Munich, Germany – Award-winning developer, appp media today is pleased to announce the release and immediate availability of Understanding Math – Addition and Subtraction 1.0, their new educational app for iOS devices. Designed for kids ages 9-18 years, Understanding Math teaches children fluency in addition and subtraction within 100.

Understanding Math – Addition and Subtraction is the second in a series of educational apps based on J. Bruner’s Learning Theory “Three Modes of Representation.” Enactive, iconic, and symbolic representation are present in the app’s combination of action-based, image-based, and language/mathematical symbols-based gameplay. This allows the app to be universally understood since navigation occurs by symbols only. Localized for 13 different countries, the short written texts designated for parents and teachers are provided in a variety of languages.

With colorful and engaging designs, kids can learn and practice addition and subtraction in four different one-player games, or demonstrate their mathematical skills in a two-player Duel. Difficulty levels can be adjusted in single and multi-player modes. Universal in language, Understanding Math supports specific Common Core Standards and uses multitouch or writing recognition.

Designed for use in schools, Understanding Math encourages a child’s development and mathematical understanding by tracking progress and providing unique features that are beneficial to educators. Understanding Math allows unlimited user profiles, detailed reports, individual settings, and is COPPA compliant. Tracking student activity is a breeze with a graph that shows students’ quantity, quality, and time. Educator’s can also view recent and total achievements for each individual game and delete scores to track activity in the next lesson.

Feature Highlights:
* Comfortable and simplified User Interface
* Based on J. Bruner’s Learning Theory “Three Modes of Representation”
* Uses navigational symbols only to be universally understood
* Combination of action-based, image-based, and language/mathematical symbols-based gameplay
* Six game quadrants: Addition – Tap with your fingers, Addition, Subtraction, Duel, Training, and Toolbox
* Uses multitouch and writing recognition
* Supports Common Core Standards
* Unlimited user profiles available
* Provides detailed reports of user’s activity by quantity, quality, and time
* Ability to set different levels of difficulty
* Includes two-player game: Duel
* Points only awarded for solved problems
* Wrong answers are not scored
* Data tracking reports available
* 100% kid-friendly and COPPA-compliant with no ads, no in-app purchases, no tracking, and no social media
* Parental gate protects exterior links
* Extensive and easy to understand user’s manual available
* iOS universal

Understanding Math – Addition and Subtraction is divided into six portions: Addition – Tap with your fingers, Addition, Subtraction, Duel, Training, and Toolbox. Users can also click on the homescreen’s question mark for detailed instructions and Common Core Standards information for each game. A button on the upper right hand screen of each game also provides quick access to instructions

Addition – Tap with your fingers is a multitouch approach, where kids are given a set of shortened addition equations to add. The aim is for kids to use their fingers and tap the first set of numbers, followed by the second set of numbers onto the screen, totalling the answer. Kids can use as many fingers as necessary simultaneously. After the problem has been solved, the child can pop the objects on the screen by touching them, to illicit a sound and erase the screen for the next equation. Users can choose from a bubble or car objects, which honk as they are tapped away. Addition – Tap with your fingers meets the Common Core Standard of understanding addition.

Note: Users must turn off the “Multitasking Gestures” under “General Settings” on an iPad before starting the Addition – Tap with your fingers portion of the game, as it will close the app. iPad reads five finger taps as a command to turn off its system.

The Addition and Subtraction portions of the app are similar in approach. Children solve the problem by dragging down the correct amount of tens and ones from the upper half of the screen into the empty vessels at the bottom, until the correct amount of circles have been filled. With this didactic material users can see and understand that ten is a bundle of ten ones. Children can take a close look at the white numbers to see how the place value changes. The aim is to drag down tens and ones until the number displayed in white matches the answer. Kids can find this number at the bottom of the screen in Addition or middle of the screen in Subtraction. These games meets the Common Core Standard of understanding place value, plus addition and subtraction.

In the Training game, kids solve the problem by writing the solution onto the screen. Help is provided by the iconic representation of the numbers on the display. Training game meets the Common Core Standard of fluently adding and subtracting within 20 or 100 and using mental strategies, such as the relationship between addition and subtraction.

Duel requires that two players compete against each other in solving an equation. Each player can choose from four levels of difficulty. After tapping the sun to begin, different equations that must be solved pop up on both sides of the screen. With writing recognition, players stand on opposite sides of the screen and draw their answer as equations are presented, The first player to enter the correct solution earns a star. Earning 5 stars wins the game although results are not tracked in the scoreboard. Like the Training game, Duel meets the Common Core Standard of fluently adding and subtracting within 20 or 100 using mental strategies.”

Understanding Math – Addition and Subtraction also includes an educational Toolbox. By entering their own equation, kids can further explore addition and subtraction relations. The board can be adjusted for individual use and can activate the factors, addition, subtraction, and the solution separately. A training section is also included, where kids can practice solving equations by drawing answers onto the screen. Help is provided by iconic representation of the numbers, which look similar to the Addition and Subtraction game displays. Help can be deactivated by clicking on the stop hand next. Training meets the Common Core Standard of fluently adding and subtracting within 20 or 100 using mental strategies.

To encourage lots of gameplay, Understanding Math only awards stars for solved problems. Children are not penalized for incorrect answers. After 10 correct answers, kids receive a new object.

“Understanding Math – Addition and Subtraction is our exciting new game that helps kids understand and practice adding and subtracting by repetition, exploration, and changing the negative stigma behind learning math,” explains Kristin Heitmann, owner of appp media. “Aligned with Common Core Standards, Understanding Math challenges and engages children with 4 different single player games, an option to train, and a personal toolbox for free exploration of mathematical relations. Kids can even turn the app into a multi-player game by duelling against their friends, or even parents to see who can solve the mathematical equation first.”

She adds, “Also, you don’t have to worry about your child playing independently because we take your child’s privacy and online safety very seriously. Like our other award-winning apps, Understanding Math is 100% kid-friendly and COPPA-compliant. There are no ads, no in-app purchases, no social media sharing, and no data collection or sharing. We store our privacy policy and links to other apps securely behind a parental gate. Understanding Math – Addition and Subtraction is the best way for your child to become fluent up to 100 and forever confident in their number solving abilities!”

Supported Languages:
Understanding Math – Addition and Subtraction supports English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, and Turkish languages.

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
* Requires iOS 5.1.1 or later
* 33.7 MB

Pricing and Availability:
For a limited time, Understanding Math – Addition and Subtraction 1.0 is only $1.99 (USD) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Education category. After April 16th, it will be available for $3.99 (USD). Review copies are available upon request.

appp media
Understanding Math – Addition and Subtraction 1.0
Purchase and Download
Teacher’s Manual (pdf)
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Based in Munich, Germany, appp media creates award-winning apps for children that are designed by a primary school teacher and illustrated by a well-known children’s book artist. Founded in 2013 by Kristin Heitmann, appp media was awarded the “Deutscher Computerspielpreis” as the Best Game for Children in Germany. appp media takes online privacy seriously and is a proud founding member of Moms With App’s “Know What’s Inside” seal. appp media has also been given a Parents’ Choice Award and a kidsSafe seal. Copyright (C) 2015 appp media UG. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPad and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.