We are excited to announce our new updates to enhance the student experience, making math practice more engaging and fun. These improvements will benefit not only students but also parents and teachers. Please note that the mobile app will no longer be available, but the web app will be accessible on mobile devices.
Let's take a closer look at the details:
First, our program can now be used on all phones without the need for the XtraMath app. Additionally, we've given the student interface a fresh, modern makeover. The interface is not just sleek and visually appealing but also designed with user-friendliness in mind, making it easier for students to navigate and enjoy their learning sessions.
We have updated the Welcome & Placement Quiz to ensure a smooth start for new students on XtraMath. The Welcome section now provides a more inviting introduction, while the Placement Quiz Intro clearly indicates the upcoming quiz operation. Students will also receive prior instructions before each practice activity. This update makes the quiz more intuitive and allows us to assess each student's level accurately.
We understand that transitioning directly into an activity can be unsettling for students. To help them prepare mentally, we've added a countdown animation before the start of each activity. This brief pause gives students a moment to get ready, reducing anxiety and helping them focus better. It's a small change that significantly impacts their confidence and performance.
We have updated the timer to show progress with a bar instead of dots. The response time threshold remains the same, but the progress bar is now color-coded for easier understanding. These colors are also reflected in the result matrix. This change is important because students won’t have to think about specific times; they can simply aim for the green zone, making it easier to progress.
🟢 Green: If a student responds in the green section, it is considered a fluent response.
🟡 Yellow: If the student responds in the yellow section, it is considered a good response within an acceptable time but not fluent for the assigned program.
🔵 Blue: If the student does not respond within the time and the blue section appears, the response is considered out of time, and they must type the correct answer to continue to the next operation.
Additionally, to minimize distractions, we have placed the operation settings panel in the top left corner. Here, students can hide/show the keyboard, move it left or right, and hide/show the timer. Note that even if the timer is hidden, the time will still run.
Here you can see the placement quiz in its different states:
To help students focus and reduce confusion, we’ve replaced the smiley face with a green check mark whenever the answer is correct. The smiley faces will now only appear in the results matrix, and you can enlarge the view using the magnifying glass icon.
We've introduced an inactivity model to keep students engaged and on track. If a student becomes inactive, this modal will appear, pausing the activity until they are ready to restart. This feature helps maintain focus and prevents students from drifting away from their practice sessions.
Learning math is a journey, and every achievement deserves to be celebrated. We have enhanced the "Congratulations" screen with animated confetti to make those moments of victory even more special. We have also customized the screen to display the student's name, making the program feel more personalized. What's more, students will now be able to proudly see all the trophies they have earned so far in their results, allowing them to track their progress.
We've made some exciting changes to the practice activities. The streak icon, which was previously confused with quiz result icons, is now a thumbs-up. We've also added a characteristic classroom chalkboard to display streaks. The streak indicates how many consecutive operations the student has completed correctly within the threshold time. Remind your students that although practice is not reported to the teacher, it is also timed to help them practice fluency.
Students might receive a friendly "Goodbye" message at the end of each session. This small gesture provides a sense of closure to their learning time, making each session feel complete and well-rounded.
These updates are part of our continuous effort to make XtraMath the best tool for supporting math fact fluency. We are committed to providing an engaging and effective learning experience for students. By constantly improving and refining our features, we aim to ensure that students achieve math fact fluency and enjoy the process. Our dedication to innovation and user feedback through our surveys drives us to create a program that meets the evolving needs of both educators and learners, helping students build a solid foundation in math that will help them throughout their academic journey and beyond.
We hope you and your students like these improvements as much as we enjoyed creating them. Thank you for being a part of the XtraMath family!
Happy learning! 🎉
The XtraMath Team
Jackeline Paz Orcutt
Product Marketing Manager.
