Frequently asked parent questions about DreamBox Learning

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Getting started in DreamBox Learning

How do I subscribe to DreamBox Learning?

If you’ve already done the free trial, you can log into your Parent Dashboard (http://) and click the “Account/Settings” tab. Then select “My Subscription” and click “Buy A Subscription”. At the top of the order form, the student(s) that did the free trial will be listed. You can add new students by clicking the “Add a student” link, or you can choose not to include certain students in your subscription by un-checking their names. On the next line, you will automatically be offered the most economical subscription rate available to you (in most cases, the six-month plan). You can click the “click here to subscribe monthly” link to the right of the pricing if you would rather be billed monthly. Below this, enter your credit card information, and click the orange “Start My Subscription” button. You will be shown a receipt and emailed a confirmation of your order.

If you have not done the free trial yet, we highly recommend that you do so! Signing up for a free 14-day home trial is quick and easy – just visit the DreamBox free home trial page to sign up. Or, if you prefer, subscribe to DreamBox now, and you can get started right away.

How much does a DreamBox subscription cost?

An individual student can enjoy the DreamBox experience for just $12.95 a month, or $59.95 for 6 months (a 23% savings from the full monthly price). Also, up to 4 students can participate in a single DreamBox family account, priced at $19.95 a month, or $99.95 for 6 months (a 36% savings from the full monthly price).

How will I be billed for DreamBox Learning?

Your DreamBox Learning subscription is auto-renewing. At the end of your subscription period, DreamBox will bill the same credit card you used to set up the account. You will be sent an email notification of this, typically about 5 days before auto-renewal occurs.

If you cancel your subscription before your account auto-renews, you will not be billed. Furthermore, if you cancel within 30 days of starting your DreamBox account, you will receive a full refund, which will be processed to your card within 2-3 business days.

How do I log in?

The login page for DreamBox Learning Math is http://. When you sign in, you can check the option "Keep me logged in". This will allow your child to play without retyping your login information. If you forget this URL, there is also a link to "Login" from the DreamBox Learning home page.

Does my child have to know how to use a computer mouse and/or keyboard?

Students must use a mouse in our program, and the ability to enter numbers via the keyboard is required for 2^nd grade content and up. Students do not need to know how to use the keyboard for the kindergarten or 1^st grade curriculum.

We have created three fun Mouse Tutorials that will help all users learn and/or improve their mouse skills. The first time a student plays, we introduce them to the Mouse Tutorials right away as a “warm up”. If your child needs extra practice, please encourage your child to play them again as often as needed. You can find the Mouse Tutorials in the “Arcade” or My Lessons sections.

Some young users also prefer a kid’s mouse, which can be bought at many computer accessory stores.

Does my child have to know how to read?

No, children do not need to be readers to play DreamBox Learning. In nearly every case, labels in the game are repeated in the audio, and often when your child rolls the mouse over objects.

My child has been playing for several minutes and hasn’t seen a single math problem yet. Where’s the math?

For the first 5-20 minutes after a child starts playing, they are introduced to the world of DreamBox. Stella (the narrator) will take them on a short tour of DreamBox, pointing out where the main areas are and what they do. For younger students, this introductory period will also include a series of games, designed to test their ability to use a mouse. Once this introductory period is passed, math lessons are always available in the Adventure Park or My Lessons sections.

I heard there was a way to get free months of DreamBox. How do I do this?

There is indeed a way to get free months of DreamBox, through our Referral Program. In fact, not only do you get a free month for referring your friends, but your friends get a free month too!

Here’s how it works: when logging into the Parent Dashboard, you should see a green button in the right-hand column that says "Invite friends to try DreamBox". You can click this button and follow the instructions to send an invitation to another parent. Once they receive the invite, they’ll need to click the link they receive and follow the instructions to purchase a subscription. Once they’ve been subscribed for 30 days, both parents receive the free month for all the children on their subscription.

Although you cannot refer a person who has already signed up, there are no limits to the number of free subscriptions you can earn through referral.

Playing and learning with DreamBox

What is the difference between the Primary learning environment and the Intermediate learning environment?

