Math Pilot Programs by Courtney Mark

2025-02-21 18:14:12 UTC

Kids are loving it already! Just logged in for the first time, they are all smiles and fiercely hitting the keys to get those facts :)

cmark24 — 2025-02-25 14:23:51 UTC

Reflex is super glitchy today. I had 2 kids that it never loaded on their computer and the others took about 3 minutes to load. Just wanted to give feedback for today. My students love it.

2025-02-25 14:37:43 UTC

We've started using Reflex and the kids are very motivated to practice their multiplication skills using the games. Many of my kids have shared that they voluntarily worked on it at home. We have started a competition in our grade and they are excited to earn the Green Light each day! :)

2025-02-25 14:42:02 UTC

My students used Xtra Math 2-3 times during the trial. Although they were excited to give it a try, it was very simple. The new would wear off pretty quickly in my opinion. Additionally, once they hit the daily goal, it wouldn't let them continue to practice. At least not that I could tell.

cmark24 — 2025-02-25 14:43:08 UTC

The third grade competition wouldn't let Cameron's class join. Working with Reflex tech support to see if we can get it going.

2025-02-26 18:45:24 UTC

Kids were motivated to get better, but a lot of them dreaded getting on and told me it wasn't fun.

2025-02-26 18:55:52 UTC

My students are loving it! They logged in for the first time today. They wanted more time on reflex than we had time for.

2025-03-04 14:45:30 UTC

My students are LOVING Reflex! I had a couple even log on at home over the weekend, which they never do! I have never seen them so quiet or focused on a math center during class.

2025-03-17 20:53:31 UTC

Kids were interested in xtramath at first. A select few were motivated to move through the program. From a teaching perspective, xtramath doesn't offer much. Once Reflex was introduced, none of the students preferred xtramath.

2025-03-17 20:57:38 UTC

4th grade students are highly motivated to do Reflex. Many of them ask to get on every day. The ones who remember it from when they were younger are annoyed that they also have to complete races before getting to the games. But, when asked if they'd rather do xtramath, they still say no. I love how Reflex presents the fact families to students and has them practice on multiplication and division facts simultaneously.

2025-03-19 18:01:50 UTC

reflex-

my students have loved using reflex. I have several who asked to do it at home since we are not doing in class.

2025-03-19 18:06:57 UTC

Freckle-

My kids have used freckle, and it is not the best for just math facts. I have assigned them facts, but it doesn't really give a lot to practice. It reminds me a lot of IXL and not sure why we would need both. IXL is much more streamlined with the topics to assign.

2025-03-19 20:16:07 UTC

We've used Freckle twice this week. I assigned a variety of items relating to math facts to my class. They easily navigated the login process and accessing the "backpack", but the practice was fairly limited. Many of the questions were worded in a way that is very different than our curriculum. The fact practice was limited, and didn't let them practice for longer than a few minutes in an effort to reach their daily goal. The program was kind of cumbersome and clunky from a navigation standpoint. For both myself and the students. It seems very similar (and less sophisticated) to IXL to me, after navigating it for 2 days.

2025-03-19 20:56:49 UTC

Freckle offers a gamified approach to learning, similar to IXL. It may not be as focused on fact practice, which is what the students really need.

2025-03-19 20:59:18 UTC

My students have LOVED Reflex. Many even logged on repeatedly during Spring break. They are excited to get onto Reflex and ask for it pretty much every day.

2025-03-24 18:17:42 UTC

My students started freckle today. First impressions on the teacher end and after the PD, it still seems a little redundant to IXL. It seems to be a more gamified version of IXL. The fact practice isn't as rigorous as these students need, which is what we are asking for. Strictly fact practice. However, I do like that the store is limited, so that students aren't staying on the store.

2025-03-25 01:24:30 UTC

My students used XtraMath for two days. The very first thing they said was, it's boring.

2025-03-25 01:37:35 UTC

Students used Reflex Math for several days. They LOVED it. It was unanimous. From my perspective, it's easy to navigate and a strong piece of evidence for parents when discussing the very important skills of learning math fact accuracy and automaticity. Reflex Math focuses exclusively on building fluency with math facts. I understand the concern about gamification and dopamine, but we also need to consider engagement and motivation. If students love the program, it means they're willingly practicing math. Rather than dismissing it, we could explore ways to balance its use. There is a ton of research on effective gamification in education. We could set guidelines for its use.

