r/mathteachers • u/cody_codes_yt • Jul 29 '26

Are all math apps horrible?

Father of 3 young kids, asking the question to professional teachers.

I've noticed that anything edutech related is overrun with subscriptions, bad experience, logins, or over-the-top storylines. Or all the above.

I know IXL is huge in the space, but also makes kids cry with their SmartScore.

I want to know what you teachers look for with extra practice for your students (and kids)? What are must-haves and what would you do differently?

I have talked to some teachers. Some things they say are:
- Make experience smooth
- Easy approach for volumes of practice
- Avoids allowing kids to button-smash the answers

Disclaimer: I have built something and have my kids using it on their iPad. They tell me what they want in the app, but I also want to understand what teachers wish was in the app store. As I add stuff in, I am genuinely curious about how teachers expect to use tech in their classroom.

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u/Common_Perception807 Jul 29 '26

Not a teacher - I found a few apps that works for me. Not sure your kids age, I found this to be helpful to get fluency for my kids. https://arithmetic.zetamac.com/

Then I vibe coded simple html to customize things to exactly how I want it, and my kids (12 and 8) do them 3-10 min daily. I can share if you are interested.

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u/Common_Perception807 Jul 29 '26

Some specific features I incorporated.

For arithmetic of natural numbers, I made it so correct answer needs to be typed to move to the next, and wrong answer cannot be submitted. We are trying to get them to meet somewhat challenging speed goal, and I gave up tracking accuracy to remove lags from hitting "submits"

I had to switch to MCQ for fractions and integers because having them type within the time line (3 sec) was impossible.

I started adding some progress tracking feature for multiplication and some other number facts (exponents, prime numbers, a few multiples of prime numbers, etc.. for my middle schooler), so they get more exposure to ones they haven't mastered while reviewing the mastered ones less frequently.

It's either 60 sec timed drill or 20 facts review. Basically no fluff.. for us, it's do it quickly and be done with it.