Online Times Alive from City Creek Press {Product Review}

We first explored Online Times Alive by City Creek Press, Inc. back in 2017 when my youngest was just 6. He was only just starting his math adventures, yet picked up on it pretty quickly. Since then, however, he's gotten a little weak at some of his times-tables, especially the sixes. We recently had the chance to review the program for a second time and I wondered if we would be able to help him catch up and become stronger in those numbers.

About the Product

Online Times Alive is a program providing online lessons with animated songs and stories to learn times tables the fun way.
Times Alive teaches the times tables from 0 to 9 and includes even coloring pages to help reinforce the stories. With cute animation, clever stories to offer audio and visual learning techniques--the program is easily perfect for all types of learners. Scattered periodically in the program are reviews and quizzes to check that the lessons are being understood. Lessons can be repeated at any time if something isn't sticking.

Times Alive is offered as a monthly online subscription of $9.95/month with a one-time $6.95 installation fee. It can be accessed on any computer as it is through an online website, and can be used for different kids in the home as long as they log in the same way on the same computer each time. If you want to use different computers, multiple subscriptions would need to be purchased--one for each computer as the files are saved on the hard drive. Works on Mac or PC. Internet connection is required for this version.

Clever lessons to help remember the problems

Interactive activities for review

There is additionally a Times Alive App for the iPad or iPhone for iOS 9.0 or above. One it is downloaded, no additional internet connection would be needed.

A progress report is available to the parent at any time, which will show the child's progress through the lessons as well as their scores and completion times for each quiz.

A printed copy of the progress report is available too

We were given a 6-month subscription which I used exclusively with my youngest son, age 9.

Our Thoughts on the Program

The set up was easy and my son could log in immediately. As soon as he logged in he remembered having done it before and dove right in. This program is definitely one for independent practice, so I didn't have to do anything once he got started. He quickly whizzed through the first few sections and continued to do so. He actually finished the program extremely quickly and received a 94% on his final quiz.

He definitely needed the review on the 6's facts and I had him make sure he remembered them quickly. Now that he's done with the program, he goes much faster through the multiplication flashcards that we have. If he gets stuck I can simply mention a part of one of the stories from the program and it triggers what he needs to be able to move forward.

I still find the songs cheesy, and this time he did too. He tended to skip the songs and move forward to the lessons or activities. He enjoyed the coloring pages as well.

I think that the most annoying thing for this program is that it can only be used on one computer for the price. I only have one student using it at this time, but if I had more I would have liked to be able to let them work on it at the same time from different places.

My son blazed through the program, which is why it is nice that a subscription could be canceled at any time. Once the program is completed, unless the student goes back and redoes something, they are done with it. We have a 6-month subscription, yet my son finished it 2 weeks ago and he has no more interest in it.

Another minor con I have with it is that once he's done the problem reviews, I can't see what he missed. It simply says that he missed some. Of course, he's also able to retake a quiz or test if needed and the company provides the parent what they need to clear out any scores.

I think the program is a good one, although it's not my favorite. One thing that I wish was a little different would be to make the numbers the same in each story. So the 6's are all the same animated character, the 8's are all the same. I think it would be easier for the student to remember.

If you are interested in giving the program a try, you can use the code: lovetolearn and waive the installation fee! Give it a try today!

Want to Know More

For the last several weeks, my youngest son has been reviewing Online Times Alive from City Creek Press, Inc. I encourage you to visit other crew members to see how their family liked the program and if they used the app at all.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LearnMultiplication/ YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/user/TimesTablestheFunWay Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/citycreekpress/

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