Math Mix

Math, math, math! My brain has been taxed this week as I’ve been struggling to help my 7th grader with some tricky Pre-Algebra concepts. She likes for me to check over her homework and the assignments have been rough this week! It seems that what always hangs both of us up are the simple Math facts. Those addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills that are so important. That’s where apps like this one, Math Mix, come into play. They make for a nice alternative from the more traditional flashcard and worksheet skills practice.

Math Mix works with those skills and it covers tons of ground. Each skill has a Basic section, a section of problems with Missing Numbers (addends, dividends, etc.) and then Multiple Choice. Within the “Basic” section users can narrow down exactly what they’d like to work on. Here you’ll find something for beginners (adding 1, adding 2, etc) all the way to the more advanced skills (2 digit divisors with remainders). Users are given a set of problems to solve and when they’ve completed them they can see their statistics. Each problem in the Basic and Missing sections has boxes that can be filled in with numbers. To fill in these numbers you would tap on the box and then choose a number from a keypad that pops up on the screen. After you have input everything you tap a submit button to see if you had the correct answer. A hint button is also available if you run into trouble. For the Multiple Choice section users are shown a problem and then several possible answers. They must tap on the answer that they think is correct.

I’m very, very impressed with the amount of content packed into Math Mix. It makes this a valuable educational app. I do have a few suggestions for improving the app’s usability, at least for the younger children. My first suggestion involves the popup number keypad. When it appears on the screen it covers up the original Math problem. This isn’t necessarily an issue when you’re working on a simple problem but I found it frustrating for some of the more difficult ones, especially the long division problems. It was almost to where I wanted a scratch pad to work out the problem and then fill in the numbers on the screen and I think that defeats the purpose of the app. I’m not sure how to solve this problem on the small iPhone screen, but even making the keypad numbers smaller so they took up less room would be helpful. My next suggestion is one to help speed the questions along. The app times you while you are answering questions and I’m wondering if there’s a way to automate the submit button. Perhaps when you fill in the last blank square it automatically submits your answer? I just felt like I was doing a few too many taps with the input of the numbers and then the submit button at the end. Going along with this, after you have submitted your answer you’ll get a correct or incorrect popup. You must tap “ok” to move past this screen. Personally, I’d prefer if the screen faded away automatically after a second or two and then moved right into the next problem.

Those are just a couple of suggestions and I don’t mean to take away from the educational merit of Math Mix at all because I think that is wonderful and very thorough and helpful. The app comes from the developers of MathMix.com and if you’re looking for additional online Math resources this appears to be a great place to stop by. I actually found automatic worksheet generators and lessons that would be perfect for the lesson my daughter and I were struggling with this week.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

See the app in iTunes

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Seller: Cadecon, LLC

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.