DreamBox Learning offers two highly motivating, age-appropriate learning environments for students. K-2nd grade students solve math problems while helping animated friends in story based adventures. Younger students can personalize their learning experience by choosing a game character and a theme — pirates, dinosaurs, pets, or pixies — to turn their lessons into fun adventures. 3^rd grade and older students enjoy a highly motivating Intermediate learning environment that they can make their own. As students learn, they can earn badges, coins to personalize their music and wallpaper and even unlock new math mini-game rewards.

Primary learning environment: How does my child switch themes within the DreamBox Adventure Park?

We know that students like to switch and experiment with different themes and stories, and that’s great! Whenever students have found 1 of the 6 objects needed to complete a story, they have the option to either find another object in the same story, or click “BACK” to go back to the Adventure Park and choose another theme and story. It typically takes 3 to 6 lessons to find each object, so students can switch stories relatively frequently if they wish.

Primary learning environment: How many different themes/stories can my child play at once?

Students can explore one story in each of the 4 themes at the same time. Whenever students have found 1 of the 6 objects needed to complete a story, they have the option to either find another object in the same story, or click “BACK” to go back to the Adventure Park and choose another theme and story. It typically takes 3 to 6 lessons for students to find each object, so students can switch stories relatively frequently if they wish.

Primary learning environment: What’s the difference between the academic activities in the Adventure Park and the Carnival?

Children spend most of their time on DreamBox playing lessons in the Adventure Park. These lessons cover the DreamBox math curriculum for each grade level. When students begin playing DreamBox and as they progress, some Adventure Park lessons assess a child’s existing knowledge and place him/her at the appropriate place in our curriculum. So on the Parent Dashboard, the progress report will show which math topics the student has “skipped in placement” (i.e. already knew and therefore successfully passed in our unit pretests).

Students can also play in the Carnival, where there are 2 types of activities — carnival games and arcade games. In the Carnival, the Castle Maze, Petting Zoo, Frog Race, and Dunk Tank games have an academic focus, but they’re a little different from the Adventure Park lessons in that they don’t focus on a specific mathematical concept. Instead they help students develop problem-solving skills in a mathematical environment. Each game has several levels that build on one another, pushing students to adapt and modify their strategy as elements of the game change. (For example, in early levels of the Maze, students just focus on moving the character to the door. In later levels, students also have to collect all the mushrooms and avoid the troll. The levels also vary in how many “turns” the student can take and the number of moves the student can link together.) Since these games focus on developing problem-solving skills and strategies instead of specific math concepts, students don’t skip any of the levels. And, these games are not required to make progress in the Adventure Park games, so students playing 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd grade content may still be working on kindergarten or 1^st grade problem-solving games.

Inside the Carnival there is also an Arcade where kids can play games that are really just for fun! Some of the Carnival activities require a token earned by playing lessons in the Adventure Park. Tokens are awarded for a combination of academic progress, time spent, and overall effort.

Primary learning environment: Does my child really need to have access to the activities in the Carnival? Can I shut them off?

The Carnival games are designed, first and foremost, to teach problem solving skills in math. For this reason, achieving a certain level of success in these games is actually required, for full course completion. In the Detailed Progress Report, you will see that each grade has a "Problem Solving" progress bar. This progress bar can only be filled in, by playing the Carnival games, and for this reason, access to the Carnival cannot be deactivated.

That being said, for best results, students should definitely spend the largest portion of their time playing the lessons. A good suggestion is to make sure they spend at least 20 minutes in Adventure Park or My Lessons area, for every 10 minutes they spend in other areas.

Read this article for more information and suggestions..

In the Primary learning environment, what is “My House”? What is it used for?

The “My House” feature, located in the upper left of the main DreamBox map in the Primary learning environment, is a place where students can change their avatar, check their Tokens balance, replay any of the Virtual Manipulative tutorials, and check out the rewards they’ve earned while playing DreamBox. Students can also use this section to print their Certificates and Adventure Friends collectibles.

In the Primary learning environment, what do the icons represent on the Adventure Park lesson path?

