Customer Reviews

Interactive Math for Introductory Algebra

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've never done well at math in high school or college, but now that I'm re-entering college in my 40s, I really have to learn it in order to succeed in biology and chemistry courses. Thank heavens my local community college has adopted K. Elayn Martin-Gay's phenomenal Interactive Math program as an online course. The package consists of easy to install and very easy to use software on a CD-ROM which communicates with Prentice Hall's computer, a paperback textbook which contains all the teaching material that is in the software as well as additional problem sets and chapter tests for away-from-computer use, and a detailed student handbook explaining the program and its use as well as offering many valuable study skill tips. The software is broken down by the chapter subheadings with each discrete topic covered having its own section. Each section consists of an introduction screen, then three different options for learning that suit different learning styles. If one is most comfortable with reading a traditional textbook, then the concept can be learned that way. People who learn best by watching and listening to an instructor can watch short video clips of Martin-Gay explaining each concept. Those who are most comfortable with experimenting with numbers will enjoy the explore option which provides tools for playing with numbers and deducing the concepts through the patterns of responses that emerge. Finally, each section ends with a practice set of problems to check understanding, then an assessment set of problems, the results of which are then posted to the grade book which is accessed by the professor for the class. Each chapter ends with a more lengthy test which is also posted to the gradebook. I never thought I'd enjoy math so much that I'd look forward to studying it, but this program has made all the difference. Instead feeling totally lost and only able to solve problems that are like the examples given in the textbook, I'm now perceiving math to be fun puzzles that are satisfying to work out. I sincerely hope the author goes on to create additional programs for more advanced math work in time for me to use them!

First, just to clarify, access to the on-line portion of this workbook/CD is through the systems at Prentice Hall, via the educational institution.

The only reason I did not give this 5 stars is because they are still working out some of the software bugs. A number of my classmates had problems running this program on their computers at home, though I had virtually none. The few problems I did have were just the sometimes slow response times moving from the problem sets to the syllabus.

Basically, I loved using this program! The many options for learning on the computer alone helped me to fly though this class. (As of 11/01 I am still in class but well on my way to receiving an "A"). If I get stuck on a concept, there are many options for working through it from being shown a brief video, reading about it, or just being taken step by step through a problem on which I am working. One finds out immediately if their answer to a problem is right or wrong. If wrong, there are several different ways of finding out why, and actually being taken through THAT PROBLEM step by step in order to assist in understanding the concept so that the next problem is done with greater understandng and ease.

All in all, I found the learning process enhanced using this program. It was and is an extremely valuable educational tool for me. We will, I am told, be using a different program next year (Algebra II), I think I will miss this one!