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General Q&A1. What is Supplementary Mathematics?2. How did you develop the curriculum? 3. Is it the same as my child's school curriculum? 4. Does SmartZoid have word problems? 5. Up to what grade is currently supported? 6. When do you expect to support more grade levels? 7. Does SmartZoid have curriculum for home schooling? 8. Are there only a fixed number of math problems? 9. Will SmartZoid help my child do better on standardized tests? 10. What kinds of techniques does SmartZoid use to develop students' skills? 11. What level of parental involvement is required? 12. Are there any SmartZoid licensed schools? 13. Why do I see the same problems, or the same pattern of problems, always repeated? 14. What is SmartZoid's Educational Philosophy? 15. What is a "Practice", and what is a "Homework"? 16. How many assignments can a student do daily? 17. Is it necessary for a student to do all three assignments every day? 18. Are there always 15 problems in each assignment? 19. My child has already mastered certain skills. Why does SmartZoid repeat problems in that area? 20. What is an "intermediate" test, and what is a "final" test? 21. If a student fails a test, will the student be held back at the same level or sublevel? 22. For how long will a student be at each sublevel or level? 23. What are the Accuracy and Speed percentages shown on the Intelliboard™? 24. How do I know whether my child has completed the daily SmartZoid assignment, or not? 25. Which matters more: speed of completion or accuracy of completion? 26. What will happen if my child misses an assignment? 27. How do I get technical support for SmartZoid? 28. How do I get support for questions regarding SmartZoid's mathematics program? 29. I have a question that was not answered above. Where can I send it? 30. Is SmartZoid a math worksheet program? 31. Does SmartZoid provide math tutorials? 32. What will happen if I press the Windows close box instead of the exit button of the Intelliboard™? 33. How do I get a Parent Account? General Q&A 1. What is Supplementary Mathematics? Supplementary Mathematics provides intensive mathematical training in special areas like arithmetic, algebra, problem solving, and logic. Using SmartZoid's Supplementary Mathematics, students will be able to greatly enhance their comfort with basic mathematical skills. For detailed principal behind the SmartZoid approach please click here 2. How did you develop the curriculum? SmartZoid's curriculum experts thoroughly researched today's needs in mathematics, supplementary education, and testing in the United States. In addition, we reviewed several states' curricula in the US, as well as those used in countries renowned for their mathematically strong educational systems, such as Korea, India, and Singapore, in order to carefully construct the Supplementary Mathematics curriculum for SmartZoid. 3. Is it the same as my child's school curriculum? No. SmartZoid will not replace your child's school's curriculum. This will strengthen their mathematical expertise, provide confidence for better performance, and reinforce the foundation necessary to succeed with class work and educational tests. The SmartZoid program is akin to a training program for a sport, which offers guidance and a plan toward a higher level of performance. 4. Does SmartZoid have word problems? Yes. SmartZoid is continually creating many new word problems for our mathematical library. These problems are included as part of the "homework" portion of sublevels. Please click here for sample word problems. 5. Up to what grade is currently supported? SmartZoid currently goes up to Level 12, which will support students with their mathematics through middle school - up through grades 8 and 9. 6. When do you expect to support more grade levels? SmartZoid mathematics and curriculum developers are already building curriculum and content up through Level 16. By early next year we will have support for all high school grades -- up through grade 12. 7. Does SmartZoid have curriculum for home schooling? Yes. Current curriculum can be used for home schooling as supplementary mathematics. A full-fledged home schooling curriculum is under development. Please check our website for announcements. 8. Are there only a fixed number of math problems? No. SmartZoid has hundreds of thousands of problems for each level. For all practical purposes, the number is unlimited. SmartZoid generates each student's new problems based on how well the student answers previous questions. The problems will be generated by SmartZoid to be complex, or easy, as per that particular student's performance on recent and previous assignments and the current progress rate. 9. Will SmartZoid help my child do better on standardized tests? Yes. Results show that students who subscribe to supplementary curricula and improve their base skills do fare well on these types of tests. 10. What kinds of techniques does SmartZoid use to develop students' skills? SmartZoid takes advantage of state of the art computer technology toward improving students' skills. The program "understands" how each student is progressing in the current level, and based on the performance of the student, it adjusts the complexity and number of problems to the student's current learning needs. Secondly, SmartZoid helps the student develop enough confidence to fare better in testing situations. Repetition and daily practice are well known techniques in skill development. Please refer to our SmartZoid Philosophy for further details. 11. What level of parental involvement is required? Parental involvement is always helpful for a child's success. In the beginning parents can encourage their children to complete the assignments every day and assist them to respond to verbal prompts from the system. The student and the parent will receive reminders if assignments are missed for three consecutive days or more. 12. Are there any SmartZoid licensed schools? SmartZoid is currently licensing this technology to interested mathematics teachers for teaching supplementary mathematics. Please send an e-mail to license@smartzoid.com if you are interested. 13. Why do I see the same problems, or the same pattern of problems, always repeated? The problems that are generated for an assignment are of a similar type, but generally are not identical. Repetition of a skill is a well-known technique used in skill development for thousands of years. It is a proven method. Based on the student's responses to earlier problem sets, SmartZoid produces similar types of problems at each level to ensure that the student becomes comfortable and successful in that specific area of mathematics over time. It helps the student to master a skill set and to increase the child's confidence level. 14. What is SmartZoid's Educational Philosophy? Please refer to SmartZoid's Educational Philosophy. 