What is Smart Tutor?
Smart Tutor is math practice for children aged 6 to 13 (grades 1 to 7). It runs in a web browser on a phone, tablet or computer. There is nothing to install and no account to make.
How it helps
Every question is made fresh, at the right level. When your child answers, Smart Tutor checks the answer with exact math rules. If the answer is wrong, it compares it with the wrong answers that common slips produce, such as taking the top from the bottom in a subtraction, or adding the bottoms of two fractions. When it finds a match, it names the slip in plain words and shows how to fix it.
When your child is stuck, help comes in small steps:
- Hint. A nudge that does not give the answer away.
- Show me how. A similar question, worked out step by step.
- Do it with me. Your child's own question, one small step at a time. They fill in each step.
The first time a skill comes up, your child watches one worked example before trying. Pictures they can touch, like number lines, blocks and fraction bars, are there for every skill that needs them. A question can be read out loud.
How it makes skills stick
A skill counts as learned only when your child gets it right on the first try, without help, several times. Hints and help count as "not yet", which is honest and fair.
A learned skill comes back after 1, 3, 7, 21 and 60 days. If it slips twice, it goes back on the practice list. Each day starts with a few of these reviews, then about eight questions on the next skill, then a couple of mixed ones.
The three looks
- Grades 1 to 3, playful. A village map where each skill is a stop on the road to the castle, and every skill learned builds a house. Stars, badges, and Pip the fox.
- Grades 4 and 5, in between. Stars and badges with a calmer path of skills.
- Grades 6 and 7, focused. No stars. Pictures start closed, and each answer can open the full method.
The look follows the school year you choose. A grown-up can change it under "For grown-ups", then "How the app looks".
Every skill
Adding and taking away
Adding to 20 (grade 1). Taking away within 20 (grade 1). Adding bigger numbers (grade 2). Taking away bigger numbers (grade 2).
Place value
What a digit is worth (grade 2).
Times and sharing
Times tables (grade 3). Multiplying bigger numbers (grade 4). Sharing with leftovers (grade 4). Which part goes first (grade 5).
Fractions
What fraction is shaded (grade 3). Fractions that are equal (grade 3). Which fraction is bigger (grade 3). Simplest form (grade 4). Adding fractions with the same bottom (grade 4) and different bottoms (grade 5). Multiplying fractions (grade 5).
Decimals and percent
Which decimal is bigger (grade 4). Adding decimals (grade 5). Percent of an amount (grade 6). Ratio tables (grade 6).
Negative numbers and equations
Adding and taking away negatives (grade 6). One-step equations (grade 6). Two-step equations (grade 7).
Why not just use an AI chatbot?
We thought about it, and chose not to put AI in front of children. Here is why.
- Math needs to be right every time. A chatbot can be wrong and sound sure, which is hard for a child to spot. Smart Tutor checks answers with exact rules, so it never marks a right answer wrong or a wrong answer right.
- Learning means doing the thinking. A chat makes it easy to ask for the answer. Smart Tutor gives help in small steps, and your child does each one.
- The same help, every time. Two children who make the same slip get the same clear explanation, which you can read too.
- Privacy. A chatbot needs to send what your child types to a server. Smart Tutor does not send anything.
- It works anywhere and costs nothing to run. No internet needed once it has loaded, and no per-question cost that has to be passed on to families.
Where we do use AI
We use AI as a tool while we build Smart Tutor. It helps us write lessons and hints, list the wrong methods children often use, and check our work. That lets a small team cover more of math, faster.
What it helps make is then checked by rules, not trusted. Before a lesson goes out, an automatic test makes about 28,000 practice questions across all the skills. It checks that every answer is accepted, that no common wrong answer is marked right, that no hint gives the answer away, and that every worked example ends on the right answer.
No AI is inside the app. Nothing AI ever talks to your child, sees their answers, or learns from what they do. In this day and age, we value the privacy of our children, and we think you do too.
Privacy
- What is stored: the first name and school year you type in, the answers given, and progress. That is all.
- Where: only in this browser, on this device. It is not sent to us or to anyone else.
- No account, no ads, no trackers, no analytics inside the app.
- Moving to another device: make a backup file under "For grown-ups", and open it on the other device. The file stays with you.
- Removing it: remove a learner under "For grown-ups", or clear this site's data in your browser settings.
Like every website, the server that sends the app's files sees ordinary requests for those files. It never receives anything your child types.
Questions
Do I need to sign up?
No. Open the app, type your child's first name and school year, and start.
Does it work without internet?
Yes. After the first visit, it keeps working offline. On a phone or tablet you can add it to your home screen.
Can a whole class use it?
Several learners can share one device, and you can print practice sheets with an answer key. There is no class dashboard yet, because that would need a server.
What if my child's answer is right but written differently?
It understands 3/4, 0.75, 1 1/2, 7 r 2, x = 5, $3 and 20%. Fractions that are equal count as equal. If a question asks for the simplest form, it says so and tells your child what to change.
How do I get help?
Write to hello@pointithere.com. A real person reads every message and replies. Please leave out your child's answers or anything we do not need.