Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Math Tutor DVD


Our family recently had the opportunity to preview math tutoring materials produced by MathTutorDVD. This company offers a full spectrum of math tutoring courses starting with a Young Minds DVD which introduces numbers (accompanied by classical music) all the way up through Calculus 3 and Differential Equations. There is also a Physics series as well as a DVD on Probability and Statistics.

The video instructor, Jason Gibson, has an impressive educational background including a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering, and Masters of Science in Physics. Mr. Gibson definitely knows his material but really explains things in a very understandable way.

Our Experience

We previewed The Pre-Algebra Tutor Volume 1. The 2-DVD set is $26.99 and covers 5 hours of instruction on the following topics:

Disc 1

  • Real Numbers
  • The Number Line
  • Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To
  • Absolute Value and Adding Integers
  • Subtracting Integers

Disc 2

  • Multiplying Integers
  • Dividing Integers
  • Powers and Exponents
  • Order of Operations

My 7th grade son is beginning pre-algebra this year and so the timing for this review was perfect. The first lessons were a review for him but a good discipline in getting back into a math mindset after his summer vacation. I also showed some of the earlier lessons to my daughter who won't begin pre-algebra until the fall of 2011. It helped reinforce things she had learned already and also gently introduced her to concepts she would be tackling in the future.

My high school son (currently studying Algebra 2) also viewed some of the material and it provided a great review of concepts he hadn't used recently. As a teacher, I enjoyed the refresher on topics I hadn't taught in a few years. Math has been an area of struggle for my older kids so I look forward to looking into purchasing more of these materials to not only better prepare me to assist them in math but also to give them greater confidence tackling new concepts.

I also received The Texas Instruments TI-83/TI-84 Calculator Tutor to review. This DVD can be purchased for $26.99 or can be viewed free online. I had never used (or owned) a graphing calculator and was thrilled to learn more about its features. This is a tremendous resource for any student progressing into higher math levels. The calculator tutor offers step-by-step instructions and examples of problems worked out. The 3-disc set offers 8 hours of instruction with 37 topics covered.

Purchase Guaranteed

DVDs can be purchased individually and prices range from $21.99 to $49.99 depending upon the specific course. The company guarantees that their material will raise grades or your money back so you really have nothing to lose.

They offer a tremendous price break if you purchase their entire line of DVDs--a whopping 50% discount bringing the cost down to $450. If you divided that out to 13 grades (K-high school), that amounts to less than $35/year. Considering that some of these courses are sometimes taken in college (calculus and statistics), you could divide out the cost by 15 years making each year's tutoring costs only $30/year. Have more than one child? Then your savings per student is even greater! If you had to pay a private tutor, $30-$35 might pay for 3-4 sessions--not assistance for a whole course!

By purchasing the whole DVD library of courses, you would have at your disposal all math tutoring needed throughout your child's elementary, middle and high school years as well as help with Physics. You can read more about the Supersaver Math and Physics promotion here. If you are unable to purchase the complete set in one payment, you can divide the payments into four installments and still receive a 30% discount on the set.

Online Subscriptions

If you have a number of students at various math levels and the whole set is just not in your budget, then you might want to consider a monthly online subscription. For $19.95/month, you will have access to all levels of tutoring material for the use of any child in your home. For large families, this is a very cost effective way to receive the benefit of tutoring on various levels. With your online subscription, you'll have no worries about keeping track of discs, plus the ability to access the material anywhere internet is available, and access all levels of the material for any number of users. Online subscribers can view materials 24/7, access worksheets, discussion forums, and also enjoy a 25% discount on DVDs they choose to purchase.

Who Should Buy
  • Families wanting extra assistance in math (either to supplement their school curriculum or strengthen their homeschool curriculum)
  • Individuals providing math tutoring services
  • Home educators wanting to refresh their skills to assist their students
  • Teachers wanting to build a tutoring resource for struggling students
  • Students at any age wanting to improve their grades in mathematics
  • High school students brushing up for college entrance exams
  • College students needing extra assistance with higher level math or physics
  • Adult learners filling in gaps in their education
  • Non-traditional college students needing to refresh their math skills
  • Any math lover wanting to tackle a new challenge

Website Freebies
For a plethora of free math podcasts on the website, check out Mental Math Secrets. You can subscribe to these podcasts through iTunes or watch them directly from MathTutorDVD.com. You'll currently find free video demonstrations on the following topics:

  • Rapidly Multiply by 11's
  • Rapidly Calculate a Restaurant Tip
  • The Secret to Rapid Mental Addition
  • Rapid Mental Column Addition
  • Rapid Two Column Addition
  • Rapid Money Addition
  • Rapidly Multiply any 2-Digit Numbers
  • Rapidly Square any Number Ending in 5
  • Rapidly Square any Number in the 50s
  • Rapidly Square any Number Near 100
  • Mentally Multiply any 2-Digit Number by a 1-Digit Number
  • Mentally Square any 2-Digit Number
  • Multiply 3-Digit by 1-Digit Numbers
  • Multiply 3-Digit by 2-Digit Numbers
  • Multiply 3-Digit by 3-Digit Numbers
  • Divide any Number by 0.5, 5 or 50

Contact and Ordering Information

You can shop securely online through MathTutorDVD.com . If you have any questions about the material before you order, you can contact the company toll free at 1-877-MATH-DVD or contact Jason Gibson directly at jason.gibson@MathTutorDVD.com.

You can listen to testimonials of many satisfied customers from the website. And for additional written reviews about MathTutorDVD.com please visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.

Blessings,
Jill



Disclaimer: I was provided a sample of 2 math tutoring DVD courses for the purpose of reviewing and blogging about my experience with this product. The opinions expressed are my own and no other compensation was received.

1 comment:

Penny said...

Hey Jill, I reviewed Math Tutor, also, but was excited about it's possibilities all over again, after reading your blog post! I like the way you tied in their super-savings-plan. Yes, I wish I could take advantage of it. It really is beneficial for my family and I did order the Basic Math for a couple of my younger ones. I enjoy following your blog...

Blessings,
Penny

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