Can Alzebra iPhone App Teach Kindergarteners Algebra?

The creator of the Number Sense iPhone app, Mathomatix, has released another cute app to teach kindergartners about math. This round, they’re upping the ante with the claim that Alzebra can teach five-year-olds algebra.
While the Alzebra iPhone and iPod Touch app does teach children important pattern recognition skills, it seems like a stretch to call this algebra. Let us recall that algebra is the part of math that uses letters or other symbols to represent numerical quantities in equations.
Algebra claims aside, Alzebra comes equipped with five charmingly animated games: Pizza Mania, Tummy Time, Space Rock, Number Strike, and Sound Sequence. All the games involve some element of pattern recognition. Number Strike also develops hand-eye coordination. Tummy Time, a matching game using cartoon animals, uses the iPhone’s tilt sensor for a fun twist in game play: users move a character by tipping the device, not by touching the screen.
Will your kindergartener learn basic pattern recognition, a fundamental skill for problem solving? Yes. Will your kindergartener learn to solve for the variable x in an equation? No. Will your kindergartener have fun playing Alzebra? Definitely.
Get the Alzebra iPhone app here!
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Number Sense Is a Fun Way for Kindergartners to Learn About Counting
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