Game-based math program is best left to younger students

This is a great tool to use with Elementary students to supplement their math lessons and reinforce their knowledge of the concept. It is very engaging and tracks the students progress through each lesson. Educators can modify and design a "path" (in any order they desire to) in which their students are to complete. For instance, this app enhances the student's understanding of a concept that if a student is absent from school, they can use this app to substitute and augment the classwork in which they have missed and to practice the concept repeatedly as they find necessary.

This product has two really great things going for it---it is engaging for students (especially those in grades 3-5, older students found the format a little childish) and it provides teachers with excellent data of student progress and concept understanding, even down to single question error analysis. It also suggests student groupings (in an RtI tier-type model) for teachers to provide targeted instruction in areas where students need extra support or enrichment. The program is pretty easy to set up and assign students to learning paths. However, while there is a 30 day free trial, the cost of the program is pretty steep. Approximately $30 per student per year was too costly to sustain.

Wowzers could be a choice for a teaching tool for some students. Individual feedback is given when a student makes a mistake and clues are given to help ensure success. Students who are on track and performing well, get to skip some of the unnecessary lessons. The difficulty level slowly increases for slow learners and a short video may even appear followed by another chance to answer the question. Wowzers gives a teacher as well as the student feedback and if needed slows the pace of instruction and adds additional lessons. This worked well with tutoring one on one and small groups of at-risk students.