Educational Insights MathShark- Electronic Math Games, Addition, Subtraction, Division, and Multiplication Game, Handheld Games for Kids, Interactive STEM Learning Tools for Ages 6+

Thanks to the others who took the time to review this product, I decided to purchase it last November for a grandchild who was having difficulty with math facts and had been scoring very low on her weekly timed tests. The other reviewers indicated that the children's scores soared when using this toy. This is the amazing effect that I am now seeing happen for my grandchild. As soon as she started using the Math Shark, her tests jumped up to A's, completing all in the time allowed, whereas formerly she would only get half done with many errors. She forgot about it for awhile and her scores dropped back down. After starting to use it again, her scores are back up to A's. The Math Shark is a great investment for helping children succeed in school! I have just ordered another one for another grandchild. The price is also good for this kind of an item. The screen? Yes, it is dim for Grandma with aging eyes, but the children don't seem to have a problem with that at all. Update, June, 2008: I have just ordered a third Math Shark for another grandchild who has just completed first grade and needs much help with his math skills. The first 2 grandchildren have enjoyed using it and have both claimed that it helped them tremendously. A wonderful educational tool!

Great device for helping with Math Facts. This device uses flashing light and sounds to reinforce correct answers and gently prod the user to try again if the wrong answer is chosen. If the wrong answer is selected the device displays the correct answer and adds the problem back into the practice set currently being worked. The unt dsiplays the time it took to complete the problems (10) so a student can practice and watch the time required to decrease. Many students won't let go of the device until they can improve their time. No teacher or parent involvement is usually required during practice. When the student sees that they have achieved a targeted time they can make a note and move on to the next level of difficulty. Their efforts can be verified at a later time by demonstrating that they can achieve the desired time. No pretending when it's so easy top verify the student's claim. I've used this with students for many years and find that it helps students stay focused. I had one of the devices quit working, but the manufacturer replaced it without charge very quickly.

I rarely review items, but have been telling friends and relatives to buy this, so I thought I would post. I love this product. This was the one thing that has worked for my kid to learn math facts. My ONLY negative thing to say about it is that the screen (as everyone says) is small and hard to read and the font looks like it is out of the beginning-computer-era. I bought this online from Amazon for my child who needed to learn multiplication 'math facts' and hadn't mastered it yet and her class was moving on to more difficult things, upon which multiplication was a basis. I had tried flash cards and a ton of apps, some free and some for a fee, and nothing seemed to work - or the app would be fun, but not helpful to learning math facts. I finally bought this after a tutor said that the only issue was just memorizing math facts - I suddenly realized that all the money for a math tutor was a lot more than just buying this educational toy. I bought it and within a week, my child has almost completely mastered her multiplication 0 - 12. She already had about half those numbers down, but she was stuck on the other half. Every day, I make her use the math shark - she would rather do other less academic games, truthfully, but she is still willing and pretty happy to play on this product. I make her do different numbers alone (under the level1 or 2) and then the machine times her and I write the time down on a chart so that she can see how much better she is getting with each number she learns. The positive reinforcement and realization that this is actually FUN once you are good at math facts - has had a snow ball effect and her confidence and attitude about math has soared. I am truly happy - my child is almost caught up and I feel like this product really saved us and will make this academic year much easier. I am recommending it to everyone.. We haven't tried division yet, but that's next. For future versions of the shark math, I think the company making it should update the screen (making it easier to read), should put in some 'memorization' function so that the machine keeps track of how fast kids are learning, and should make it easier to use, if possible (not impossible to use, but I did have to read over the directions). But all and all, I am very happy and relieved that we found this.

I home school my 10 year old daughter and I hate the "drill and kill" methods of teaching, so I am always looking for ways that make learning fun. Much of what I come up with or have purchased, my daughter finds boring. Not so with this math game! She actually expected to find this game dull, but she is hooked. She literally came to understand decimals much better just by playing with this "toy" for less than half an hour, and she enjoys trying to beat her previous timing. It comes with a booklet that shows HOW to perform the various math operations if the child does not yet know how, then the game is used for practicing. Once they are comfortable with a level, they can advance to the next hardest level. This is the first math learning anything I've found that she finds entertaining, and it really does improve her math skills, so I'm happy, too! It teaches several skills including adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions, percents, decimals, and it can be used as a calculator, too. My daugher said to give it 5 stars. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This device seems like a better version of the Multiplication Master. My older child is ASD and this is a lot easier on him. He likes having volume on his "games" but not too loud. This game checks that box. He also can not do games with timer components. The Multiplication Master device has a timer countdown that I can't turn off and he gets riled up from the anxiety. This Math Shark game let's him go at his own pace. It is also a bonus that it has a variety of drills so he can practice in sequential order or random. There are settings so that my younger son can practice his addition and subtraction. I highly recommend this if you have a kid that needs some practice. The repetition helps the math facts stick. The only slightly negative thing I'd say about it is the numbers feel a little too solid. They require a bit more pressure than other devices to push but it does lend to the feeling they won't break easy.

This came highly recommended, and it was not that expensive, so it was worth a try. And to be fair, it was recommended because it got results (non-specific) with someone else's child, though somewhat younger than my 9 year old. The LCD display is ancient, segments far apart, on a dull gray background. Sound effects, equally old, remind me of a Radio Shack electronics hobby kit from 1980. Younger kids are more tolerant of old technology and they can get things to work for them. At 9, mine is borderline, and she didn't reject it outright, but I may have missed the age where it might have held the most appeal. And after all, this is supposed to be fun or what is the point? There are plenty of other ways to do drills. Next thing I don't care for is the level of difficulty setting, and the way the device selects problems. I will admit I have not spent a great deal of time with it but there seems to be little variety in the questions. Example, division problems at mid-level difficulty - every problem was divide by 10. So I can't recommend it. It's bright colors and quirky LED/beeping feedback made a good first impression but they wore off fast. But it could work for your child.

The math shark, surprisingly, is a hit with my daughter. She's 7 years old knows how to do multiplication but hasn't mastered all the factors. She likes the speed drill by skills and levels and use the calculator functions for accumulating points for dominoes and poker games. Someone has complained about the dim light or lack of backlight. The fact is kids with good eyesight don't care about that. They don't need backlight most of the time. The math shark does a real good job separate skill levels and put up challenges. That's why kids like it. There's always something that they can do, so they want to continue to do better. And best of all, they learn math skills that they need. Kudo for this simple gadget. It seems old school but works.

My precocious 1st Grader has a very active mind and is always looking for a challenge. We've chosen not to have video games at home at this time but I saw this and thought this might be something fun for him to do during downtime, car rides, etc. He has really taken up the challenge with the Math Shark and enjoys playing the games and moving up to new levels. He has also begun to teach himself multiplication as the games are helping him understand the patterns and concepts. So far the Math Shark has been a great way for him to engage his brain and learn new things!

A mi hijo de 8 años le encanto !!!

This thing is awesome! Works well

My 10 year old daughter received this for Xmas and she has barely played with it. Not very interested in it and when she did pick it up once she got bored very easily saying it was too hard. I do regret buying it for her but she does have an allergy to maths!!

Product is so unreliable, just opened 2 weeks ago and the buttons are not responding at all, don’t buy!

My 8-year old son enjoys and having fun learning at the same time. The only downside is the sound do not have volume adjustment.