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EDTC600 Software Review: “Math Drills”

Rachel Nachman

EDTC600 – Summer 2013

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EDTC600 – Software Review: Math Drills

Brief Overview/Context

“Math Drills” is a mathematics drill-and-practice software developed by Instant

Interactive and was released in 2010. The main goal of this software is to help students with the

rote memorization and instant recall of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts.

Teachers can set up an account for each student, and while using this software, students engage

in three “stages” of drills: a “review” stage, a “practice” stage, and a “test” stage (these stages

will be discussed in greater detail throughout this review). Through the use of this software,

students have multiple opportunities to practice their computation skills in a way that is

interactive, motivating, and engaging.

Educational Value

While this software can be used with students of any age, this evaluation will be from the

perspective of using this application with fourth grade students. According to Roblyer and

Doering, “drill activities can allow the effective rehearsal students need to transfer newly learned

information into long-term memory” (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 84). An important idea in

fourth grade mathematics instruction is the “knowledge of basic facts”. “Math Drills” is valuable

with regards to the instructional objective of students improving the automaticity and instant

recall of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts.

“Math Drills” would greatly promote student learning in the area of basic math facts. As

stated above, there are three stages of this drill-and-practice activity. In each stage, students can

choose to solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division problems. They can also choose

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to solve a combination of addition and subtraction problems, a combination of multiplication and

division problems, or a combination of all four types of problems.

Students can first “review” their facts, during which they complete a pre-determined

amount of problems (set by either the teacher or student) with no time limit and with hints if

needed. These hints include a number line, the use of blocks, the use of an addition, subtraction,

multiplication, or division chart (depending on the operation(s) being practiced), or general

assistance (such as giving the student one digit in the answer if the answer has multiple digits).

Because students can have assistance if needed, they will be more likely to determine the correct

answer as opposed to determining an incorrect answer.

Additionally, immediate feedback is provided in this software. As each problem is

completed, the number of correct and incorrect answers is shown on the screen. In addition,

students can either correct problems immediately or choose to not correct problems immediately.

If students choose to not correct problems immediately, when the “review” stage is completed,

the software will ask the student if he or she would like to correct all incorrect problems. If a

student says yes, he or she will re-do each incorrect problem. If the student chooses to not correct

the incorrect problems, he or she will return to the home screen after the stage is completed.

However, if a student chooses to correct problems immediately, he or she will re-do a

problem immediately after solving it incorrectly. He or she will not be able to move on to the

next problem until determining the correct solution to the problem being completed. This option

allows students to learn the correct answers to basic facts immediately. Thus, the correct answer

will be stored in students’ memory as opposed to an incorrect answer, allowing a greater

opportunity for students to achieve the learning objective of improving the automaticity and

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instant recall of their basic facts. The option of not correcting incorrect problems will be further

discussed as a limitation of this software.

After students “review” their facts, they move on to the “practice” stage of the software.

During this stage, students solve a pre-determined amount of problems with no hints. The lack of

hints follows the “scaffolding” model of instruction, adding to the educational value of this

software. Students are also timed to determine how long it takes them to correctly solve all of

these problems. Immediate feedback (the tally of the number of correct and incorrect answers) is

displayed on the screen. Students can also choose to correct problems immediately or to not do

so during this stage. The characteristics of correcting problems immediately or not correcting

problems immediately for the “practice” stage are the same as the characteristics for the “review”

stage.

Lastly, students can have a math facts “test”, which is similar to the “practice” stage;

however, the time it takes for all problems to be solved correctly is recorded and becomes part of

a student’s set of personal scores. Again, immediate feedback (the tally system) is used, and

students can choose to either correct problems immediately or to not correct problems

immediately during this stage.

After exploring the capabilities of “Math Drills”, I believe that it meets Roblyer and

Doering’s criteria of being considered a “good” drill-and-practice software. Roblyer and Doering

state one criterion of a valuable drill-and-practice software is that users have control over the rate

in which questions are presented. Users should “have as much time as they wish to answer and

examine the feedback before proceeding to later questions” (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 83).

“Math Drills” meets this criterion. While the amount of time it takes students to correctly solve

their math facts is recorded (for two out of the three stages), students are not given an actual time

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limit to solve the problems. Students have as much time as they need to solve their math facts.

Thus, they engage in this software with the goal of decreasing their time, not the goal of

correctly solving all of the problems before the “timer goes off”.

Furthermore, Roblyer and Doering discuss that good drill-and-practice software must

present simple feedback quickly and the feedback for correct and incorrect answers must be

equally stimulating (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 84). They write that when students are being

timed, they are motivated to work quickly and don’t want to be “slowed down” by extensive

feedback. The manner that feedback is provided in “Math Drills” meets this criterion. As

previously stated, feedback is given immediately in the form of a simple tally of the number of

correct and incorrect answers in a given stage.

