If you’re a parent or a teacher and you’ve clicked on this article, we’re betting you already know how challenging it can be to get kids to engage with math lessons.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest obstacles that stand in the way of kids developing a healthy relationship with math as a subject is a lack of confidence. Encountering stumbling blocks in basic skills such as multiplication can cause a lot of frustration and anxiety, which discourages children from engaging with the subject in the long term.
Experts agree that one of the most effective ways to get kids interested in math is to make the learning process fun. Math-based game apps are perfect for this because they provide a rewarding and engaging space to improve math skills outside of the classroom environment.
One of the top-rated math apps for kids is the Quick Math - Multiplication Table & Arithmetic Game App.
In this article, we’re going to be reviewing the Quick Math app so that you can start your child on their journey to enjoying math today!
Quick Math - Multiplication Table & Arithmetic Game App: Review
For the purposes of this review, we’re going to be assessing Quick Math - Multiplication Table & Arithmetic Game App in terms of the various features it has to offer.
Core Math Skill Exercises
The main reason why you might want to download Quick Math - Multiplication Table & Arithmetic Game is so that your child (or student) can practice the four core skills needed to create a foundation of mathematical knowledge.
These skills are addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Using these areas of mathematics, kids will be able to eventually progress to more advanced areas of math.
Having accessed the app, kids can pick the skill they want to practice and select a level of difficulty (for more on this, see below). Each difficulty level for each skill consists of 20 questions, which need to be answered in quick succession before the timer runs out.
If an answer is incorrect, app users can attempt to answer the question again or pass on the question. At the end of the timed round, results will be reflected in the feedback (see ‘Feedback’ section below).
One small criticism we do have about the setup of the app, however, is the fact that there’s no option to turn off the timer. This can be stressful and discouraging for children starting out on their math improvement journey, although the satisfaction of beating the clock will definitely make up for this with perseverance.
Pre-Algebra Development
In addition to the adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing skills that can be developed through using the Quick Math app, Quick Math encourages the development of pre-algebra skills.
This includes activities such as solving problems with unknown values, which will set children in good stead for approaching algebraic equations later in the curriculum.
Because of the additional focus on pre-algebra, Quick Math is a great way to give your child a fun yet highly educational head start when it comes to understanding more difficult areas of math. This can help to combat the potential for confidence-related setbacks and disinterest later in their school career.
Handwriting Practice
Something that helps Quick Math to stand out from the competition in the world of math-based apps is the fact that the interface is sensitive enough to accurately pick up handwriting.
This means that kids are able to input their answers to math questions and problems by physically writing out the number on the screen.
The reason this is such a huge benefit is that handwriting often takes a back seat in classroom-based learning, despite being incredibly important. Not only is writing legibly and at a good pace a key life skill for almost all subjects and many areas of life outside of school, but it’s also fundamental to hand-eye coordination.
By requiring kids to physically write their answers onto the user interface against the clock, Quick Math builds handwriting skills in addition to mathematical fluency. The best part is, there’s no stress surrounding the actual handwriting aspect because all the focus is on the math questions!
Messy writers will be reassured to know that this shouldn’t impact the app’s ability to pick up on answers, except for very extreme circumstances.
However, over time, neatness should naturally progress as a result of repetition. This eliminates the potential for frustration while still ensuring that handwriting goals, whether consciously or not, are reached.
Individual Profiles
This is a feature of Quick Math that might fly under the radar, but it’s actually highly practical and a major benefit of the app overall.
You can set up individual user profiles on this app via the same device. So, if you’re a teacher looking to introduce Quick Math into your classroom, there’s no need for every child to have their own device.
Instead, you can set up a profile for each student so that they have a virtual space of their own to practice and view their progress. This way, feedback can remain private for each student and you, as a teacher, can easily access progress for the whole class from a single device.
Similarly, if you’re a parent with multiple children within the recommended age group for Quick Math, you can create separate profiles from one tablet or phone.
Difficulty Levels
We’ve briefly touched on the fact that there are multiple difficulty levels accessible through Quick Math. However, we wanted to go into this aspect of the app in more detail because it’s key to the compatibility of the program with various curriculums and abilities.
Quick Math is rated as suitable for children aged 6 to 12, which means that the level of difficulty covers grade 1 to grade 5 of the U.S. curriculum, and up to grade 6 for the Canadian curriculum.
But Quick Math isn’t limited to use in the U.S. or Canada! It also lines up well with the latter stages of Key Stage 1 and the entirety of Key Stage 2 in the U.K., and Year 2 to Year 6 in Australia.
It’s important to note that if you and your child are using Quick Math to practice from home, you don’t necessarily need to stay within the confines of what’s currently being taught at school.
For example, if your child has fallen behind, you can dial back to an easier level to allow them to catch up. Alternatively, if your child feels that they want to be challenged or progress more quickly, there’s no harm in moving forward at a faster pace.
Difficulty in the game progresses at a pace consistent with the user’s progress. This means that once one level has been successfully completed, the level of difficulty will ramp up slightly to present more of a challenge.
Feedback
One of the main reasons why we recommend the Quick Math app to students, parents, and teachers alike is the useful feedback function built into the software.
Feedback is given in graph form, with each bar graph displaying how long the user takes to answer all the questions in the level. You can also view multiple attempts at each level side by side, which provides a clear indication and visualization of progress.
Not only does being able to track progress motivate kids to keep learning and improving, but it allows parents and teachers to gain an understanding of kids’ progress as well.
Background Music
This feature might seem trivial in comparison with the other skills and tools that Quick Math offers, but it’s still worth mentioning.
Quick Math includes a soft background track that plays over the timed math sprints. Research has suggested that calming background music may, for some individuals, help to improve sustained focus.
However, it’s also possible to turn off the music if users find it distracting. Alternatively, you can adjust the volume to a level that feels conducive to productivity.
Overview
Advantages
- For ages 6 to 12 - Wide range of difficulty levels
- Features addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division - Core math skills
- Pre-algebra exercises - Leads up to more advanced skills
- Handwriting practice - Useful for all subjects
- Sensitive interface - Recognises most handwriting
- Individual user profiles - Allows for classroom and home sharing
- Feedback provided - Easy progress monitoring
- Adjustable background music - May improve focus
Disadvantages
- Not free - $1.99 upfront payment
- Timer can’t be turned off - May be stressful at first
Final Thoughts
Overall, if you’re a teacher or parent looking for a fun way to instill core math skills in pupils between the ages of 6 and 12, Quick Math is a great app to download.
It’s not totally free, which is unfortunate. However, considering the numerous skills it helps to reinforce, the low price of $1.99 is very reasonable.
Quick Math helps kids to improve their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division abilities while preparing them for more advanced algebraic mathematics.
This is done through tracked, timed sprints, recorded in the feedback section of the app. It also helps to improve handwriting thanks to its sensitive interface. Altogether, these aspects of the app aim to create well-rounded and enthusiastic students.
In the future, though, we’d love to see Quick Math develop an option for non-timed problem solving to minimize some of the stress for beginners.
