Smartick Method Maths Program - Product Review

We were recently given the opportunity to try the Smartick Method Maths Program.



This is an online, AI-based adaptive Math program for children ages 4 -14.  The basic premise is that the children do 15 minutes per day, aiming for at least 5 days a week - although they can do all 7 if they're really keen (trust me, they will be!)

The Smartick program is cleverly tailored to each individual's learning.  Starting out, teachers or parents register the number of users for the program.  In our case, this was DD (9) & DS (8). 

There's an initial 'getting to know you' session, set to gauge the ability of the individual child - awesome!  We loved this, as the program was truly tailored to them individually and thus they did not feel competitive with each other to achieve certain 'levels'.  They simply worked through their appropriate program at their level and pace.

Once this initial session is completed, you can start your daily sessions.  Here are some examples from some of our sessions -

Now, my kids love to do anything if it's on the computer.  Happily for me, they actually both really like Maths anyway, so this was an easy sell on my part.  They couldn't wait to get started.

The program is reward based, so it really hooks your little gamers in :-)  From the first session, they are able to create their own Avatar character at the end.  And just like the program itself, they are truly individual. 

Then, session by session, the rewards build.  The more sessions they do (no more that 1 a day, don't worry) they earn stars which then give them access to a village where they can decorate their own room, buy things for it, make friends with other children on Smartick that are linked to their user - so in this case DS & DD.  Once they are friends they can use their stars to 'buy' and send each other gifts. They can even 'buy' dressing up outfits for their Avatar and pets to look after.

After a number of sessions, the children then earn access to various games that they can play at their leisure, after each session.  Here are a couple of examples of DS's favourite ones -

Once the sessions start to build up, the children can also earn diplomas, which are downloadable, printable, personal colour certificates. 

In addition to the actual online program, the administrator (you the parent, or teacher) will receive an Email update each time each child completes a session - detailing the Learning Objectives of each session, what they have been working on and how they did.  You also receive an Email reminder if your child misses a session, but it there is no 'consequence' for missing sessions, so no pressure.

This was of vital importance to us as DS is Autistic and DD Aspergers.  While DD thrives on repetition and routine, DS can become overwhelmed easily if he feels pressured.  Happily, this program adapts to both their learning styles and therefore is truly accessible to all.  DS was able to skip sessions if he needed to and there was no pressure or 'sad faces' or 'where have you been' type memes - he simply logged back on to the next session and picked up where he left off.  This was all very positive.

Likewise, because the program is tailored to the individual child, he didn't feel in competition with his sister if she had 'more stars' as they were both working at their own level, with their own rewards, so neither felt any competition with each other. And they loved the aspect of buying gifts for each other, which was super sweet.

Another feature we liked was that you are able to go back and correct your mistakes at the end, thus learning from them and having that learning reinforced.

From a Home Educators point of view, it was wonderful to have the opportunity to review a product as unique and individual as our children.  There are no targets, the product encourages self-motivation and does not restrict or limit a child to curriculum confines or 'age-appropriate' learning.  The sky's the limit - children are encouraged to engage, enjoy and pursue their learning for it's own reward.

And from a Bloggers point of view, I found the company extremely professional and approachable and easy to work with. They have developed a great product and are justifiably proud of it.

You can watch a Smartick presentation here - Smartick Presentation

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