Here in the O’shea house, we’ve tried many, many math programs. For the most part, the kids like math and I love math. Getting new math software is pretty fun for me. My kids still see it as work. : (
When I first visited the Math Galaxy website, I was a little disappointed in the appearance. My first thought was, “this isn’t going to be very fun.” The site could definitely benefit from an updated layout and graphics.
After I got over the appearance of the site, got my downloads, and setup the program it was time to play. : ) I installed the Whole Numbers Fun software and once again I was struck by the outdated graphics. I just can’t seem to get over this. I’m sure it wouldn’t bother most people, I’m just a little graphic-geeky that way.
The Whole Numbers Fun program has a ton of stuff in it. Great for supplemental work and review, every math topic has its own section so you can concentrate on just what you need. Each section includes a review that I found only minimally helpful. It requires the student to do quite a bit of reading to understand. I found this frustrating for the younger children because I just ended up re-teaching it all. On the actual problem screens, the user is supposed to type in the answer, hit enter and then must hit enter to continue on. This was all fine but sometimes slow about transitioning to the next problem.
The bottom of the main menu screen also has games listed. Now these were fun! I tried these out for myself and they’re actually a little addicting! hehe My video game-loving kids enjoyed these too. Much less like math work; much more like fun work!
Math Galaxy offers practice software ($29.95), worksheet generating software ($29.95), and e-books ($14.95 & $13.95) of pre-made worksheets as well. These are all available for different competency levels including:
- Whole Numbers
- Fractions
- Decimals, Proportions, and %
- Pre-Algebra
- Algebra
While I do think the Worksheet Generating software is useful, I don’t think this is something I would use very often. I just don’t the time to make up extra material. And honestly, why would I when I can just print some great problems straight from the e-book? The e-book puzzles and riddles are very good. Again, the graphics are ‘old school’ but the content is great. The puzzles are fun and keep the kids interested enough to actually DO math problems!
My overall opinion of Math Galaxy is a mixed bag. I love the content. The maker’s have obviously put a ton of work and thought into the math behind the programs. Unfortunately, they haven’t done too much to make the program modern or user-friendly. I would expect for $29.95 to get a really nice software program or a combo pack consisting of the practice and worksheet generator programs and an e-book. I just can’t justify spending almost $75 on such outdated software. The e-book, I could do because the puzzles are just that good.
I hope to see a new, improved MathGalaxy.com in the future.
-Sara O’