An interactive math course should be more than a digitalized textbook.
As a homeschool mom I was quite disappointed with the math programs and curriculums that were available. Many curriculums would advertise that they were “interactive” or “customized”. However, on a closer look they really didn’t fit my description of either. They usually were digitalized textbooks.
Here is my description of an “interactive” course:
Interactive curriculum will first give the student a warm up to get their mind focused on math.
The PreAlgebra course provides Daily Math Facts for each lesson. A timer is set for 5 Minutes to build their speed.
- The student is given the list of new facts
- The student enters all the answers, then clicks the check button
- The student is given the correct answer to every question.
Interactive curriculum will review the skills necessary before teaching the new concept.
Here solving addition and subtraction equations are reviewed before the student learns about multiplication and division equations.
Warmup is for Reviewing – NOT Testing! If the student enters the wrong answer, (s)he can go back and change it to the correct answer.
After the warmup questions, the student will view a video of the solutions. It is good to see the answers worked out and hear the teacher discussing each step. Click here to view the Lesson 18 Warmup answers.
Each lesson has a printable note sheet that mirrors the teachers video. These sheets guide the student in taking notes, and organizing their work for each lesson.
The assignment is automatically graded, and the student has the option to ask for more questions as they are working on the assignment.
There are two main types of questions: Red Questions and Blue Questions
Red Questions are lesson questions that are the same for all students, the answers are given in text form and a video solution is given. The red question answer can be changed to the correct answer. Since these are questions to enhance learning the new skills we do not want to discourage the student from learning the new concepts.
Blue Questions are practice questions. These questions are different for each student. The complete solution is displayed after submitting their answer. The student may request another similar question to practice the concept. It is encouraged that the student try the problem until the answer is marked correct.