Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.
Well, this is my very last review for the Homeschool Review Crew. Due to various circumstances, the Crew will be closing. I’m going to miss this! And, surprisingly, my children will, too. When I told the school children that we would no longer be getting things to review for school, they were all unhappy about it, which surprised me because they griped so much about “things to do for review!” When it was no longer an option, they all admitted that they enjoyed the variety.
We were given one year of access to the Premium Subscription to Brilliant, an interactive web- and mobile-based learning platform. Because the courses that were featured were not ones I thought my children could use right now, and because we were at the end of our school year, I opted not have my children actually use this program. Then, I was given access and started using it myself—and regretted that decision! I had a lot of fun with it myself, and could see how it would have benefitted Mr. Sweetie (age 13) and even Mr. Imagination (age 10).
One of the courses I tried out was Geometry Fundamentals. It began with the very simple concept of area, and how to compute and compare areas. Only one tiny concept is presented at a time, in the form of an exercise with a multiple-choice answer. Next is a section about angles. I got started working through it this afternoon to refresh my memory about how the program works, and got distracted, going through a lot more questions than I had planned on! As soon as one question is answered, a “continue” button comes up and you move on to the next question. There is a “hint” button with each problem. If the wrong answer is selected, a button comes up to show the solution, or else you can just choose the “continue” button. A progress bar along the top of the screen shows how far you have progressed through the lesson.
I also tried out the pre-algebra course. This begins with an explanation of variables, has a section on understanding equations and expressions, and then has a review lesson. It looks like there are some games/puzzles next, and then more about equations.These are followed by a number of lessons on factoring, simplification, and problem solving, for a total of 28 interactive lessons. It took me 10-15 minutes to complete each lesson I did, and each one was presented clearly and thoroughly.
There are more than 70 course available on Brilliant. Some look very interesting, like the ones about scientific thinking. There are also computer science courses and a lot of different math courses. These are all arranged in “pathways,” so that you follow a logical progression. For example, as you finish pre-algebra, you are directed to begin Geometry Fundamentals. I am quite impressed with the layout of these programs, and if we weren’t just finishing the school year and wanting to take a break, I would have at least Mr. Sweetie work through some courses.
I worked on the two courses I mentioned already using my laptop. That worked great, but I decided to check out the app for the iPad, as well. It was easy to install, and the login synced with what I had been doing on the laptop instantly. I tried the logic course there, and had a lot of fun playing around with it. I think I’ll make this app available to anyone in the family who wants to use it, and see what happens. This is a “computer game” that I don’t mind them spending time on! If you want something to do online or on an app that will keep your mind sharp and keep you learning, or you have children 10 years old or older who need a fun way to practice math, logic, or science skills, definitely have a look at Brilliant. It may be just the thing for you.
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