Testimonials and Reviews

From the Parents

"Ben has enjoyed using this package and it has helped him quite significantly in both homework and exams."
Mrs Frost, mother of Year 8 student, Victoria

"Amanda has found the Preliminary Program extremely helpful as it follows precisely the course studied at school...The program has certainly improved not only her knowledge but also her confidence in her ability, so much so that she has topped her class in several tests and in the half-yearly exams."
Mr Johns, father of Year 11 student, NSW

“I like that it provides Zac with a challenge. He likes to go back to improve his last score. I really like the audio part that explains the problems with an Australian accent. It makes it very clear what to do.”
Parent of Zac, grade 5, WA

From the Teachers

"I have had a number of students accessing the program and believe it to be beneficial to both struggling and more capable students alike. An excellent program I have no hesitation in recommending."
Ms Ladgrove, Enrichment Coordinator, Queensland.

"We strongly recommend it to homes for revision and consolidation of key skills and learning facts."
Mr Moran, Christian Schools System Inc, Victoria.

"This program provides the incentive for students to stick at it and improve their scores, resulting in a feeling of achievement. They wouldn't get this sort of feed-back from normal work"
Mr Mangan, chemistry teacher, Victoria.

"I find the program very useful for my students"
Dr Mishra, university lecturer (nursing).

“The effectiveness of the system is confirmed by the large number of families using the new primary “Maths Wiz” program who say, “It is too easy” - yet the children have been thoroughly taught by the ‘easy’ program. I am most impressed that, using the program, the students have successfully learnt difficult concepts without the ‘hard work’ which is generally associated with learning mathematics through conventional methods,” Mr G. Moran, Head Master.

 From the Students

"I couldn't really understand what my (school) teacher was explaining to me but this program is really helping me and I'm learning more and building my confidence in Maths. I was excited 'cos in my maths exam I got a really good score. So in the future I will be learning from this program and I'll try to get good scores like I did in my maths exam."

Nuria, Year 9, Victoria.

I used the programs for Mathematical Methods during Year 11 and 12. They were great! Not only were there heaps of exam type examples, but also the program offered step-by-step solutions, which were easy to follow and made you feel as if a teacher was right there with you explaining the questions. And if I still couldn’t understand, there was always the option to talk one of tutors. Furthermore, the system allowed me to constantly test myself and keep a track of my improvement. Through consistent use of the program, I was able to achieve a raw study score of 49!

Thank you for all the help!

Premal Sanghvi, VCE Score 98.8

"The system was a help because it allowed for the practice of coursework in a way that enabled the identification of weak areas of knowledge and the strengthening of those areas. It also gave another angle at which to view the information studied and hence improve explanations when answering questions."

Jenny Herrick, Victoria - Tertiary Entrance Score 99.8%.

"Makes me better at maths because it helps me study for tests."

Tim, Year 8, Victoria.

 

“Really good – it has helped me with add and carry and borrow and subtracts, and it’s helped me with my spelling. Really great!”

Joseph (7 year-old home-schooler, Victoria).

“I have learned things I didn’t know before. This week I had 100 out of 100 for school maths. Sometimes Mum and Dad beg us to go to dinner, but we are using the program, so we don’t.”
Amanda, grade 6, Victoria.

"In year 7 I worked hard at maths but in the final exam I came last in my class. Somehow the classroom work didn't get through to me. Since then I have worked all the problems on the program as the subjects come up in class and I have moved ahead of the syllabus. In the 6 months since I joined the program I have been promoted into the highest Maths class in my year and at the half-yearly exams I came second at maths in year 8."
Melissa, Year 8, NSW.

"In late year 9, I achieved 2 'C's (much to my luck, I expected even a D). Aiming at a course in university like computer science, these grades were not good enough. Then, in January, we started Maths Wiz for High School Maths. In year 10, I achieved 2 'A's and 2 'B' s for maths, putting me in the top 5 in my pathway one class (pathway one is the highest level class of a subject area). To top it off, I won the maths effort award for year 10 ! I found the software to be tremendously good."
Ethan, Year 10, W.A.

Reviews

Education Now

Working on Maths Wiz and English Wiz throughout the year not only helps students to understand what they are doing but also allows them to absorb and retain the work in long term memory. Furthermore, the system identifies knowledge gaps and designs a revision program especially tailored to fit the individual student's needs. Although Program was designed for home use, without teacher support, the software is now becoming well established in school computer rooms, where it can be used on a network or on stand-alone computers. "We thought the system would give the girls a bit of confidence in tackling the subject," says Tony Mangan, senior chemistry teacher at Kilbreda school, Mentone, Victoria, "and most of the girls enjoyed using it."

