http://digitsmath.com Retail price: Student subscription, less than $12 a year, depending on subscription length. Extension years can be purchased for $7.97 a student.
By MaryAnn Karre
Pearson’s digits is a comprehensive middle-grades mathcurriculum program, written to the Common Core State Standards, that integrates lesson planning, homework management, intervention, and assessment, all within a userfriendly design that encourages class collaboration via interactive whiteboards.
Quality and Effectiveness: Pearson uses a studentcentric approach of integrated assessment, instruction, and practice, called the InterACTIVE Learning Cycle, to address students’ needs and offer differentiated study plans, lessons, and homework that support grade-level proficiency. Each content-rich lesson has three parts: launch, dynamic examples, and close and check. Struggling students are offered support and scaffolding activities, while accelerated students are challenged to learn beyond the basic gradelevel material. The program contains a yearlong curriculum with 15 or more topics per grade level, and six or more lessons per topic.
Ease of Use: Lessons flow logically, in English or Spanish, with or without audio presentation, and with access to a helpful dictionary so that students can independently follow from instruction through practice to assessment. Teacher-support materials accompany each lesson; some can be edited to support local requirements or to include additional materials. Homework is personalized and automatically scored.
Creative Use of Technology: The technology allows digits to deliver a multilayered approach to mathematics instruction: There is point-of-need intervention to get students back on track and to prevent on-level students from falling behind, and scaffolded homework with immediate feedback and grading to help students monitor their progress. While some of the assessments are designed to be printed, most of the resources mesh digitally, providing a complete instruction-assessment-support-reporting circle. Because it is Web based, digits provides anytime, anywhere access to instruction and feedback and extends learning beyond the classroom.
Overall Rating
Designed to be used in a technology-rich middle-grade environment, digits can enable teachers to easily blend data-driven instruction, assessment, and intervention into an effective teaching tool.
Top Features
¦ Having digits in the classroom is like having a personalized textbook for each student that assesses that student’s progress and addresses his or her deficiencies, and that extends learning for the student who excels.
¦ Personalized study plans and homework assignments provide an effective school-to-home-to-school connection.
¦ digits allows teachers and districts to adapt to revisions of the Common Core Standards as they move toward implementation.
