Math can be extremely challenging, especially if you are a parent that struggled with math yourself. 21st Century Triad Math taught by Dr. Craig Hane, aka Dr. Del, and his course Triad Math Inc. may be a solution to your math dilemma.

Triad Math Inc.  I received access to Tiers 1-6; I also received Dr. Del's Math: Tier 1 Notes and Exercises physical book. You will need access to the internet, a printer, and a scientific calculator. The calculator recommended for the course is the TI-30Xa.

21st Century Triad Math uses an open-source operating system called Moodle for the course. Once you have your account set up, you will be directed to your dashboard. The dashboard is quite easy to navigate, and 21^st Century Triad Math breaks it down by Tier. The Tier is an individual course. Your progress is tracked in percentage to let you know how much you have completed in each Tier. 

Before you begin, you will want to go through "Getting Started in Moodle" to help you navigate the course. The information is available as a PDF that you can download or access the content online again. Other information is changing passwords, printing certificates, using the Moodle phone app, and using the forum. You will have links to purchase all levels of the physical Exercise book and the recommended scientific calculator.  Other resources for you are information is coaching tips for parents and students, using the lessons for Triad Math Inc., working through a lesson, taking the pre-test and test, asking questions if you need more help, and troubleshooting. I would recommend you take the time to go over the "Getting Started in Moodle" before beginning any lessons.

The program tracks your progress, and after you have done each step in the course, it checks it off for you to proceed to the next step. This tracking does not apply to the individual Tiers, and you can work on two different courses within the program if you choose to do so. However, the courses do build upon each other, and the content gets more advanced.

The courses are taught through tutorial videos, PDFs, notes, and exercises to print out. Answer keys are available for each online exercise. Each Tier has a printed Notes and Exercise if you prefer not to print out the notes and exercise. Looking through the Dr. Del's Math: Tier 1 Notes and Exercises physical book we received, I see the same material as found in the online PDFs. A few of the online exercises had a slight variation from the book. The book is not a standalone workbook, and you will need the online lesson portions. 

A PDF syllabus is available for each Tier to keep for your records. You can view grades for each Tier or an overview of the courses. As far as I can tell, you cannot print out the grade reports, but you can easily make a screenshot for your records. I prefer to be able to print off the grades rather than taking a screenshot.

Each Tier has a pre-test and post-test. The pre-test is to see your baseline of the topic before you begin each section; students can only take the times once. The post-test allows unlimited attempts, records the highest grade scored, and students must pass the post-test to proceed. Containing an average of three multiple-choice questions, the timed test is 3 minutes long. The program awards badges to display student accomplishments.

Dr. Craig Hane teaches each of the Tier lessons. He is quite easy to understand and does an excellent job of breaking down the steps for concise comprehension. The videos are not distracting. The lessons my son completed have shown just the paper or calculator. He liked that the videos were not too busy with the background and the teaching of the concepts. The lessons build upon one another and get more challenging with each step. Each Tier varies in the number of lessons in each one.

Each course is called a Tier. 21st Century Triad Math can be used as a supplemental math course or a full standalone math course. Online you will find a breakdown of each Tier and the equivalency for high school credit.

For Tiers 1-6, the courses are:

T1 Calculator Lessons-Basic Operations

T1 Trigonometry

T1 Pre-Algebra

T2 Algebra

T2 Geometry2D

T2 Geometry3D

T2 Trigonometry

T3-Part 1 SAT/ACT Test Preparation

T3-Part 2 SAT/ACT Test Preparation

T3-Part 3 SAT/ACT Test Perpetration

T4 Algebra

T4 Complex Numbers

T4 Geometry 2D

T4 Geometry 3D

T4 Special Topics Algebra

T4 Special Topics Geometry

T4 Trigonometry

T5 Differential Calculus

T5 Integral Calculus

T6 Differential Equations

I am using this with my ninth-grader, who has a good grasp of mathematics. He has gotten to the point where I feel inadequate to teach him more advanced math concepts. I went through the "Getting Started in Moodle" first, and he read the material that he needed to get started from the section.

He has finished the twelve lessons in the T1 Calculator Lessons-Basic Operations. He says that the material is easy to follow and that the course has helped him comprehend and use the scientific calculator. In turn, he has been able to utilize the calculator more in his math curriculum. It goes over all the key functions to operate the calculator. This would have been incredibly beneficial for him in the past. The next calculator course covers the trigonometry functions, but we did not do this one next. Currently, he is getting ready to start T1 Pre-Algebra next. He did pre-algebra a few years ago, but he never learned how to use a scientific calculator correctly. We have chosen to use this as a supplement to his current math curriculum a couple of days a week. I was not sure if he should have done the T1 Trigonometry next. The mention of Trigonometry left my son feeling a bit overwhelmed.  After he finishes with the pre-algebra section, I will have him go back to the T1 Trigonometry next to finish up the Tier.

At first, I thought we could jump into the SAT/ACT Test Preparation in Tier 3 but, after looking through the material, I think it would be better to go through the Tiers in order. The first two Tiers build the foundation.

21st Century Triad Math is unique and unlike any math curriculum we have used. The aspect that makes this unique is that the lessons move at a faster pace. At the same time, Dr. Dell breaks the lessons into steps to help master topics. Surprisingly, the fast pace does not diminish the learning aspect of it. Some topics are not covered as they are obsolete; Dr. Dell felt the topics did not need to be covered. The whole delivery of teaching the topics is different than other programs. My son likes the way the program teaches the concepts. He is doing well in the course and wants to continue moving forward with it. I must admit that I am a bit old school in my ways. The reality is my son is not old school and more technically adapted to today's world. He plans on going into a career that he will need the skills that heavily rely on math and engineering. I want to give him the tools he needs to succeed in the future.

Dr. Craig Hane does a great job explaining difficult math concepts, and he breaks them down into bite-size bits. Throughout, he recommends you take your time and watch the videos and do the exercises as often as you need to. You do not want to move forward if you do not comprehend a topic. If you do not grasp a concept, then ask questions on the forum. If you have questions or need help with a specific problem that does not get answered, he will help you.

Dr. Hane designed 21^st Century Triad Math for students that want to succeed in the future with careers that involve STEM. Students who are not planning on a career that involves science, technology, engineering, and math will also benefit from this program. 21st Century Triad Math might be just what you need in your homeschool.

Product review by Renee Knoblauch, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January 2021