Math Advantage 2008 [OLD VERSION] :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

the advantage you need

2008-07-13
i recently had to take a math assessment test and i needed to review my algebra and trigonometry since it had been several years since i took them.. this certainly gave me a good review on math concepts. i was too much on a hurry so i did exercises ranging from easy - hard and when i couldnt figure out how to solve them i would just go back to the concept itself. it explains fairly well the things you need to know. i cant say for a fact that this would allow you to substitute a real math class altogether. but this would indeed serve as a MATH ADVANTAGE if you coupled this with the things you learn from class.

Math review

2007-10-10
i needed a bit of review with basic math,
and this program offered me just what i needed. i highly recommend this program, it helped me understand how to do problems in a very simple way to understand

Like Having a Math Tutor in Your Home

2007-09-26
I am very impressed with Math Advantage 2008 by Encore Software, and I very highly recommended that it be in the home of all students who are taking Grade 6 - 12 math. The program comes on one DVD, which is convenient. It's actually comprised of material which in previous editions came on 10 CD-ROMs. It's really 10 programs in one, and it would be a bargain at twice the retail price.

Each of the 10 programs needs to be installed separately, but each is a quick install which takes up relatively little hard drive space. I had no trouble with it on my Dell Windows XP laptop. Each program covers is a different subject, or level of subject. For example, among the programs are Algebra I, Algebra, II, Pre-Algebra, Basic Math, Geometry, etc. A nice bonus is a program that teaches you how to use Microsoft Excel 2003.

Each of the programs includes the related material broken down into about 10 chapters. Each chapter is comprised of pages of text that you navigate through one page at a time, although most of the pages require vertical scrolling. The content on these pages is laid out very well, in a straight-forward manner, as would be the case with a quality textbook. On many of the pages, some special buttons will appear at the top of the page. I was a little confused about the fact that those buttons applied to that particular page, and that if they also appeared on the next page, they took you to different content.

In some cases, you'll see a button for "Basics." This takes you to a very short, simplified page that introduces the concept being taught on the main page. Some pages have a button called "Challenge", which presents a more advanced problem on the topic. Some pages have a "Real Life" button, which usually presents either a word problem on the topic, or a short narrated video clip with some real-world analogy. Some of these analogies are a bit more realistic than others.

Some students might be a bit annoyed at a "real world" problem that states, "A fireman's ladder makes a 37 degree angle with the ground...," but at least it does present the material in a different context. Certainly word problems and diagram problems make up a large component of the types of questions that students encounter on exams. Many of the pages have a button for related exercises, which include detailed answers and descriptions for how each problem was solved.

The best feature is that for many of the pages, you will also see a Multimedia button. This takes you to a video clip in which a narrator (there are both male and female) explains the lesson in detail, while the corresponding work is shown with animated graphics. It's like having a tutor in your home. In some cases there is an interactive component.

Some students might say that the video clips are "dry," but realistically, factoring polynomials is just not that exciting. The video clips are direct, and to-the-point. They are very easy to see and hear, but they don't include fancy singing and dancing like you might see on Sesame Street, which might disappoint some students. It's not a Hollywood production, but the multimedia components are excellent.

The program includes quizzes that you can use to test yourself, and some simple games that you can play which reinforce the material by quizzing you within the context of the game.

The program can be shared by many students. Each student has his/her own logon ID that they choose when they first use the program. I cannot speak highly enough about this software package. I will be recommending it to all of my tutoring clients, and using it as a component of some of my sessions.