Additionally, students can choose to utilize the “smart drills” feature of this software.

When using this feature, the frequency of the problems in the drills is based on student data. For

example, if software data shows that a student struggles with multiplication facts involving

“fives”, any drill involving multiplication will primarily focus on these specific facts. If software

data shows that a student is answering addition facts with an addend of “six” slower than other

addition facts, any drill involving addition will primarily focus on facts involving the number

“six”. Thus, this software caters to the specific needs of each student, adding to its educational

value.

This software also caters to the specific needs of the students in an additional way.

Teachers can specify the types of problems given to each student. The chart below illustrates this

software capability:

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Operation Types of ProblemsAddition 1. Problems in which the sum falls within

a certain range2. Problems in which each addend falls

within a certain range3. Custom facts (teacher selects specific

facts for student to practice)Subtraction 1. The addition problems student

completed are reversed to form subtraction problems

2. Problems in which the minuend and subtrahend fall within a certain range

3. Custom factsMultiplication 1. Problems in which the product falls

within a certain range2. Problems in which the multiplicand and

multiplier fall between a certain range3. Custom facts

Division 1. The multiplication problems student completed are reversed to form division problems

2. Problems in which the dividend and divisor fall within a certain range

3. Custom facts

For example, if a teacher knows that a student is struggling with multiplication problems in

which both the multiplicand and multiplier are greater than 8, the teacher can customize the

multiplication drills for that particular student to focus solely on problems with multiplicands

and multipliers between 8 and 12. Because teachers can specify the type of problem for each

operation given to each student, every drill-and-practice activity within “Math Drills” will align

to the needs of each individual student, adding to the educational value of this software.

There are various reasons why this software should be utilized as opposed to other

teaching strategies. As discussed above, because students have the ability to correct problems

immediately, they will learn the correct answers to basic math facts while they are completing

the drill as opposed to after the drill has been completed. As Roblyer and Doering write,

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As they complete work incorrectly, students may actually be memorizing the wrong

skills. Drill-and-practice software informs them immediately whether their responses are

accurate so they can make quick corrections. This helps both ‘de-bugging’ (identifying

errors in their procedures) and retention (placing the skills in long-term memory for

future access). (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 84)

When students receive the immediate feedback in “Math Drills”, it is more meaningful and, in

this case, they are more likely to memorize the correct answers to their basic facts as opposed to

the incorrect answers.

This software should also be used over other instructional approaches because it is

motivating and engaging for students (this idea will be discussed in greater detail in the “Interest

Level” section of this review). Technology is at the center of our students’ lives, and

incorporating technology into instruction has proven to benefit student learning. “Math Drills”

combines a valuable instructional approach (drill-and-practice) with an additional valuable

instructional approach (the use of educational technology). Due to the immediate feedback and

student motivation while using “Math Drills”, this software should be utilized when helping

students aim to improve the recall and rote memorization of their basic math facts.

While “Math Drills” is a valuable software, it does have a limitation. As mentioned

above, a limitation of this software is that students can choose not only to not correct problems

immediately, but they can choose to not correct problems even after the drill is completed.

Quantitative feedback alone (in this case, a simple tally of the number of correct and incorrect

solutions) is not beneficial in helping students improve their knowledge of basic facts. Feedback

must also include students correcting their mistakes. If these mistakes are not corrected, students

will not learn the correct answers to basic facts, and thus, the incorrect answers will be

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committed to memory. This will not help students in achieving the instructional objective that

this program aims to achieve.

Even with this limitation, “Math Drills” will greatly support students in improving their

rote memorization and recall of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Due to

the repeated rehearsal, feedback options, the ability to control the rate of presentation, and the

alignment to specific student needs, this software will help students develop the automaticity and

instant recall of their basic mathematical facts.

Interest Level

As mentioned above, “Math Drills” is an extremely motivating and engaging software.

Each student has a personalized account in this program and users can view each student’s test

history for each mathematical operation. For example, for each operation, users can view the

number of tests each student has taken, the average number of mistakes each student made, and

the average, fastest, and slowest time that it took each student to complete the problems. Because

this data is recorded, students are motivated to complete more math problems in order to lower

both the number of mistakes made or the time it took to complete all of the problems.

Each student has his or her own personal chart that tracks this data. This data can be used

as motivation for the student, as well as a progress-monitoring tool for the teacher. Additionally,

this software also includes a “Hall of Fame”, which is a chart showing the top scores for all

students. Teachers can also print awards for students with the top scores. As students wish to

reach the top of the “Hall of Fame” and win awards, they will engage in this software with these

specific incentives in mind.

