Parents' Guide to

Mathigo

By Jonathan H. Liu, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Versatile but not-so-exciting early math practice.

App iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad Education
Mathigo Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Mathigo App: Screenshot #1
  • Mathigo App: Screenshot #2
  • Mathigo App: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 1 parent review

Brucep
Brucep Adult
May 31, 2011
age 7+

This can be addicting!

This app can become addicting for kids and parents with its sneaky simplicity. The levels gradually increase in difficulty making it a great learning and review app.

This title has:

Educational value
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

MATHIGO offers a wealth of math information for kids. It doesn't involve any games, but timed practice creates incentive to beat the clock. The calculator-style interface quizzes kids on math facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Kids enter their answers on the keypad. They can choose a practice round or a Mad Minute, which can be customized for timed quizzes between 60 and 120 seconds. The app also offers a number family tree and multiplication table to give kids a visual of how arithmetic works.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Mathigo could be a great app for students who want to practice their arithmetic skills. But therein lies the problem -- most students don't want to spend extra time doing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems, and the app doesn't really offer much in the way of incentives. The functionality of the app is fine; there are various ways to choose which functions to practice and what difficulty level to use. However, the app looks a lot like a calculator with a problem at the top: entering in the correct answer and then getting a score isn't the most exciting prospect for kids used to more engagement.

There is some good news, though: students can use Mathigo to get immediate feedback. They'll know whether an answer is right or wrong as they work through the problems. The bad news is that the app may not hold their attention without some external incentives.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why practicing is necessary even though it isn't always fun. Incorporate Mathigo or other helpful apps into at-home math facts practice.

  • Review the hints section to better understand the approach to teaching math that the app uses.

  • Put your kid in the teacher's role and ask him to explain a number family to you; the process can deepen their understanding of the concept.

App Details

  • Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
  • Subjects: Math: addition, division, multiplication, subtraction
  • Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: applying information
  • Release date: March 21, 2011
  • Category: Education
  • Publisher: Mathigo
  • Version: 1.0
  • Minimum software requirements: Requires iOS 4.2 or later.
  • Last updated: August 22, 2016

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