When playing DreamBox lessons in the Adventure Park, your student will see several different kinds of icons along the path. Here’s a description of these icons and what they represent.

Unit Pretest Icons: Unit pretests are always represented by a lesson icon with a small yellow star on it. Aside from the star, these icons look just like regular lesson icons. The icons may have a picture of one of our virtual manipulatives or a number card. Whatever the graphic is, it is representative of the unit pretest behind it. Although the stars make the lesson icons a little different, students are never told that it represents a unit pretest.

Tutorial Lesson Icons: Tutorial lessons teach students how to use one of our virtual manipulatives. These icons all have a similar look. These are represented by a picture of the virtual manipulative in a box.

Lesson Icons: Lesson icons are designed to give students clues about the lesson they’re about to play. Whenever possible we include a small picture of the virtual manipulative used. When many lessons are represented by the same icon, we number the icons starting with the earliest in the sequence (one). This happens when lessons are sequenced in order to present slightly more difficult content. Presenting many shorter lessons is also more appropriate to the needs of this age group. Because of our unique sequencing, students don’t always get the next “level” of a game on their map, they aren’t always required to play every single level and occasionally two “levels” will appear at the same time. Fortunately, this doesn’t seem to bother kids.

Checkmarks: Checkmarks will appear on a lesson to indicate that this lesson is done. Done means different things on different icons. Tutorial lessons are done when they have been played from beginning to end. Unit pretests are done when they have been completed one time. Lesson icons are done when the objectives of the lesson have been passed.

Backpacks: Backpacks hold the rewards that students earn as they play. By clicking on a backpack, students collect tokens, Adventure Friend cards and story goals. Tokens can be used in the Arcade in the Carnival. Adventure Friend cards are collected in My House. The story goal points motivate students to play more maps and earn all six goals in a story. For each story completed, students earn a certificate which can be printed from My House.

What are Tokens? What are they used for?

Tokens are an in-game currency, awarded for a combination of academic progress, time spent, and overall effort. Students can use their Tokens in the “Arcade” section of the Carnival, to play fun games such as “Fruit Farmer” and “Super Skee Ball”. Unlike the rest of the games in the Carnival section, Arcade games are designed just for fun – which is to say, they don’t specifically teach any math or problem-solving. However, they are part of DreamBox Learning’s engagement structure, providing an additional incentive for students to achieve progress. Students can only get access to these games by successfully completing lessons and earning Tokens.

How can my child change their avatar?

On the main map, in the upper-left, is the “My House” icon. Click here to enter My House. Once inside, click on the child’s avatar (they will be standing in the middle of the room) to access the avatar selection screen.

How can my child print their Certificates?

In the upper-left area of the main map, is the “My House” area. Click here to enter My House. Once inside, look for a portrait hanging on the left wall (it will wiggle when you put your mouse over it). Click on this to access the list of Certificates your child has earned. Then select the Certificate you would like to print, and click the “printer” icon in the upper right.

You can also print a child’s Certificates using your Parent Dashboard. Click the “Student Progress” tab in the top right, locate the child, and select “Get Details” in the upper-right of your child’s progress box. This will open the Detailed Progress Report. Scroll down to the bottom of the Detailed Progress Report to locate the “Certificates” section, and click on the Certificate you’d like to print. Finally, click the “printer” icon above the Certificate.

Why are some lessons so similar to others?

The lessons have been thoughtfully designed to help students learn new concepts and develop strong knowledge of math fundamentals. To achieve this, professional educators have found that students must address concepts from several different perspectives. Therefore, for example, there might be a lesson teaching a concept first with numbers 1 to 10 and no symbols, and then later the same concept with numbers and symbols. Or there might be one lesson focusing on the “landmark” numbers 5, 10, and 20 with our mathrack tool, and then another lesson focusing on the same thing with our Numbergram™ tool. These lessons may appear similar, but are different in important ways that help students successfully progress.

How often should students play DreamBox?

