Math Whizz Review

I have four kiddos with varying levels of skill when it comes to math.  Each year is a guessing game as to whether or not it will be a good year in math for us, so the opportunity to review Whizz Education's 12 month subscription to Math Whizz was a quick YES for me.  Currently I have just one student using the program, my 6th grader.




Consider Whizz Education your personal on-line math tutor.  With its artificial intelligence, it is able to adjust to each individual's pace and knowledge.  Since 2004 Whizz Education has serviced over 100, 000 student world wide and are now opening their doors to homeschool students with that same dedication and expertise.

 

With a quick registration and set up you are ready to begin.  Your child will take a placement test to determine what they know and what they do not know.  By allowing them to complete this test alone, you will have a more accurate view of their current level.  Let's face it, assessments are not the most fun but in this case it is essential, as the program will then adjust to your child's needs.

Once the assessment is completed and scored, you as the parent will receive an email letting you know what level your child is currently working at. 

You are then ready to have your child start the program.  Be ready- there is a lot to take in! 

A couple of quick facts-

• The Math Whizz program is animated but not a silly mess of stuff, therefore it shouldn't annoy your slightly older users.  

• You can change your profile character to one of 8 cute, animated icons.  Currently Colby is an ant man, go figure.

• Weekly Activity Summary Goals pop up occasionally in chart form and you can "watch your forest grow" as you add more time to your work. There are bonuses that move you ahead quicker for extra time spent in study.

• Math Whizz Buddies- You can enter your friends' user names in and be buddies online with fellow classmates or friends using the program.

• In the My Study area, your child can decorate their area and  "buy" items with their points.  There you will also find the play area where you can interact with the things they have bought, such as feeding the animals or watering the plants.  You can also simply go to Explore the Study to see how many points you have or what games you have, as well as begin a lesson or see what is new on Math Whizz.  

• The notice area will show your child how many kids are online and how many lessons have been completed, allows your child to send in jokes to be shared, and has occasional bonuses like posters to print off and holiday themed extras. You can also challenge kids around the globe from here.

• Occasional company emails.  About three weeks into the program I received a second email to check on our progress and to remind me of a few areas in the program that we might want to explore.  I actually appreciated that, as I had not seen the replay button which allows your child to go back over a previously learned section!

  Getting to the meat of the program-

By beginning in the Topic bank your child can choose from multiple math topics such as problem solving, multiplication, and percentages and ratios.  Within each topic are numerous activities for your child to complete.  Once your child chooses a topic there will be a short tutorial on that subject.  The tutorial is not only in written format but also auditory, covering many learning styles.  You do have the option to turn off the sound as well if your child finds it a distraction.  You will also find a dictionary icon on the bottom left of the screen so that your child can look up any words they are not familiar with.

Additionally, you can begin in the tutor section that will direct your child from one subject to another, again going through instruction tutorials and then having them work similar problems.  By finishing a section your child will earn points and progress on their forest path.  If your child has had a difficult time in a particular area, that area will be revisited within a few lessons for more instruction and review.  In contrast, there is a skip button that will be unlocked if your child has answered enough questions correctly, allowing them to move ahead at a quicker pace.

Our experience-

 Not all "review" or "tutor" programs work well, but this one I am impressed with.  What I love most is that it adapts to your child's needs by having them taking the pre-assessment first.  Not wasting time on things we already know is a BIG bonus in our book!

Game-like programs are also not my favorite, but I feel that this one is very balanced and I will say my son has spent more time on the lessons than anything else, though working on adding point credits to buy a dragon has been a motivator for him, for sure!  Doesn't every child need a dragon as a pet?

Colby does have a tendency to just type in an answer and move on (percentages, anyone?) when he doesn't understand a new concept, but found out quickly it would not just make that particular lesson go away!  MOM WIN!  Yep, you do it until you master it.  Isn't that, after all, the homeschool way?

I also like that the Math Whizz can be done independently.  So much so that now Colby chooses on his own to hop on the program for a few lessons after our formal school time.  Admittedly, he did this several times day at first and had to even be told a few times to be done, but now has settled into more of a routine with a few times a week.  When we were in a more hurried schedule a few days, we substituted Math Whizz for his regular math which would have taken much longer to do.

*One caution, it seems here at Halloween time, the company automatically added extras to your child's "space" such as pumpkins and cob webs and eyes in a container.  I would love if that was an options you could delete if your family wanted to.

One of the reasons I like having this type of "tutor" program available is that they often become self checks for us.  Has my child been exposed to that?  Does he understand that?  Can he still work those problems when presented in a different way?  Math Whizz has allowed us to identify a few weak areas in our current 6th grade math knowledge and catch up a bit in a fun and fairly easy way.

Let's face it, if they are having fun while they are learning, they seem to learn faster and retain more.  What more could you ask for?

Over 30 additional reviewers have been using Math Whizz this past month- you can find their reviews by clicking on the banner.