15. What is a "Practice", and what is a "Homework"? In Practice mode the student will get immediate feedback and will be given Hints to help in completing each problem. In Homework mode, the student will not get feedback or hints. SmartZoid starts a sublevel in Practice mode. As the student progresses, it will change to Homework mode within an appropriate time. 16. How many assignments can a student do daily? SmartZoid recommends students to do at least one assignment a day. This will help the student to progress in a consistent manner. A student may work on up to a maximum of three assignments a day. 17. Is it necessary for a student to do all three assignments every day? Doing three assignments each day will help students increase their skill sets and confidence level more rapidly. But this is not required. SmartZoid recommends that children to do at least one assignment a day until the student is comfortable with curriculum, the methods, and the nature of the problems. After some months, or if the student wishes to accelerate the pace of learning, the student may choose up to three assignments a day. However, one assignment at a time is considered the normal learning mode. 18. Are there always 15 problems in each assignment? SmartZoid first generates assignments with 15 problems. Depending on how well the student progresses, and how quickly each problem is completed, the number of problems can go up to as many as 40 problems per assignment. 19. My child has already mastered certain skills. Why does SmartZoid repeat problems in that area? SmartZoid has a built in mechanism that is able to understand your child's learning ability and expertise. If your child answers all the questions accurately and very quickly, then SmartZoid will gradually accelerate the complexity of the problems and will move him/her to the next level quickly. Also, we feel that students always need an occasional review of all skills, even if mastered, so that all skills are always available at the strongest level of understanding for solving whatever problems may arrive on assignments or tests, in school, or in life. 20. What is an "intermediate" test and what is a "final" test? SmartZoid assesses the student's performance on a daily basis. In addition, SmartZoid conducts tests to assess the performance in a specific area. An "intermediate" test is conducted by SmartZoid for each sublevel to assess the student's current performance in that sublevel. A "final" test is conducted to assess the student's cumulative performance of all the skills in the current level. 21. If a student fails a test, will the student be held back in the same level or sublevel? No. Since SmartZoid assesses the student's performance on a daily basis, tests are used to aggregate the child's performance level. If a student fails an intermediate test, she/he will be allowed to take one more test before being promoted to the next sublevel. If the student fails a final test, she will be asked to take the test two more times after a few more review exercises. Then the student will be promoted to the next level, and SmartZoid will register the various developmental areas of the student. SmartZoid will continue having the student practice the areas of weakness from previous levels, as appropriate, along with the material from the current level. Thus, a student will neither get stuck on one level for too long, nor moved ahead without continuing to work on areas that still need strengthening. Sometimes, students find improvement with earlier material when it is embedded in other skills at a later level. 22. For how long will a student be at each sublevel or level? SmartZoid adjusts the length of the levels and sublevels depending on how fast the student progresses. A fast student can pass a level in 2 to 3 months. A student will not be retained at any level for more than 10 months. 23. What are the Accuracy and Speed percentages shown on the Intelliboard™ ? These are the percentages that tell how fast the student answers the questions and how accurate their answers are. 100% Accuracy means that the student completed every problem correctly. For Speed, any number above 100% shows that the student is working faster than is expected, on average. Typically, students who attempt SmartZoid for the first time will start slower. Over time as they improve their skills and become accustomed to the SmartZoid system, they will speed up. This immediate feedback appears after each assignment to help the student understand his/her current position and to help develop future study and practice plans. 24. How do I know whether my child has completed the daily SmartZoid assignment, or not? Parents are encouraged to click on the Parent Intellibench™ button after they log on. The Intellibench™ provides very useful information that includes progress reports, activity reports, test reports, and trend reports. Activity reports clearly show the last assignment your child has completed. In addition, if your child missed three consecutive days' of homework, an e-mail will be sent to you. 25. Which matters more: speed of completion or accuracy of completion? Both. A student who develops skills in improving both accuracy and speed will do very well in school and on standardized tests such as the SAT and state tests. 26. What will happen if my child misses an assignment? If your child misses an assignment one day, please encourage your child to make sure to do the assignment the next day. Since it is available via Internet, you can get SmartZoid anywhere in the world to complete the assignments. Completing the work regularly is a key to success. This will improve the discipline, confidence, and expertise for any mathematics student. 27. How do I get technical support for SmartZoid? Please send your support questions to support@smartzoid.com. 28. How do I get support for questions regarding SmartZoid's mathematics program? Please send your questions to support@smartzoid.com. 29. I have a question that was not answered above. Where can I send it? Please send all your inquires and questions to info@smartzoid.com. 30. Is SmartZoid a math worksheet program? No. SmartZoid is an online math program that customizes the learning of mathematics to your child's individual needs. Please click here for more details. 31. Does SmartZoid provide math tutorials? Yes. SmartZoid provides online math tutorials. For sample math tutorials please click here. 32. What will happen if I press the Windows close box instead of the exit button of the Intelliboard™ ? The Windows close box will abruptly terminate a SmartZoid session. SmartZoid recommends that you use SmartZoid Exit buttons to close the SmartZoid Intelliboard™ Window. 33. How do I get a Parent Account? Please click here for details |
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