Students can play DreamBox Learning as often as they like. We have found that most students will play DreamBox two to four times a week, for sessions of 15 to 30 minutes each. As students progress, they will continually be served appropriate new challenges. Some students will want to play more and longer, and others will play less. It is completely up to the student and family’s schedule, though consistent play is best for optimizing how each student will learn and progress.

Why is my child doing lessons that are below their current in-school grade level?

When a student first starts using DreamBox, they are placed one grade level below their listed in-school grade level. This is done to calibrate DreamBox Learning’s adaptive technology to the student’s current instructional level, as well as to catch any gaps in their previous learning.

Also, because of the highly adaptive nature of DreamBox, students can, and often do, work in multiple grade levels at the same time. This is because mastery of a mathematical concept is considered to be the top priority. The "grade level" of these concepts is determined, by and large, by the Common Core standards that the DreamBox curriculum aligns itself with. However, they are by no means meant to represent a static order in which lessons are offered. For example, a student who understands place value but has difficulty counting items in groups may be assigned earlier work that nurtures the ability to count in groups while simultaneously being given grade-level work that builds upon their place value knowledge.

In all cases, please be assured that DreamBox Learning will adjust to your child’s instructional level, and the more they play the better and more accurate DreamBox Learning’s assessments will be. Encourage your child to complete every lesson, even if they think it’s a little boring, and you’ll soon see more difficult and challenging work being presented.

Why do some lessons have a “Too Hard” button and others don’t?

Only unit pretests will have a “Too Hard” button in them. This is because unit pretests are offered to a student to see if they understand a concept. If the student passes the preteset, then they can skip this material, as DreamBox will assess that they already know it. However, if a student does not know the material, they can use the “Too Hard” button to exit the unit pretest, instead of attempting to guess their way through it.

Students are encouraged to complete the regular lessons as best they can because DreamBox needs to assess all of their input (including wrong answers) to determine which follow-up lessons would best help the student. If a student exits a lesson prematurely, DreamBox cannot perform this critical assessment. This is why regular lessons do not have a “Too Hard” option.

It seems like my child is being offered the same lesson(s) over and over again. How do I fix this?

This often happens when a child exits out of too many lessons prematurely. If lessons are exited without being completed, then DreamBox cannot analyze the student’s input correctly and therefore cannot make the necessary adjustments. This is actually by design – we certainly don’t want DreamBox Learning to make assumptions about a child’s instructional level every time they have to eat dinner or go to bed!

Watch your child play and make sure they aren’t using the “Exit” button to quit lessons. Sometimes, a child will do this because they don’t like to give wrong answers or dislike guessing. In these cases, encourage your child to complete every lesson, even if they have to guess or get some answers wrong, and you’ll soon see more lessons being presented. Making mistakes is OK - this is how DreamBox adjusts to your child’s instructional level!

In virtually all cases, a completed lesson will trigger the opening of new lessons, be they the next available lesson, or follow-up lesson(s) to teach a specific concept. If your child is stuck in one place, and you have confirmed that they are not manually exiting the lesson, then contact Client Care for further assistance.

Can I adjust the difficulty of the lessons?

Since DreamBox aligns its lessons with the Common Core State Standards and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Curriculum Focal Points, parents cannot alter the curriculum, or the lessons, in any way. However, our adaptive curriculum analyzes a student’s input and adjusts itself as necessary, so parents should not need to make adjustments to the lessons. If a child is getting stuck, make sure that they are completing every lesson they start (even if they have to guess or get some answers wrong). If lessons are exited without being completed, DreamBox cannot analyze the student’s input correctly and therefore cannot make the necessary adjustments.

If you feel that your child is stuck and cannot make progress, you can always contact Client Care for assistance. Our trained staff is more than happy to analyze your child’s progress, offer advice, and even make adjustments to your child’s progress if deemed necessary.

How do I access a specific set of lessons that I feel my child should be working on?

Our adaptive curriculum analyzes a student’s input and uses this input to determine the lessons a student needs in order to gain a full understanding of each concept. Students prove what they know using unit pretests, and they develop new skills by completing other lessons. This process is completely automated, driven by a student’s own efforts, and ensures that students have mastered all previous concepts leading up to their new lessons. For this reason, students cannot be assigned specific lessons manually.

