Hey so I worked on this, if anyone's got any questions about it I'm happy to answer them.
Edit: The FAQ suggests introducing the product and some nifty features, so I might as well.
The main feature that sets Quick Math apart from any other math practice apps is handwriting, you handwrite your answers straight on to the screen. Personally I love this feature, but I've also talked to parents who say it really helped their kids. First off it makes the experience much more transferrable, you're used to answering these math problems with handwriting. Secondly it helps reinforce handwriting skills, especially for kids who are writing numbers backwards (a common problem). It's also a great input method that doesn't take up any screen space creating a very clean design.
The other big feature for us is the way we encourage progress. We used to have a system that rated you on performance, but we know now that research indicates we should be encouraging effort instead. So in our latest version, as you answer more and more questions you head towards unlocking fun new avatars. That means that students who are really struggling are encouraged to practice just as much as those who find it easy. Then, when they're ready, they can choose to try something a little harder.
Theres a bunch of other educational research hidden in there: our difficulties are based around curriculums like Common Core and the Australian National Curriculum, choosing your own activity is a great way to encourage intrinsic motivation and seeing your own times improve helps reframe learning as a process of growth.
PS: It's also great to practice mental arithmetic as an adult 😄
@taybenlor as an adult I'm addicted. Super easy gratification. Why does the beginner level add to 10 though? I'm trying to get faster scores and can't get below 13s when I have to lift my finger between parts of the answer for a single question. Hmm maybe I don't have to lift my finger. On the later levels the change of types doesn't help either. This is all from a speed perspective. A practice (untimed or untracked for the history mode) might be helpful for people like me (not your target users). Thanks!
@toobulkeh hahaha, adding to 10 is an important skill! It is annoying though for speed runs. I think my best time is 13s as well, normally I sit at around 15s on Beginner Addition. Our designer has managed 11s and the way he did it was by writing *really really small*. So maybe give that a shot.
PS: Awesome to hear you're enjoying it :) I'll mention practice mode in our next Quick Math meeting!
@otto_offringa I agree. I find the design very intuitive, but the tasks are very difficult indeed for kids. I'm not complaining, just it would be nice to see an adjustable difficulty like here https://500bestapps.com/prodigy-... and more color themes.
Just tried the app. I think it's very good. Competing against time, the little man running and cheering, how you show progress, it's all done in a subtle rewarding way.
The handwriting sets you apart. It's intuïtive and works like charm. Although you were a bit picky about my 8's. It wasn't hard to change it a bit to get recognised, but I still believe mines (my favourite number) were good enough to be eights all the time. When I just started 1 out of 3 was seen as a zero.
Anyway, I did the upgrade. Now I'm curious if my kids like it as well. In general they prefer gamish settings, like Hungry Fish. Things with avatars, worlds, levels, etc. For them your rewarding system might be to subtle. But does it make sense trying to compete Fifa16 with a math game? That might be a bridge too far anyway. In case daddy says 'go work on this' your app is good and nice enough.
@otto_offringa Thanks so much! We've definitely got feedback from kids that really like it, so its worth giving it a shot. Also, I'm not sure how old your kids are, but if they're around 4-6yrs they might like one of our other games Quick Math Jr. (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/...) there's a lot more content aimed at developing number sense skills (think: number lines, place value, counting, simple addition and subtraction) that's presented in an intrinsically integrated game setting. We're also working on a very exciting 3D math game (our first 3D game!) aimed at 6-8 year olds, if you subscribe to our mailing list (http://bit.ly/1Ozakve) then you can hear more about that.
PS: If you're interested in finding other great educational games Balefire Labs (http://www.balefirelabs.com) do a great job rating and finding the best in the app store.
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