2025-03-25 01:53:43 UTC

Students have used Freckle. The majority of students said they liked it. They like that "the shop is always open, they earn coins, and they can customize their own avatar." Several students did not like it because "it is too easy." From my perspective, it's a bit overwhelming to think I'll be managing two similar programs, IXL and Freckle. Freckle has gamified elements, just not as many as Reflex Math. I understand the need to be mindful of costs, but I strongly believe that Reflex Math provides a significantly better and more focused approach for learning and practicing math facts, which is what we need. Families are making a considerable investment in their children's education here, and they expect the highest quality resources. Are there other areas where we can be more cost-effective without compromising academic excellence?

2025-04-14 18:49:03 UTC

My students loved Reflex. It concentrates on the exact skill we are trying to improve at Lausanne: automaticity and math facts. Several students were playing it each night at home. They loved the different math games. Xtra math was a mixed bag. They were happy to have something new b ut it wasn't very engaging. To me, Freckle is just like IXL math but without the group jam. My class' favorite thing in IXL is the group jam. They like Freckle. They like that you can earn coins and buy things. It does not target our biggest need - memorizing math facts.

2025-05-01 20:37:38 UTC

4th Grade has been using Freckle this week. The 4th graders have enjoyed the store experience and the fact that you can earn coins for things. They have focused mostly on trying to hack the system so they can earn the most coins possible and take the lead on the Leaderboard. Some students have enjoyed the Adaptive Practice because they are trying to level up their math skills. Fact practice is limited, and like Shelby said, not always clearly linked to our curriculum. For example, when I chose "Multiplication and Division" the program includes negative numbers, which are not taught in 4th grade. Overall, 4th grade teachers (me) prefer Reflex for the automaticity of facts. Students were bummed when the Reflex trial period ended.

2025-05-07 17:37:49 UTC

Whittaker's students have said over and over how much they love Freckle! It's a winner. Henry says, "It's my favorite!"

They did discover the games on IXL mid year and now Fuzz Bug Factory Hop rules in our room, but when we piloted Freckle, it was raved about for awhile. Sometimes, we just can't beat Fuzz Bug Factory hop though.

2025-05-07 17:40:27 UTC

We have been using Freckle a lot more. I have been able to push out fraction questions to the students. There is a lot of subject matter to send to the students. I like that. The kids are getting bored with Freckle. As I mentioned before, their favorite aspect of IXL is the group jam. They want the group jam again. The students like the coin aspect but some have lost interest. The most important aspect to me as a teacher is Freckle does not address the largest shortcoming for most students: math facts and automaticity.

2025-05-10 13:02:50 UTC

I didn't use Feckle as much as I would have liked to and SK does not have access to Reflex. I liked having the option of math fact practice that was differentiated. If we don't end up going with Freckle- I would love to have access to Reflex to use with at least SOME of our SK kids.

2025-05-13 03:37:38 UTC

Since the Reflex trial ended, we’ve used Freckle some more. I don’t think it’s exactly what my students need. some are still interested in the content. Once they hit the daily goal I have set for them, they disengage quite quickly. The intuitive/self-directed sessions they can do are pretty challenging, as they present the math in ways that are quite foreign to most. Especially compared to our EM curriculum. The features of IXL are much easier for me to assign and monitor than what I’ve discovered on Freckle. Ultimately, I don’t think we need two programs so similar for third graders.

For rote practice, Reflex is the way to go. I’ve seen it be beneficial for 3rd graders for many years in the past. Recently I have even encouraged struggling MS students get accounts on their own to finally master their X facts. It has helped incredibly. *These students had no access to Reflex when in 3rd grade.

If cost is a factor in choosing Reflex, may I please volunteer to help budget the digital subscriptions for the LS division?

*****If Reflex is implemented in LS, maybe limit the “levels” to certain grades. For example-I prefer for 2nd graders to not have completed the X and Division levels. I believe They should be limited to adding and subtracting, and save the X and division for third and fourth when our curriculum focuses teaches the content.