Math Apps

Published on: October 9, 2012

Splash Math Review

Splash Math Makes a Splash

There are a lot – a lot – of iPad math apps for kids. They are multiplying like rabbits in the App Store. The problem is that most are just a replica of the last one.

I’ve used hundreds – literally – of math apps with my kids. The math iPad app I believe in the most is Splash Math. That’s a big statement. Not surprisingly, it is also the most expensive math app we have in our arsenal.

Published on: April 2, 2012

Flow Math iPad App

By Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Flow Math Is an App Worth Trying

FlowMath is a really good iPad math app that helps your child take the leap from memorizing math facts to making use of that knowledge. It is a great bridge from facts to a real math application.

FlowMath gives you an answer. Let’s say it is 11 like the picture here. How do you get to 11? Your child might know that 5+6=11. But, can they figure that out given a bunch of numbers from which to choose? You can choose the numbers and the type of operation – start out with just addition if you child is doing something like this for the first time – and see how fast you can make your way through this twist on arithmetic tables.

Published on: June 30, 2011

Math Bingo

By Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

mathbingo Math Bingo is a iPad math app that works. How does it “work”? Every child – okay, only 5 but still – that plays the game enjoys it. And they are doing math. This is game, set, and match.

Math Bingo has an extremely simple concept: answer the question and put find the answer on the bingo board until you get bingo. If you get Bingo, you get a Math Bingo bug. The bugs are pretty cool, you can spin them and move them. (Clearly, this loses something in translation if you are not 5.) The game also has a few extras that are not worth explaining but, suffice to say, kids like them.

Published on: May 9, 2011

Analogies for iPad: A Vote for This Flawed App

By Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Analogies for Kids is an educational iPad app that has a premise I love. It is a quiz that lets kids practice both verbal and geometrical analogies. It is extremely low tech but the questions are just great and I think they really help cultivate young minds. My dream is that one day there are hundreds of iPad analogy apps out there and I’m buying the very best ones available.That is not, however, where we are now. This app has a very limited number of questions, so few that they often repeat frequently even in a 20 question test. Ultimately, your kids remember the answers and stop doing the analogies.

So you can only really only whip this game out for a few days. Would I recommend this incredibly flawed game? Absolutely. Because there is nothing else like this out there. So it is a weapon worth having for 99 cents. I don’t think it is even a close call. If you get just 30 minutes out of it, I still think it is a worthwhile investment. I just wish they would put out a more advanced version of the game and put on more questions (or just update the that is already out).This app is made by Nth Fusion LLC which has developed other educational iPad apps that we own that I will be writing about in the future.

Published on: May 3, 2011

Undersea Math

By Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Undersea Math

Undersea Math is another math low budget, under the radar educational iPad math app that my kids – particularly my daughter – consistently use.

The premise is very simple. You fill in the answer to the math problem on a little pretend wood puzzle and continue to solve math problems until the whole puzzle is revealed. It is hard to describe but you can look at the picture and get a feel for it. In this image, the last puzzle piece is being selected.

Published on: April 14, 2011

Third Grade Math iPad App

By Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

triangle My son and I are working on Third Grade Math, an iPad math app by 965 Studios.

I have a lot of 965 Studios educational iPad apps, three vocabulary word apps that we use all of the time that have a similar look and layout as the Third Grade Math app. It also has more apps for each grade up to 7th.

I have played Third Grade Math about three times now. We have had it three days. So, obviously, I like it. They have a really good variety of math problems and they have a lot of mathematical thinking problems I did not conjure up on my own.

Published on: April 12, 2011

eyeMath: Review of Math iPad Application

By Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

eyeMath eyeMath is another educational math iPad application that I really like a lot. Unlike many of the other math iPad apps I have reviewed, eyeMath has a high tech feel to it – great resolution, strong music… just good eye candy for kids.

The idea is simple as the image here suggests. It is multiple choice and players have three minutes to solve the problems. eyeMath gets progressively harder as you move through the game.

eyeMath also has a feature that I absolutely love, a simple thing yet few other math games have it: problems answered incorrectly reappear later until the student gets the answer correct. It is a little thing but if your child has a nagging equation they just can’t get, it might be a while before they see it again in most games. eyeMath allows you to attack this weakness head on.

Published on: April 11, 2011

Pop Math iPad Review

By Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

$pop-math-lite$ Pop Math is another low tech math iPad application. It will not be the brightest star in your iPad math firmament but it is a bright and cheap star. Pop Math is 99 cents. And that probably overstates the case. You can get much of the app for free.

This is one of those iPad apps where you “buy” the free version and then buy the full version out of guilt because you got so much use out of the free game and… it is only a dollar. I could explain the game but really all you need to do is look at the image and you already know how to play. You just match up the bubbles and pop them. I stole this image from LunchBoxReviews.com which provides reviews of a lot of iPad education apps.

Published on: April 7, 2011

MathBoard iPad App Review

By Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Let me first establish my bona fides to give this MathBoard/Math Board iPad app review: I’ve played this with my kids for at least 50 hours. I know this app!

MathBoard is exactly why the Apple iPad is so revolutionary. It is a chalkboard that you can also use a thousand other different ways. It is just better than a chalkboard because it gives the problems to you – lets you modulate difficulty – and allows you to save the results and chart how well you are doing.

The only downside of the MathBoard app is that it is a little more difficult to use than pencil and paper. Your iPad handwriting is just not quite as good and, when it comes to carrying numbers and such, it can be a problem. But I think these difficulties require young learners to be more disciplined about their handwriting and this is probably a good thing.

Published on: April 6, 2011

Math City iPad App Review

By Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

I am a huge fan of the iPad app Math City. There are many iPad applications that are high definition, high tech and just feel (to me) like 2020. Math City feels like 2002. It has a simple and, frankly, unimpressive design. But Math City really works and, to boot, it costs only 99 cents, not exactly a bank breaker compared to many other iPad math educational games I have seen (and bought).

The premise of the game is that math problems are falling bombs and you need to tap on the correct answer before the bomb explodes on the city. Thus, Math City. The premise is a little violent for my tastes but the nuance of all of this gets lost pretty quickly in the excitement of the game.The bombs fall faster as the game goes on requiring quicker responses. The ultimate reward for success is a spot in the Hall of Fame – the top 500 scores. You get your name, score and country’s flag on the list. My son is on there. Seeing your child’s name and your flag… it feels like your kid winning an Olympic gold medal yet you don’t have to make all of those 5:00 a.m. trips to the ice rink. (Perhaps I exaggerate. A bit.)

The downside of the game being unsophisticated is that the combinations are limited. After a while, you can answer 51 minus 28 in a flash not because you know the answer or can calculate with ease but because that problem continues to reoccur. I would love to see an update with more variability… but you can also find your variability as we do: using other iPad math apps as well.