If you feel that your child is not doing the lessons that they need to be doing, make sure that they are completing every lesson they start. If lessons are exited without being completed, DreamBox cannot analyze the student’s input correctly and therefore cannot make the necessary adjustments. You can also contact Client Care for assistance. Our trained staff is more than happy to analyze your child’s progress, offer advice, and even make adjustments to your child’s progress if deemed necessary.

My child says that a lesson is “too fast”. Can I adjust the speed?

Some of DreamBox Learning’s lessons use a time-based “flash-card” mechanic as a way of training students to count in groups and evaluate amounts at a glance. While the student can click on the card a few additional times to see it again, they cannot adjust the amount of time that the card is revealed – for a very specific reason. If the speed of these activities were to be slowed, students would be able to utilize inefficient counting strategies to get the answer and may not develop this “grouping” skill. Without the ability to evaluate groups, students would experience additional difficulties with future lessons.

This is definitely one of those situations where you should encourage your child to make their best guess. If a student’s answers suggest they are having a hard time with this concept, DreamBox will pick up on that and assign the lessons that will help your child succeed!

Should I help my child with a problem? When is it best NOT to help a child?

Parents naturally want to help a child who is struggling to learn something new, especially as lessons get harder. But because DreamBox is constantly assessing your child’s answers to understand what they’ve mastered and what they have yet to learn, parental help can sometimes actually make the lessons too hard!

Here’s why: our GuideRight™ technology ensures that many aspects of the experience immediately adapt based upon how a student responds to each problem. The questions should be just challenging enough that they occasionally get one incorrect as they learn. Part of that process of recalibrating for each student involves occasionally presenting a series of questions that might be a little too difficult. If they do well, we move them on to something that might rely upon the understanding they just demonstrated. If they don’t do so well, we then provide the comprehensive set of lessons they likely need to develop that understanding.

So with DreamBox, if you provide too much overt assistance, answer for your child, or let a sibling or friend play on their account, it is quite possible that the system will temporarily attribute levels of proficiency — or lack thereof — that do not accurately reflect that of your child. If you’d like to learn more about this and for tips on the kind of help you can give, read the DreamBox blog article Why a Little Help Can Go a Wrong Way.

What should I do if the math game gets hard for my child?

If your children turn to you for assistance with a DreamBox Learning problem, try some of these approaches:

• Encourage your child to make his or her best guess. Remind them it’s OK to make some mistakes. We learn a lot from the types of mistakes they make and will respond accordingly. (Really!)
• Answer a question with a question like, “What do you think?”
• Click the “Help” button in the upper right corner of the game window.
• Click the “Help” button again. The second click provides more detailed instructions. Also, keep in mind that a student is not penalized for clicking “Help”, so they should be encouraged to click it as many times as they need to.
• Ask your child to explain the game to you. Sometimes talking it through like this will give them the answer.
• If all that doesn’t work, perhaps it’s time for a snack or a break.
• Finally, remember that playing DreamBox is meant to be fun. If they are still having trouble with one or more lessons, don’t hesitate to click the “Send Your Feedback” button and let us know. Our Client Care staff has additional options, up to and including an adjustment to your child’s position in the curriculum.

My child thinks this is too easy. Can I push them ahead?

The DreamBox Learning curriculum is designed to introduce lessons based on a child’s instructional level. New concepts can be unlocked either through successfully completing lessons or by doing well in unit pretests. Unit pretests are marked with a star on the lesson map, and if completed, give the student the ability to skip a concept that they are already familiar with.

Also, DreamBox strives to teach, through practice and progression, many different strategies for doing complex math without using outside tools (paper, calculators, their fingers, etc). If students were to skip past too many lessons they may not develop these important skills, which could lead to frustration and confusion when confronted with more complex problems.

For these reasons, we do not recommend jumping a student ahead in the DreamBox curriculum. Students should instead take full advantage of their knowledge to complete every lesson they start.

