Smart  MATH


1.0 Introduction

Smart MATH is designed to help children learn the 
rote aspects of multiplication and division. The 
student can practice, run timed tests, and play an 
educational game. The program is smart because it 
spots weak areas and alters the session to give 
the student more help in these areas.

There is a strong emphasis on teaching rather than 
gaming. The student gets constant feedback on how 
he is doing as he works the problems. The teaching 
sessions can be customized for the needs of each 
student. At the end of each session there is a 
summary report available for the teacher or 
parent.

One of the strongest features of the program is 
it's ability to modify practice sessions to meet 
the student's needs. As the student is practicing 
math the software tracks problems that are missed 
and ones that are correct. Problems that are 
missed are asked more frequently to provide 
reenforcement in weak areas.


2.0 Hardware and Software Requirements

		DOS 3.0 or above
		CGA, EGA, or VGA graphics
		128K memory

3.0 Getting Started

To start the program type "mult" and then press 
enter. The program will test to determine the type 
of video your computer has and start running.

Because of the wide variety of PC compatible 
computers, it is possible that the auto detection 
of graphics type will not work. In this case type 
"mult <graphics type>". As an example, if you have 
an ega or ega compatible graphics card you would 
type:

mult ega

When the program starts the first thing you will 
see is the copyright notice. Press any key to move 
from this to the main menu.


4.0 Main Menu

The main menu has a row of boxes along the top of 
the screen. In each box there is a function key 
name and an option. Press the function key to 
select the option. When an option is selected the 
menu for that option will be shown. At any time a 
new option can be selected by pressing a new 
function key.

The F1 key always acts as a help key. If an option 
key has been selected and more information is 
desired, press F1 to get help relating to that 
option.

The esc key will exit the main menu. When the esc 
key is pressed from the main menu the program asks 
you to confirm that you want to exit before this 
happens.


4.1 Main Menu options

This section provides a detailed discussion of 
each of the options provided in the main menu.


4.2 Navigation in the options menus

Each time an option is selected (function key 
pressed) a menu for that option will appear on the 
screen. To the left of the menu there is a space 
ship. The up and down arrow keys move the ship 
from one menu item to another. To select a menu 
item move the ship next to the item you want and 
press the space bar.  The space bar will cause the 
ship to fire, thus selecting the menu item.  The 
selected item changes color and an "*" appears 
beside it to indicate it has been selected. If you 
want to deselect a menu item, fire on it again.


5.0 Skill (F2)

Options here are:

		Practice Multiplication
		Practice Division

All practice sessions, tests and games will be on 
the skill that is selected in this menu.

6.0 Options (F3)

Options here are:


	 practice twos
	 practice threes
	 practice fours
	 practice fives
	 practice sixes
	 practice sevens
	 practice eights
	 practice nines
	 practice tens
	 practice elevens
	 practice twelves
	 time for each problem
	 practice numbers through
	 sound on

The practice twos through practice twelves options 
set the problem types that will be used. The 
"practice numbers through" setting also determines 
the problem types that will be used. For example, 
assume practice twos, practice threes, and 
practice numbers through 12 are selected. In this 
case the student will be asked 2X1 through 2X12 
and 3X1 through 3X12.

When the program is started twos through tens are 
selected as the default practice numbers. Any of 
these can be changed by moving the ship next to 
the option with the arrow keys and firing on the 
selection with the space bar.

The "time for each problem" selection determines 
how much time the student will be allowed to 
answer a problem in the timed test mode. This time 
is also used to define the frequency with which 
new problems are being generated during the 
pyramid challenge game. This time period can be 
changed during the timed test or during the game 
by pressing F2.

When "sound on" is selected the sound will toggle 
between being on and being off. Each time the item 
is fired on it will move to the opposite of 
whatever it was before.


7.0 Reports (F4)

When the report option is selected, a report of 
the session will be displayed. The report will 
show the number of problems right and wrong for 
the whole session. This will include the practice, 
the game, and any timed tests that have been 
taken.

The report section also shows the total time the 
student has been practicing.






8.0 Exercise (F5)

Options here are:


	 start practice run
	 start timed test
	 pyramid challenge game


8.1 Start practice run

The practice run allows the student to practice 
the numbers and skill that have been selected in 
the skills and options menus.

In practice mode the student enters the answer to 
each problem as it is displayed. A chart on the 
right side of the screen shows how the child is 
doing and provides feedback on how many problems 
are left before the session is done. The session 
is done when all the selected problems have been 
answered correctly.

Problems are randomly selected from a custom 
selected problem set. When a student gets a 
problem wrong, the program asks this problem more 
frequently to increase the frequency of repetition 
and make sure it is learned. For every time a 
student answers a problem incorrectly the student 
must answer the same problem right twice to have 
it counted as correct. Correct problems are 
displayed as smiling happy faces on the chart.

The practice session is over when all the problems 
have been answered.

The practice session is most effective if the 
student repeats the problem and correct answer 
over several times to himself before going on to 
the next problem.


8.2 Start timed test

The timed test is designed to be used after the 
student has done the practice session. The test 
provides an assessment tool for student progress.

The time allowed for each answer can be set in the 
options menu. It can be changed by pressing F2 
during the timed test. If the student does not 
answer the problem within the time allowed, the 
problem is counted as wrong and the next problem 
comes up.


8.3 Pyramid challenge game

Problems start at the top of the screen and 
descend. The left and right arrow keys move a box 
from problem to problem. When a problem is in the 
box the pyramid is "aimed" at the problems. After 
aiming at a problem, type the correct answer and 
press enter. The pyramid will fire at the problem. 
If the answer is correct the problem will be 
destroyed.

The game ends when the problems get to the bottom 
of the screen. The top ten scores are kept in a 
high scores file.

9.0  Customer Support

Assistance on the program is available by calling 
503-645-0350. Please have a description of your 
system ready when you call.  Enhancement requests 
are also welcome.

10.0  Registration

Smart Math is distributed as a shareware product.  If 
you like the product please send in a registration fee.
The registration fee will put you on the mailing list 
to make sure you get the most up to date version of the
program.

Send $15.00 registration to:

Lee Tapper
20955 Rock Creek Blvd
Portland, Or. 97229