week as we want customized to my kids' strengths and weaknesses as indicated by previous quizzes. That's really cool. It's especially cool while it's free, but I may decide it's cool even if they start charging what IXL charges -- I have paid math tutors before, and I'd be just as happy to pay a program like this to help my kids gain confidence and mastery in math.
Sally |
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Well, keep us posted, if you think of it. It would be nice to have a good comparison from someone who has used both.
Thanks again for sharing!!
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herdingkittens
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| Posted: May 09 2011 at 9:30pm | IP Logged
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AtHomeScience wrote:
Homeschool Buyer's Co-op has a drill program called Quarter Mile Math Deluxe. You can get the online version for 1 month for free with Smart Points, and you can purchase a 1 year access for $17.48 that allows multiple students to play it on different computers simultaneously.
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Kris, have you used this program? The price is nice....
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: May 10 2011 at 6:14am | IP Logged
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I am pretty sure IXL is on Homeschool Buyers Coop, too!
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4Real Forums : Living and Loving Numbers
Topic: online or software drill and practice?
