After having Schwoom do the initial placement testing (we had to stop, and start again... we used the save & continue button, but it didn't work) I'm pretty happy with it. The setup is nice, quick and easy registration, no credit card or arm/leg required. The parent dashboard is easily accessible, and you can even put a password on it to keep those nutty pre-teens from removing a 'bad' score or test and trying again. Definite 'pro' for that!
I don't particularly like that it's not read-aloud, as La'Ray can't yet read, so that makes it much more difficult. I also think that they could provide more 'learning' aspects, vs just continual testing. Another thing that I didn't like... the save and continue button didn't work (at least during the initial placement test)
As far as improvement...
I would like to be able to choose for my child if they need the information read to them (for a younger child) so the parent doesn't have to sit there with them.
I would like to see a more interactive system too. Where the child, for example, if they're having difficulties in one area of math, could watch a "video" that explains how something is done, or some sort of explanation. (as in, this video teaches how to tell time, this video explains how to round numbers)
I think that this could be a very beneficial system, to many, if it had the ability to actually teach and advance the student, rather than quiz.
more from my original review:
That said, I do see the possibility for it also being marketed towards parents of children grades 4-6 and perhaps more... When my 12yr old brings home his math, I often can't help him with it, because I've forgotten much of what he's learning now. I end up googling something to find out what he's learning, so I can help explain it to him. If I could go to the Factor Tree's website, and do, say, a search for graphs, watch a quick video or read an explanation of it, I could see that being very helpful to us parents who just don't remember.
My final analysis of this site is that, overall, it's a diamond in the rough. There are a lot of changes that could be made to make it more useful, but even where it stands now, it can still be very helpful to many kids struggling. Many changes/additions are called for, and I'd expect that, with the proper feedback, the devs will make the changes and make this a very important site.
All in all, it is a good site, and with a few 'tweaks' could be a real useful tool... currently, at it's rate of $20/month, I don't see it going very far, especially considering it's free counterparts, and, well for worksheets, the dollar store's math workbooks.
I'm still grateful for the chance to check it out!
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