Overall, “Math Drills” is an engaging software that motivates students while helping

them improve their knowledge of basic facts.

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Absence of Bias

This software allows for capabilities that aim to eliminate bias. According to the

“Reviewing Educational Materials for Equity: A Checklist” published by the MidAtlantic Equity

Consortium, a characteristic of an equitable software is that the material is available in various

formats (MidAtlantic Equity Consortium, 1991).”Math Drills” meets this criterion in a variety of

ways.

First, there is a wide selection of different color schemes and appearances for users to

choose from. For example, students can choose color schemes in which the text greatly stands

out from the background, or appearances in which the text is either small or large. This allows

students with visual perception needs or general visual needs to fully engage in this software.

Additionally, this software also allows the math facts to be presented in Chinese and

Japanese, allowing students who are dominant in these languages to utilize the software.

Furthermore, this software allows for text-to-speech capabilities. In this case, text will be

read out loud to students. Students can also choose for numbers to be read naturally (such as

saying “nineteen” for the number “19”), or for numbers to be read as digits (such as saying “one

nine” for the number “19”). These options allow for students with reading or language

difficulties to fully use this software.

“Math Drills” also allows for speech-to-text capabilities. Using a microphone, students

can verbally say their answer as opposed to typing it in. This is extremely beneficial for students

with fine motor difficulties. If these students were required to physically press the buttons on the

keyboard, they may have a challenging time doing so. As a result, the amount of time it takes

these students to solve all of the problems would be a reflection of their fine motor difficulties

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and not a reflection of their mathematical abilities. This speech-to-text feature helps eliminate

this issue.

I do not see evidence of bias regarding gender, race/ethnicity, socio-economic status,

sexual orientation, or language within this drill-and-practice software. Overall, there are various

capabilities of “Math Drills” that allow for students with varying needs to fully utilize and

engage in this software.

Ease of Use/Installation

“Math Drills” was extremely easy for me to install and navigate. Specific steps and

directions accompanied the installation process. Additionally, the software itself was easy to

navigate and use. Descriptions of each possible setting were given, which allowed me to fully

learn all of the capabilities of this software. When navigating this program for the first time, I

was not overwhelmed at all.

Additionally, teachers and students can select the question mark button that is found at

the bottom of the screen. This turns the “help” feature either on or off. When turned on, the user

hovers his or her mouse over a button to learn more about what happens when that button is

pressed. For example, when the user puts his or her mouse over the button that says “scores”, a

small window appears that reads, “Click here to view the high scores of the current student as

well as the hall of fame”.

Fourth grade students would find this program easy to navigate and use. The “help”

feature is extremely beneficial for those who are beginners to the program, yet after a few times

using the software, many students will not need to take advantage of this feature. Additionally,

the layout of this program is simple, and thus, students won’t be overwhelmed. As long as

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teachers provide a satisfactory model of how to use this software, students will find using “Math

Drills” to be easy to use.

Comparison with Another Software

The software that “Math Drills” will be compared to is called “XtraMath”, which is a

web-based program that also helps students with the memorization of basic math facts. Teachers

can create an account for each of their students and students can then sign in to complete various

addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division drills. Students’ scores are recorded and can be

used as incentives for students and as progress-monitoring data for teachers.

Both “Math Drills” and “XtraMath” allow for teachers to specify the types of problems

that each student completes. As previously illustrated in the chart above, in “Math Drills”,

teachers can not only specify what operation(s) they would like each student to work on, but they

can also specify the types of problems within each operation. For example, a student who has

demonstrated mastery of multiplication facts with multiplicands and multipliers from 0-5 does

not need to spend as much time practicing facts with these same factors. The teacher can adjust

this student’s settings to drill multiplication facts with multiplicands and multipliers ranging

from 6-12. Thus, as previously stated, “Math Drills” allows teachers to cater the drill-and-

practice activities to each student’s individual needs.

However, “XtraMath” does not allow for this extent of specification and customization.

There are various programs that students can engage in, including addition, subtraction,

multiplication, division, and combinations of these operations. However, that is the extent to

which teachers can customize each student’s instructional program. For example, when using the

“multiplication only” program, students take an initial placement test and then practice their

multiplication skills until they reach mastery of all facts with multiplicands and multipliers up to

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12. While students will be drilled on facts that they don’t know, and while they are working

towards mastery of basic facts, the drill activities in “XtraMath” are not as customizable as those

in “Math Drills” and thus, do not align as well to the individual needs of each student.

