We got the chance to try out this very cleverly named product this summer.
UnLock Math and, more specifically, UnLock Pre-Algebra gave L-girl a little head start on her 8th grade made for the upcoming school year.
There is kind of a
unique, interesting background from the husband and wife team, Matthew and
Alesia, that created UnLock Math. Both of them were homeschooled starting
in the 4th grade. Alesia actually went back to public school for high
school though. I think that gives them a very unique and important
perspective to parents who are now choosing to homeschool. They
understand us from the inside out.
To get a little insight
into the creators, go read this blog post. by Alesia. about whether success
in math is attributed to a gift or an ability.
So, what is UnLock Math?
It is a series of video
lessons, taught in small, bite sized chunks. The stated goals for their
videos, taught by Alesia, are to "engage, explain and
entertain". I am a big proponent of it being perfectly okay for
children to be bored now and then, and for learning how to still succeed and
make good choices even when they are bored. However.....if I would have
had the chance to be engaged and entertained when I learned math (especially my
old nemesis Algebra).....I shudder to think of the things I could have
accomplished in this world!
UnLock Math uses
different types of assessment techniques (basically asking questions in
different ways) to make sure your student is really understanding the material
and not just accidentally guessing the right answer with multiple choice.
Your student gets to
know if they got the answer right immediately and then the right answer is
explained. (Again, normally, I am against any kind of immediate gratification....but,
in the case of teaching math concepts to my kids.....I have decided to relax my
standards.)
They only show the
students one question at a time. Seeing a page full of questions,
especially when you don't understand what you are doing can be overwhelming, so
keeping it small and seemingly manageable seemed like it worked well.
Although L-girl is the type to see the page full of questions and
challenge herself to get them all done in a certain time frame (she is her
father's daughter, after all)
L-girl would practice
problems and review concepts as much as she wanted (But, let's be honest....it
was summer, so she didn't want to very much.)
One of the little things
I liked about UnLock Math started before L-girl even took her first class.
They are incredibly clear in how to really get started.
With most of these programs, the first time you log on, you end up sort
of randomly clicking on things and stumbling through the first few times.
Usually I am successful in getting the kids signed up with log-ins and
passwords and all that jazz, but, it was nice that UnLock Math actually had a
start up guide that truly showed me everything I needed to do to get the kids
started. (There were even screen shots so I knew I was looking at the right
screen). They had the same start up guide for the gradebook system. Sort
of like UnLockMath for dummies.
What do I like about
UnLock Math?
I like that it really
handles pretty much everything on its own without me needing to be hands on.
From instruction, to practice, to homework, to testing and grades.
If you are the type that like the details of things like this...here you
go....
Grades care calculated
by giving practice problems a weight of 30%, the "stay sharp"
questions are weighted at 10%. The challenge problems (basically a bonus
question that doesn't count against them) gives them a chance for 5% bonus.
And, any review work and warm-up is weighted at 0%, but they take
notice of whether it has been completed or not. Quizzes have a weight of
15% and tests are at 30%. (Note that students have a chance to take the
quiz or test twice and can use their best score).
Customer Service with
UnLock Math has been phenomenal. There was a technical glitch with things
about halfway through the review period. Matthew and Alesia were on it
and sent out message to us that it was happening and that they were working on
it. They have communicated with us quite a bit during this process,
checking in, making sure we had all the ways to contact them and all of that
jazz. Yes, this is a review, but, I really get the sense that they will
be available to us (and any other student) even after the review process is
over. Just my gut feeling.
I asked L-girl to fill
me in on her thoughts about UnLock Math and here is what she had to say.
- She pretty much knew all the lessons/stuff they were
teaching her already (we are pretty aggressive in our math curriculum, so
in retrospect, she probably would be been a better fit for for the Algebra
curriculum and not the Pre-Algebra)
- Video length varied from 5 minutes to 15 minutes, so it
was hard for her to know how long the lessons were going to take her (to
me, that wasn't a significant thing, but it seemed like it was for her)
- She liked how there was always a review of past lessons
because it made it easier to do well on the quizzes.
- The teacher was pretty funny.
You can
subscribe to UnLock Math and pay a monthly subscription, or a yearly fee.
If you go monthly, it is about $49/month or the better deal is yearly for
$299. One thing that we homeschoolers with large families like to see is
a sibling discount...and UnLock Math has one.....and gives you 50% off. I
have a little (actually really big) deal for my friends to be able to get a discount on their
subscription. Click here to take a look....but it expires on
August 18th...so don't wait too long.
Social
Media Stuff for your viewing pleasure:
http://facebook.com/UnLockMath
http://twitter.com/UnLockMath
http://pinterest.com/unlockmath/
http://plus.google.com/+Unlockmath
http://instagram.com/unlockmath/
http://twitter.com/UnLockMath
http://pinterest.com/unlockmath/
http://plus.google.com/+Unlockmath
http://instagram.com/unlockmath/
Take a look at what
other TOS Reviewers thought about their
experiences with UnLock Math.
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