One reason that children may find their progression to be slower than they like is that some students have a tendency to manually exit out of lessons that they find “boring” or “simple”, not realizing that they are actually slowing their progress even more. Encourage your child to complete every lesson, even if they think it’s a little boring, and you’ll soon see more difficult and challenging work being presented.

What happens if my child finishes the DreamBox Learning Math curriculum?

The DreamBox Learning Math Program has more than 600 lessons in the kindergarten to 4^th grade curriculum. However, if your child completes all of the academic goals in the curriculum your child will be able to continue working on DreamBox lessons to earn gold seals for mastery. Not only does this allow your child to continue learning with DreamBox and having fun, but it also reinforces their previous learning and builds confidence in their math skills.

Can my pre-K child experience the kindergarten content?

There are certainly a number of 4-year-olds who are ready to learn the kindergarten content, have the dexterity and knowledge to use a computer mouse, and the attention span to use our program. Most 4-year-olds enjoy playing DreamBox Learning, but may need a parent to help guide them through the lessons.

Is there a way for a parent to play and understand more about the product?

Many parents want to experience DreamBox Learning Math themselves so they can better understand what their child is learning. For this reason, every subscription comes with a free parent account, accessible from the Parent Dashboard, so that parents can play DreamBox without accidentally modifying their child’s account (and changing their child’s assessments). In addition to allowing parents to experience DreamBox, this special version periodically displays a number of helpful explanations, to highlight the various features in the product. To access this parent account, log into your Parent Dashboard, and select “Play As A Parent” from the right-side menu.

Email and Parent Dashboard

How do I log into my Parent Dashboard?

The quickest method is to go directly to http:// (which is our dedicated login page). On this page, enter your email address and password, click on “Parent Dashboard”, and you should be logged in with no problems. You can also use the “Login” link located in the upper right hand corner (left of the “Support” link) on http://www.dreambox.com.

I forgot my password. How can I log in?

When logging in, make sure that you are using the log in URL (http://) and that you are using the email address you have registered with. If you have forgotten your password, or your password isn’t working, use the "Forgot Your Password" link on http:// to send yourself a Password Reset email. Follow the instructions in the email to reset your password. If you aren’t receiving this email, or are experiencing any other issues, contact Client Care for further assistance.

What do the colors in the Progress Bar mean? What’s the difference between “presumed passed” and “passed in placement”?

When you read your child’s progress reports, you will see progress bars in three different colors. Blue bars reflect the progress your child has made by successfully completing unit pretests. Orange bars indicate the progress made by learning and completing regular lessons. Also, gray bars show what is “presumed passed”, or lessons that the child did not have to do because of their initial placement. It is most common to see these gray bars for students who start off in 2^nd or 3^rd Grade.

Can I see my child’s progress in more detail?

The basic progress bars, located on the “Student Progress” page, give you a general idea of where your child’s progress lies. However, you can get a lot more detail than this – including a progress breakdown by concept and curriculum topic the progress they’ve made in their stories, and even a list of the certificates they’ve received. In the upper right area of a child’s progress box, you will see a link that says “Get Details”. Click this link to access the Detailed Progress Report.

How do I read the Detailed Progress Report?

The first section, labeled “(student name’s) Progress in the DreamBox Curriculum”, should look familiar – you can interpret these bars exactly as you did using the basic Student Progress Bar. The only difference is that this progress is broken down by curriculum category. Also, some of the progress bars are the same “powder blue” color as the background – this means that those particular subjects aren’t covered in that specific grade level.

In the second section, labeled “What’s (student’s name) learning now?”, you will see a list of curriculum topics with green “plus” signs next to them. Click the plus sign icons to expand each curriculum topic and see your child’s progression in even greater detail. Instead of progress bars, you will now see a “percentage completed” statistic to the right of each topic.

If your child is playing the Primary learning environment, you will also see, is the “Story Progress” section, which shows you the Adventure Park stories your child has completed. As with the second section, clicking on the green “plus” icons will offer more details

At the bottom of the report is the “Hours On DreamBox” section. This shows you the total amount of time spent on DreamBox as well as the length of their last sessions.

If your child has earned any Certificates another section will appear below “Hours On DreamBox” called “Certificates”. You can use this section to look at the Certificates, and even print them out!

