Demme Learning ~ Math-U-See Digital Pack #REVIEW

 Math was not my favorite subject growing up but as I've been re-learning it to teach my oldest - I have found myself enjoying it more and more. The problem is we had a bit of trouble finding my son's learning style for Math. We've tried several programs but things just didn't click. Finally in a moment of frustration I asked him - what is not clicking?  His response was that he needed to "SEE" how things worked not just be told do it this way. AHA!



For this review Demme Learning's Math-U-See gave us a subscription to their  Digital Pack. This is a 12 month online subscription.

What is a Digital Pack?  In our case - Algebra I  - was an online course that included :

• 35 Video Lessons
• Lesson Summary (a printable)
• Lesson Solutions (printable) - answers for the workbook worksheets
• Test Solutions (printable) - answers for lesson test and unit test
• Digital Manipulatives
• Downloadable Resources (basically additional worksheets)
• Algebra1 Record Keeping Sheet

I purchased a separate Student Pack which included the student workbook and test booklet.

How We Used This:

My oldest son has been working on Algebra for some time. In fact I'm considering all previous years Pre-Algebra because he honestly just didn't get it. We have worked on it until we are blue in the face but NADA . (Until Now!)

For him the best bet was TRUE mastery which this program is really designed for. I had him watch the lesson on the first day and do a worksheet. Then the additional days he did a worksheet or two to keep moving.  After he completed the worksheet I used the grade key to grade then had him correct his work. Occasionally I did a problem or two with him to make sure he really understood how to do the work. After we were sure he knew the lesson thoroughly I had him take the written test for that lesson.  After working this way for the first few weeks this week I switched things up and had him do only some of the problems on the workbook pages and if he got them correct he could move on. The pages had a lot of repetition which is very needed for some concepts for him but not all.






The videos were well done and informative. I know seeing the problems worked out on the white board with manipulatives  and being about to access and use the manipulatives has been essential in my child's math success!

Digital Manipulatives are included with the online Digital Pack

The lesson videos varied in length so far we've seen them from 8 to 20 minutes. This is very doable. He watches it on his iphone or our desktop computer. Rather than printing the solution sheets I just pulled them up on my phone to grade as well.  Each of the solution sheets has the work laid out in several steps so it helped me as a parent to see what my student was supposed to be doing on the problem and pinpoint where he went wrong. Our goal is to work at an accelerated pace to complete 1 1/2 lesson to 2 lessons a week. However there is a lot of flexibility with this program to go at your student's pace.

My Thoughts:

This program is proving to be a lifesaver! My son doesn't fuss at me to Math each day. To me that is priceless!  I like that we have the option to watch the lesson on many devices and we are not tied to the DVD player. Working on mastery has really helped me as a parent because I know when to move on. The supplemental sheets as a back up for when we don't get a concept give me confidence.

You do need the student pack and I do think I will end up buying the teachers manual (I like having a physical teacher's book - but that is optional). The digital pack itself is very reasonable EVEN when purchasing the student pack as you will stay under $80 for the must haves. Of course digitally it is entirely consumable because your on a timed subscription and you will physically use all the student sheets. For us that works perfect as I don't need to plan for another child and honestly don't want to store anything for future years. I can honestly say I FINALLY no longer dread teaching math to my son and I'm excited to move to the next level!

 

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