"The primary advantage of working on the program is that it allows them to sit through and work at their own pace. So the slower ones are still able to cover the same amount of work as the rest of the class. The computer also gives them the incentive to stick at it and improve their score, resulting in a feeling of achievement. They wouldn't get this sort of feedback from normal work."
Mr. Mangan.

HERALD SUN

Maths Wiz is written by senior Victorian teachers and conforms to the Victorian syllabus. It is an extremely valuable back-up for high-school students' classroom learning. A great feature is that the program keeps track of the student's progress and designs a unique revision program to improve on the student's weaknesses. The system is very easy to use and is a cheap alternative to a human personal tutor. It runs under Windows and has modest hardware requirements.

PC REVIEWS

If you're after well made, seriously useful tutorial programs for Australian syllabus, Maths Wiz and English Wiz looks to be what you need.

PC USER

If you are a high school student aged 12 to 17 years, this may be just the product to provide you with a solid backup to classroom learning throughout the year. Specially written by Australian teachers and examiners, Maths Wiz and English Wiz High School Maths covers everything from basic algebra to statistics.

The system range also includes year 11 & 12 courses in maths and science tailored to the curriculums of NSW, Victoria and Queensland. You can, for example, study NSW HSC Maths or science, Victoria VCE Maths or Science, or Queensland Maths and Science (including units on biology, chemistry and physics). The Program is available in home or school versions. It is particularly valuable for students who wish to enter university or TAFE as competition for entry to most courses is intense.

Maths Wiz and English Wiz programs are the best software available for Australian maths students in Years 7 - 12 The Personal Tutor series is appropriate for both bad and good students to help them learn from where they're at. Full solutions are given and these are carefully explained. Personal Tutor is tailored for the high school curriculums our kids are trying to master. It offers more coaching than a textbook and appeals to those students who love working with computers.

SCHOOL PC - BEST BUY

The strength of Personal Tutor Maths is that it is a teaching package. Information is carefully structured and the program instructs by asking a question, indicating the relevant information you need to answer and walking you through the entire solution if you make a mistake. You can produce a report of your strengths, weaknesses and progress at every stage of learning.

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

Right now, Year 12 students are hunkering down for that annual ritual- the HSC - alternating between cups of strong coffee and gentle herb teas. While some head to floatation tanks, others party away. Parents, meanwhile, are tiptoeing past grumpy offspring, while the Year 11 students look on with
the greatest interest of all. They stand in the shadows and spout a legion of promises. "No way am I leaving it all to the last minute," and "I'm starting studying right now... well, next week anyway".
Such grand intentions often fail simply because the students don't know how to study or what to study, or because they don't have the structures to support consistent study habits.
Personal Tutor's Year 12 Maths package can provide the structure and the material many need. The program's strength is not in teaching the concepts, but in providing structures revision for the motivated but disorganised student. It can also be a great confidence-builder.

THE AUSTRALIAN

If you are worried about how to help your child with mathematics and science subjects at school, the Personal Tutor, "High School" programs could solve your problem. This is an easy way to learn and you are able to use it on your home computer whenever needed. Using Personal Tutor, the student can make the quantum leap from being hopeless at maths to working confidently. The student can work at his or her own pace with plenty of help and no criticism! You can look up what you need to know for homework and do an interactive lesson on it, or do tests covering selected lessons to prepare for a school test or examination.

Maths Wiz is specifically written by Australian teachers and examiners and covers everything from basic algebra to statistics. The system teaches, tests and prepares a revision program based on the student's performance. It also provides parent/teacher reports so you can keep track of work done. The course is useful for students aged from 12-17, as it teaches many concepts in maths which will be used throughout high school.

THE MATHS ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA MAGAZINE

The Maths package in the Personal Tutor series of Windows based computer programs is an easy to use, easy to install software package which covers the routine elements of the CSF Maths strands for Years 7 to 10 and is designed as a tutorial program for individual student use.The main strength of the package is that the student is provided with a very structured and systematic revision program for the practice of facts and skills covered at school. Also the student is given immediate feedback and the option of being able to view the correct solution after a wrong answer. Repetition is a key element in the program and could motivate weaker students.
ALEXANDRA MUDRINIC & JULIE HUNT
Teachers at University High School - written for Vinculum