5 New Apps to Make Math Fun
A monthly showcase of the latest mobile apps for educators and students. This month's roundup features a selection of math game apps for various levels of learners.
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- Big Monk Games has released Math Swipe Jr., a math game that takes advantage of the iOS swipe feature to help students learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division and to find different paths to a single answer. Users are given a target number to reach with an equation they form by swiping and dragging from a cluster of various numbers and operators. As users advance, problems become increasingly difficult requiring combinations of operators to reach the target number. $0.99; iPad.
- Alpha-Heuristix introduces Tenser, a math-based Tetris variant that challenges users to create stacks that total to ten from randomly falling numbers. Users can set the number of seconds between falling numbers, called "the tension," to ramp up difficulty as their skills improve. Developed by two math teachers, the app tests both problem-solving skills and spatial reasoning. Free; iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
- Studypad now offers 1st Grade Math as part of its series of worksheet apps for grades one to five. Designed to cover an entire school year's worth of material, the app features 13 chapters touching on 185 math skills, and includes thousands of unique problems that require users to drag and drop shapes, pop bubbles, and rotate clock hands on their devices. A weekly e-mail report feature keeps track of student progress. $4.99; iPad.
- Pants on the Ground's 3D Math Racing app challenges players to solve basic equations while steering an ATV; for each correct answer they receive a speed boost in the race. A paid version with additional concepts such as place values, skip counting, and percentages is also available. Free-$0.99 ; iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
- Based on the card game War, Math Cards, from Code Creator, is an arithmetic app where two players compete on a single iPad. Players start with an equal number of cards, and successively turn them over, with the player with the higher card winning the round (equal cards lead to "war"). The value of each card is the solution to an arithmetic problem, such as 2 + 0, and a player must correctly solve each card played, or lose automatically, even if his or her card is higher. $2.99; iPad.
About the Author
Stephen Noonoo is an education technology journalist based in Los Angeles. He is on Twitter @stephenoonoo.