Friendly Maths

Description

Friendly Maths will improve your kid’s Maths scores (without making them cry). Friendly Maths is suitable for kids in grades 1 to 5. Friendly Maths uses adaptive testing algorithms to tailor question difficulty specifically to your child. After your child uses Friendly Maths a few times, the app will start choosing questions that gently challenge your child's ability without discouraging progress. The goal is to achieve that sweet spot where questions are not too easy and not too difficult to achieve maximum benefits. My motivation for developing Friendly Maths grew out of watching my two children interact with various Maths apps over the years. I noticed that some apps were too harsh on the kids, using negative scoring which resulted in a lot of tears and frustration. Other apps were timed games offering multiple choice answers. My concern with those was that kids learned to quickly press the correct buttons without much understanding of the subject matter.

Friendly Maths was developed to address some of these concerns. With Friendly Maths, children are not timed in order to allow them time to think, consolidate knowledge, and truly understand problems. Incorrect answers are not penalized and the app often offers second chances. I believe that this approach encourages the spirit of learning and experimentation. Positive reinforcement is used, not negative scoring. This prevents children from forming negative attitudes towards Maths and protects their self-esteem. The apps' simple visual design helps children focus on Maths with minimal distractions, so that learning can easily be transferred into school testing and real life scenarios. Friendly Maths provides your child with rewards in the form of collectible achievements. For best effect, parents are encouraged to provide additional positive reinforcement by linking app achievements with additional rewards. You know best what works for your child, whether it is extra pocket money, screen time, taking them on a trip or nothing at all. Each achievement is unlocked by answering 100 questions correctly, which can be done in a session or two. Ideally, your child should be encouraged to use the app a few times a week, so 3 or 4 achievements a week should be optimal. Again, a balance should be achieved here. Too little use may not provide optimal benefits, but too much use may result in negative attitudes and fatigue. Again, you know best what is optimal for your child. Friendly Maths can be used by up to five children providing they are sharing a computer. It is important that every child is playing under his or her "login" as the app tailors questions to your child. If they have dedicated devices, you will need a separate license for each child. Friendly Maths lets you install the app on multiple devices and the progress will follow your child as she changes devices. So, your child can start on one device and continue playing on another. I have done my best to design Friendly Maths for special accessibility requirements, but I have limited resources for testing this. If you find something is not working optimally in terms of accessibility, please email me so that I can improve it. I am really keen to get this right! If you encounter any bugs or problems, just drop me an email. I can usually fix issues quickly. No call centers here, I will personally reply to your emails.