If you have multiple students on your account, you can switch quickly between their Detailed Progress Reports by using the drop-menu located at the top-right of the progress report just under the main navigation tabs.

Finally, there are several places where you’ll see green text, underlined with dashes. Hold your mouse over these patches of text to receive detailed descriptions of what these terms mean.

Why does the graph data show my child working in multiple grades?

Research on how children learn math has shown that it’s not a simple, linear process. Instead, learning grows like a web through a range of experiences. Based on common national standards, most kindergarten curricula cover numbers up to ten, and most first grade curricula cover numbers up to one hundred. However, that doesn’t take into account that, developmentally, a child that can count to ten is often ready for working with larger numbers.

At DreamBox Learning, we have developed an adaptive curriculum that’s based on this advanced learning research. The DreamBox curriculum, and our sophisticated placement system, allow students to work in lessons that build on prior knowledge, including lessons that may be aligned with standards that are one grade level ahead. Our unique lesson sequencing technology, developed with our academic experts, allows us to maximize your child’s learning potential by providing the most appropriate lesson choices from different areas of the curriculum. Because of this, it isn’t unusual for a child to be working in two grade levels at one time.

Can I set up a free trial for a second child?

Certainly! After you log into your Parent Dashboard, click the “Account/Settings” tab, select “My Subscription”, and click “Add a free trial”.

Can I add a second child to my current subscription?

To add a second child, log into your Parent Dashboard and click the “Account/Settings” tab. Then select “Convert Your Subscription” from the left-side menu and follow the instructions to add the second child.

How can I modify my email preferences to control the messages I receive from DreamBox Learning?

In the Parent Dashboard, select the “Account/Settings” tab in the upper-right and click on ‘Notification Preferences’ from the left-side menu to edit your communication preferences. You can disable email notifications from DreamBox Learning, or ask to receive only specific types of notifications such as emails on your children’s academic and game progress. Please note that these preferences will not apply to billing emails or business communication from DreamBox.

How can I add someone else’s email address so they can receive email notifications about my child’s progress?

In the Parent Dashboard, select the “Account/Settings” tab in the upper-right click on ‘Notification Preferences’ from the left-side menu and click the “Edit/Add/Remove email addresses” link. Each email address added will receive the same messages that you receive including progress notifications, newsletters, and reminders. Up to 5 emails can be added to this list.

What if I am not receiving all the progress and update emails from DreamBox Learning?

It is possible that your email provider is blocking some or all of the DreamBox emails. Please look in your spam filter. In many cases, you can also add an email address to a “trusted” list often by simply marking the email as “Not Spam” when you find it in your spam filter. For specific instructions on marking email from dreambox.com as “trusted”, please refer to the reference materials for your email client.

How do I cancel my free trial?

While your free trial will cancel on its own, without billing you or subscribing you to DreamBox, there is also a way to manually cancel a free trial. To cancel a free trial for an individual child, log in to your Parent Dashboard, click on the Account/Settings tab, and select “Student Information” from the left-side navigation. Inside the information box for the student whose free trial you want to cancel click the green text link that reads “Cancel this Free Trial.”

How do I cancel my subscription?

To cancel a subscription for an individual child, log in to your Parent Dashboard, click on the Account/Settings tab, and click on the “Student Information” link in the left-side navigation. Inside the information box for the student whose subscription you want to cancel, click the green text link that reads “Cancel this Subscription.”

To cancel a family subscription, log in to your Parent Dashboard, click on the Account/Settings tab, and select the “Family Subscription” link in the left-side navigation. Below the title that reads “Family Subscription,” click on the green text link that reads “Cancel our subscription for the whole family.”

How can I change my family subscription to an individual subscription?

To remove children from your account, log into your Parent Dashboard and click the “Account/Settings” tab. Then select “Convert Your Subscription” from the left-side menu and click “Convert to individual subscription”.

After converting to individual subscriptions you will need to cancel the student(s) who are no longer playing. Click on the “Account/Settings” tab and select “Student Information” from the left-side menu. Then locate the student(s) you wish to cancel and click the green “Cancel this student” in their info box. When your account renews, the canceled student(s) will not be renewed.

