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Alive Studios is company that offers augmented reality educational projects designed to help preK-3 students develop reading and math proficiency by the time they finish 3rd grade.  They offer a variety of learning kits and products to help with this goal, all of which are meant to be used within small groups, or with a whole class.  The team also has a collection of reports and case studies demonstrating the efficacy of their products in terms of helping students increase these proficiencies.

Before jumping into the review, here’s an introductory video from their team about their Letters alive Plus® and Math alive® products.  This video provides a great overview of what their products look like in the classroom:

The overall idea of Letters alive Plus and Math alive is that teachers and students can use the included tracking mat, document camera, and flash cards to trigger a highly-interactive learning environment that is supported by a 3D augmented reality experience. 

For this particular review, I will rely more on video, since I think that captures how these kits can be used a little more clearly than my words. 

On the Letters alive Plus side, you can use the product to teach students letter names and sounds, word building, sight words, and basic sentence construction. Here’s a more detailed example of Letters alive Plus in action:

On the Math alive side, teachers can use the kit to help students develop basic math proficiencies and number sense.  The kit includes a complete, year-long, standards-aligned supplemental curriculum designed to help all students reach proficiency levels.  Here’s a more detailed explanation of how Math alive can be set up and used within the classroom:

Both Letters alive Plus and Math alive are aligned to the Common Core State Standards and the TEKS for kindergarten.  They also both include daily lesson plans and guides to help teachers if they need any assistance with lesson sequencing or creation.  Everything from Alive Studios is based around the philosophy of seeing, hearing, and doing in order to provide active learning experiences that engage and motivate students with the rich, visual content.

For those interested in learning more about Alive Studios, you can contact the team for a quote, or check out their online shop.  The team also has a collection of training videos that provide detailed, step-by-step directions on using their programs.

On a personal note, I had the chance to check out Alive Studios at ISTE this year and spend some hands-on time working with their products.  I was absolutely blown away by how simple they were to use, but also how fun and engaging they were.  I think both of these products are excellent resources for the PreK-3 classroom and can go a long way towards increasing reading and math proficiencies, as their multiple research reports suggest.

While the price point may be a little high, Alive Studios does offer funding assistance, which can help out in districts where funding is more limited.  Plus, if you qualify for their volume bonus program (ten kits), you’ll also get onsite professional development for teachers and admins as well as one-year subscriptions to online student assessments for each participating teacher.

Overall, I really love what the Alive Studios team has created here!  If you’re an early elementary teacher or administrator looking for an engaging, enjoyable, and fun way to help students increase their reading and math proficiencies, I absolutely recommend checking out Alive Studios.

The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I was not compensated for writing this review.