Overall (Holistic) Evaluation of Software

Overall, “Math Drills” is a beneficial drill-and-practice software. The repeated practice of

basic math facts combined with the immediate feedback allow for students to improve with the

automaticity and instant recall of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. I

strongly recommend this software to be used with fourth grade students and I give “Math Drills”

a rating of 5 out of 5.

As discussed throughout this review, there are various strengths of this software. My

recommendation and rating of this software are supported by these strengths. By using “Math

Drills”, students will get the repeated rehearsal of basic math facts that is necessary in order to

commit these math facts to memory. Additionally, students receive simple, quick, and immediate

feedback and can correct their errors immediately, which allows for “de-bugging” and retention.

Furthermore, this software allows for the user to have control over the rate information is

presented. “Math Drills” can also be aligned to each student’s individual needs. This conveys the

idea that all students learn basic facts at varying rates, and thus, instruction and drills should

reflect these differing rates.

This software is also extremely motivating for students. When students are motivated,

they are more likely to be fully engaged in the activity. While using “Math Drills”, students are

working towards improving their time and score. They are also working towards reaching the top

of the “Hall of Fame” and receiving awards.

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“Math Drills” is also accessible for students with various needs and disabilities. Its range

of capabilities allows all students to fully engage in the software and improve their knowledge of

basic facts. Fourth graders will also find this software extremely easy to use and navigate

through.

However, the main limitation of this software is that students are not actually required to

correct all incorrect problems, which contradicts one of Roblyer and Doering’s ideas about the

benefits of drill-and-practice software. While drill-and-practice software can help with de-

bugging and retention, if students do not correct all incorrect problems, this software will not

help with these two processes. Yet, I am still claiming that “Math Drills” does help with de-

bugging and retention, because the ability to correct all incorrect problems is a capability of this

software. To solve this limitation, teachers can set all students’ accounts to “correcting problems

immediately”, and can then prohibit students from even clicking on the “settings” button to

change these personalized settings. Thus, all students will be required to correct all incorrect

problems, allowing for this software to improve retention and automaticity of basic math facts.

Because this limitation can be “solved”, the strengths of this software outweigh the negative

aspects.

Students’ instant recall and rote memorization of basic math facts can be improved to a

greater extent through the use of “Math Drills” as opposed to the use of non-technological

instructional approaches. According to Roblyer and Doering, there are various advantages to

using drill-and-practice software as opposed to drill-and-practice handwritten activities. These

include that in drill-and-practice software such as “Math Drills”, feedback is provided

immediately, students are more motivated, and students can use this software while the teacher is

addressing other needs in the classroom (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p.84). The idea of immediate

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feedback with regards to “Math Drills” has been greatly discussed throughout this review.

Furthermore, students will enjoy using “Math Drills” due to the reasons previously discussed, as

well as the fact that students enjoy using technology in their everyday lives. Lastly, due to the

fact that “Math Drills” is easy to use, students can use this software independently while the

teacher is focusing on other needs in the classroom or even when the teacher is out of the room.

While basic math facts can be practiced through means of paper-and-pencil drill activities, “Math

Drills” has various advantages that simple non-technological drill activities do not.

In conclusion, “Math Drills” is a motivating, engaging, and interactive drill-and-practice

software that serves to help students improve the instant recall and automaticity of basic

addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Due to the educational value of this

software, it should be incorporated into fourth grade mathematics instruction.

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References:

Doering, A. H. & Roblyer, M.D. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (6

ed.). Pearson.

MidAtlantic Equity Consortium. (1991). Reviewing educational materials for equity: A

checklist. Retrieved from http://www.maec.org/Old/tadocs/review.html

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Software Publication Information Form

A. Title of Main Software: “Math Drills”

Version: 5.5

Medium (e.g., compact disk, DVD, Internet: Downloadable Software

Publisher: Instant Interactive

Year: 2010

Cost: (individual, single, school, if available): Individual License- $4.99

URL for Publisher or Website link to software: http://www.instantinteractive.com/

Target Grade(s) /Age(s): Kindergarten – Grade 12

Subject(s): Mathematics

System Requirements:

PC: Mac: OS X 10.6.6 or later

B. Title of Comparative Software: “XtraMath”

Version: N/A

Medium (e.g., compact disk, DVD, Internet): Internet (Web-based software)

Publisher: XtraMath

Year: 2007

Cost: (individual, class, school, if available): Free

URL for Publisher or Website link to software: https://www.xtramath.org/

Target Grade(s) /Age(s): Kindergarten – Grade 12

Subject(s): Mathematics

System Requirements: An internet browser [Internet Explorer 7 (or later), Firefox, Safari, or Google Chrome]; Flash Player v. 9 (or later)

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