Lately, we’ve had an interesting phenomenon in our house. Kids that are doing math even on the weekend. Let me tell you this is definitly not the norm in our home. Smartick has made learning math really fun in our house. Like an eight year old that grabs the computer and works on it without being told on a Saturday morning-kind of fun. I mean seriously-who is this kid?!
Smartick is designed to be used as a math supplement for children between the ages of four and fourteen. It can be used both as a remedial program and as an accelerated program because it adjusts the lessons according to the individual student’s abilities.
In getting acquainted with Smartick intitally I checked out the FAQ. I found the response to the question of what methodiology is utilized quite interesting: “Our methodology incorporates the best of traditional learning methods (Japan, the Singapore method, etc.), combined with studies from top research centers and Universities, such as Harvard and the University of Chicago. State of the art technology and pedagogical adaptation is added to the mix by our outstanding team of Engineers, Mathematicians, Educators, and Psychologists.”
How Have We Used Smartick?
When I originally signed up to review Smartick I had Eli and Rebekah in mind for the review. So upon receipt I signed the two of them up, then they started working on it. Well as per normal, the younger kids are often checking out what the older kids are working on. So when Quinton saw Eli and Rebekah having so much fun with math he wanted to get in on the action. So I signed him up. A little more time goes by and Hannah decides she needs to get in on the action. Now instead of just two kids I have four kids working on Smartick and they all LOVE it.
The lessons really do last 15 minutes and there’s a timer to show them how long they’ve worked. If they get all the questions right and your time isn’t out you can get complete bonus questions to get more “ticks” (reward stars). The ticks can then be used as currency to purchase things like pets.
Below are various screenshots from within the program.
At the completion of each lesson, I receive a personalized email (for each child) detailing what types of questions were asked during the lesson and how many questions were answered correctly. Smartick also rates their performance to give me an idea of how well they understand the concepts based on the number of correct answers and by the amount of time it takes them to answer the questons. The rankings come back as Improvable, Satisfactory, and Outstanding. Here is a screenshot from one of the emails.
From the Parent Dashboard I can see how active the kids have been on Smartick and how they did each day. On the calendar below the colored circles represent different levels; red = improvable, orange = satisfactory, green = outstanding. The pencil and paper icon represents the Level Assessment. The light bulb represents a logic lesson. The scroll represents a review session.
The kids have been able to interact with each other on Smartick by friending each other. They can go to each other’s house within the program and see the how they’ve decorated their room and see the pets they’ve been able to purchase. There are different locations within the program such as the gym, treehouse, and school. There are special activities within each of those locations. These fun activities seem to be effective at motivating the kids especially since they compare with each other.
What Have We Thought of Smartick?
To say that Smartick has been a hit around here is a major understatement. The kids haven’t argued about doing it at all. It is fun to watch them actually looking forward to math. This is certainly a review that I’m thankful we have been able to be part of!
Connect with Smartick on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Smartick
Twitter: https://twitter.com/smartickmethod?lang=en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smartick/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD_f6FMb0X1QDp5j7puQh1Q
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Blessings,
Jennifer
