Good for practice, and filling holes! Sometimes confusing and not as engaging as they advertise.
Community Review for DreamBox Learning Math
My Take
Positives
1. It's good practice. Kids are using manipulatives and moving things around on the screen. There are lots of different kinds of models and lessons.
2. The adaptive piece is extremely important. The program is designed to meet kids at their level of understanding so long as you don't use assignments. Instructions are read out loud to students with the option for captions, removing some of the language barriers.
3. It gives me pretty good data as far as standards covered and areas of struggle.
Areas of growth
1. Some of these lessons are REALLY confusing. If I have a student stuck on a lesson, I often have to go in and play it myself to really understand what they're looking for. They definitely cover standards in depth, and if we're honest, we are all confused by those standards from time to time. But some of these games are quite difficult to really figure out and play.
2. Time constraints are tough. They really need at least 20 minutes a day to get any benefit from the program.
3. My students aren't really engaged in it. While it's advertised as game-based, it's like any math game you'd see in a typical workshop center. This isn't a game my kids are begging to play. Yes, it is game-based which makes it better than other programs, but the competitive element is missing that keeps my students motivated in a game like Prodigy.
How I Use It
This is one of my stations in my math workshop. I allow the program to differentiate for students (LOVE that I don't have to set that up myself) and students are able to mostly complete lessons on their own. I have to definitely check the insight board each day for this to be effective though. Otherwise, a kid could be stuck on a lesson for days without passing. You also need to give the program time. About 20 minutes a day is what the trainer recommended. The adaptiveness of the program is only really effective if they are given the time to complete lessons and move on. They also need to FINISH lessons in order not to lose progress.