TOS Crew Review: Math Tutor DVD's--Pre-Algebra and The Texas Instruments TI-83/TI-84 Calculator Tutor

I love it when I find a product that makes my job as a homeschool teacher easier. I have come to a realization: Math Tutor DVD's are a wonderful tool to help my children learn math, or to reinforce the math they have already learned. Period. They are done by a man named Jason Gibson, who has an impressive resume before he left to concentrate on Math Tutor DVD's. I was excited to receive these in the mail, and even more excited to have my kids test them. I was the one in school who left math class each day thinking "I understand!!" then was totally confused as I did my homework. With Math Tutor DVD's, that problem is solved! Mr.Gibson is a talented teacher who helps students understand. They are not flashy, but informative and educational. More importantly, they get the learning job done!

The Pre-Algebra Tutor Volume 1 is a great tool to get students ready to tackle the big world of Algebra. This was actually on my "wish list" to follow The 1st Through 7th Grade Math Tutor and Basic Math Word Problems Tutor DVD's that we already own. This DVD is Jason Gibson, a white board, a dry erase marker, and oodles of information! I like how it flows so smoothly, even when he is writing on the white board. He makes the examples understandable, and puts things in layman's terms, which is a great thing when you are beginning to work on Algebra.



Disc 1 has 5 sections as follows:



Section 1: Real Numbers

Section 2: The Number Line

Section 3: Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To

Section 4: Absolute Value and Adding Integers

Section 5: Subtracting Integers



Disc 2 has 4 sections as follows:



Section 6: Multiplying Integers

Section 7: Dividing Integers

Section 8: Powers and Exponents

Section 9: Order of Operations



Mr. Gibson works lots of examples for the students, and makes everything seem less intimidating. It is helping my girls learn some math concepts, and that is a very good thing. They are understanding things that were never clear before. Learning by examples really works! For the Pre-Algebra Volume 1 DVD, the price is $26.99 plus shipping for 5 hours of instruction, which is so reasonable, especially when you think of hiring a tutor to help with the same learning. Here is the link for this DVD:


http://www.mathtutordvd.com/products/department24.cfm











The Texas Instruments TI-83 and TI-84 Calculator Tutor is a wonderful way for a student to learn all the "mysteries" of the calculator he or she owns. My 17 year old son is working his way through the DVD, and is finding out all sorts of things he didn't know. It is perfect timing, too, as he is going to re-take the ACT test soon, and it's giving him some good information. It goes into great detail to explain things, which is necessary for the subject of a calculator. A calculator screen appears and things are worked on the screen, and that is so helpful to see problems demonstrated. There are three discs that cover many, many topics, including such topics as the mode menu, drawing on a graph, and calculating interest rates. That is obviously just scratching the surface of all the information included. The price for the Texas Instruments TI-83/TI-84 Calculator Tutor DVD is also $26.99 plus tax--for 8 hours of instruction! Here is the link for this DVD:



http://www.mathtutordvd.com/products/item63.cfm







The Math Tutor DVD's have a warning on them:



Caution! The use of this DVD will cause increased understanding of (fill in the blank with your subject of choice!)



You know what? I agree! And...isn't that one of the main reasons we homeschool?

****Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest review of it. I received no other compensation.****

Check out more reviews of this product (and lots of others) on The Old Schoolhouse blog!!