Teaching math in a fun and engaging way is no easy feat, especially when it comes to young learners. And, when it comes to teaching these young learners, presenting math equations in a visual format seems to net the most success for the majority of learners. Taking a tactile approach to math is another common route for teaching young learners, and the app that we are looking at today seeks to combine those two approaches to create a learning app that is equal parts tactile and equal parts visually based.
How It Works
In Dexteria Dots, math elements are represented as dots. Each dot has 4 attributes: numeral, pips, color, and size (e.g., a 4-dot is twice the diameter of a 2-dot).
At the Beginner level, all 4 attributes are displayed as kids solve problems. As the difficulty level increases, one attribute is removed, until they reach Expert mode where they must solve problems based on size only. Each level can be played as many times as they like, and bonus dots provide some fun surprises along the way.
Why We Like It
The app is designed for children 2-8, so young learners can start learning math before ever stepping foot in school. These learners are just being introduced to math concepts, and this app (as well as other visual/tactile math apps) gamifies math and creates a sense of fun and discovery that might be difficult to achieve with pen and paper.
The app covers number sense, counting, addition, subtraction, and relative size. And from a tactile point of view the app forces users to use visual tracking and fine motor skills. Visual memory and planning is required to execute the more complicated tasks, making Dexteria Dots a good choice for those need to practice fine motor movements.
Dexteria Dots is available for iOS at a cost of $3.99. To learn even more about the app, click here(new window).
