Sums Stacker
© 2010 Carstens Studios
Elementary math teachers, take note. Any doubts about the iPhone/iPod Touch's educational validity have now vanished in the form of Sums Stacker, a $1.99 adding App from the creator of Math Arena (Bologna New Media Prize,1999). The app lets you move numerals and sets of numerals around with the tip of your finger. There are two modes of play -- solve and race -- and two difficulty levels. The challenge is bite-sized and addicting: to make a three column stack of quantities that add up to the number shown at the bottom of the screen. Once the stack matches the sum, the screen clears and you get another challenge. The numbers are represented in eight ways that vary in their level of abstraction: preschoolers might start with the fingers, dice or ringlets, because they can be easily counted, while older children or adults can find a challenge with coins, Roman numerals, or the word spelled in Spanish. Missing are any record keeping options or assessment, and your high scores aren't saved over time. That said, what do you want for $1.99? More information is at www.mathdoodles.com.
$1.99, iPhone, iPad
Teaches: math, counting, quantities, numbers, money, Spanish
CTR Rating: 94%