Review of A+ Interactive Math by A+ TutorSoft Inc.

Oh my goodness. If you have read my blog for awhile, you already know that we have used A+ Interactive Math (by A+ TutorSoft Inc.)  many times in previous years. In fact, we have reviewed this company three times before! After our very first time reviewing the company, I actually bought a bunch of their products, so I obviously love what they do. While there have been some changes over the years, the primary way the program works has remained the same, so (SPOILERS!), it's safe to say that I still love this math program. Michael (who is using Pre-Algebra this time around - hard to believe that the first time he used A+ TutorSoft products he was in 3rd grade!) was just glad to see that when you get a problem wrong, the neat voice still says, "I'm sorry! That is incorrect!" It's all about consistency...

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The great thing about reviewing for this company is that while the core operation of their interactive math programs remains the same, the way they offer those programs is ever-evolving, meaning that they can serve more and more families. This time around, we got to review their Family Math Package. Good for up to 10 students (hello, large family friendly!), this package allows students from 1st grade through Algebra to move from grade level to grade level and from lesson to lesson (or topic to topic within a grade level) as much as they want during the space of the year long subscription. There is so much flexibility with this program! Have you ever experienced buying a math program and then realizing that what that program considers 6th grade is not what your previous program considered 6th grade? Many companies are very friendly with returns and exchanges, but not all are, and it really stinks to be stuck with the wrong grade level. Or what if, like one of my children, you have a child who is okay at math at grade level except for one topic? How wonderful it is to have the option to to do on-level math for almost everything, but go up or down a level for that one thing at which you are an outlier!

There is much to learn about how the Family Math Package works, so let's dive in. I'll be talking about Pre-Algebra, which A+ TutorSoft gauges at a 7th/8th grade level. Also, although I only have one student (13) using the program at the moment, as I mentioned you can have up to 10. All you have to do is assign each one to a level of of the program. Each gets his/her own login. When they log in, they will be taken to their correct level. That doesn't mean you can't switch them around - it just means that they will be taken to where they need to be upon launching their math.

This is what you see when you launch Pre-Algebra:

The topics are in collapsed form on the left - it is easy to see exactly what will be covered in the program. The lessons play out as you see in the picture. They are narrated by a pleasant sounding, almost computerized, but not quite, woman as the text evolves on the screen.

If you expand the topics, as I have done above, you can see what is covered within one. It's kind of like exploring the chapter of a math book. (If you want to see all of the topics expanded at once, you can do so here). After each one of these subtopics, there is an Interactive Q&A (that's that right facing arrow on the bottom of the screen). Consider it a short review of what was covered. What Michael loves (and has since he was 8) about this Q&A is that when he gets a question wrong, he gets to hear, "I'm sorry! That is incorrect!" What I love about it is that when he gets a question wrong, the correct solution is presented in a step-by-step format.

There is an app on my phone that I use for the kids to walk them through math problem solutions that I can't help them with (because, as everyone knows, I'm all about words, not numbers). I love the fact that I don't have to break out that app with this program. A+ TutorSoft understands that kids need to understand how to do the problem they got wrong - knowing they got it wrong is only about 10% of the battle. 

If the interactive Q&A doesn't provide enough practice, there are also online worksheets for every single subtopic. The online worksheet is not just a repeat of the Q&A questions your child has already done. It truly is more practice. 

If you want to see if  A+ Interactive Math (by A+ TutorSoft Inc.)  is right for you, you should absolutely check out their huge page of free stuff! You should also read the Crew blog to see how 75 other Crew members used both the Family Math Package and the Adaptive Math Curriculum Online.