What happens to my child’s progress if/when I cancel?

We will store your child’s progress for at least six months, and in most cases, longer. Should you choose to return to DreamBox Learning and you’d like your child to pick up from where they left off, then log into your Parent Dashboard (http://) and purchase another subscription.

Can I still access my Parent Dashboard if I cancel?

Certainly! While you will no longer have access to your child’s progress information, you will still have access to most sections of the Parent Dashboard. This continued access is the key to re-subscribing, as it assures that we save your child’s progress and usage history under your existing email address for at least six months. You will also continue to have access to all your previous progress notifications, your notification settings, and your free Parent Resources page. You can continue to log into your Parent Dashboard by going to http://.

How do I change my billing information?

You can change the credit card that we charge by logging into your Parent Dashboard and clicking the “Account/Settings” tab in the upper-right. Next, click “My Subscription” and select “Update your billing information” from the list.

Can I set up my account so that it doesn’t auto-renew?

At this time, there is no direct way to prevent your account from auto-renewing. There are, however, a couple methods you can use to prevent auto-renewal.

The first method is to cancel your subscription AFTER the 30-day refund period. This works especially well if you are subscribed using the six-month plan. Canceling your subscription after the 30-day refund period does not immediately end your access to DreamBox Learning because you’ve already paid for your subscription in advance. However, when the expiration date is reached, DreamBox will cancel instead of auto-renewing, which will prevent your credit card from being billed. From here, you can re-subscribe via your Parent Dashboard. Your child’s progress will not be lost.

The second method is to contact Client Care and ask them to deactivate your auto-renewal. When your account expires, you will need to re-subscribe, and again, your child’s information will not be lost so long as you purchase your subscription using your Parent Dashboard.

Technical questions

What are the system requirements for DreamBox Learning to work on our home computer?

DreamBox Learning should work easily on most computers. Here are the requirements:

1. The computer must have a mouse. While touch pads and other pointing devices do work with DreamBox, most students find these device to be more difficult to use.
2. The computer’s display should have a minimum resolution of 1024x768.
3. The computer must have the ability to play sound. Most of the instruction in DreamBox is delivered verbally, as it is designed to be used by children who may not be old enough to read. Headphones are recommended, but not strictly required.
4. The computer must have the most current version of the Flash player installed. Go to http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ to install the latest version.
5. The computer must have a web browser. Windows supported web browsers are Internet Explorer 6 or 7, Firefox 1.x-3.x and Safari 3.x. Mac OS X (v 10.4, 10.5) supported web browsers are Firefox 2.x or 3.x and Safari 3.x. Please note that the latest version of Flash must be installed for each browser.
6. The web browser must allow session cookies (these are cookies that do not persist when the browser is shut down). If you are unsure about how to enable cookies on your browser, check the browser company’s website for instructions.
7. The computer must have high-speed internet access with a connection speed equivalent to a residential DSL line (1.5Mbps down/640kbps up).
8. Any firewall or filtering software must allow HTTP access to http://dreambox.com and sub-domains of dreambox.com.
9. Any firewall or filtering software must allow HTTP POST requests to http://dreambox.com and all sub-domains of dreambox.com (play.dreambox.com, log.dreambox.com & static.dreambox.com).
10. Any parental control software installed on the computer must allow DreamBox to run. Many do so already without any configuration changes, but some may require configuration changes.

Can I check to see if my computer currently meets DreamBox Learning’s requirements?

Yes, just go to www.dreambox.com/check-requirements. When you visit this URL, DreamBox Learning will check your Adobe Flash Player version, computer display resolution, cookie settings, and help you check the audio on your computer.

What should I do if my computer is having trouble displaying video or playing sound in DreamBox Learning?

First, go to www.dreambox.com/check-requirements. When you visit this URL, DreamBox Learning will check your Adobe Flash Player version, computer display resolution, cookie settings, and help you check the audio on your computer. This will ensure that your computer has the specifications necessary to run DreamBox properly. If your computer meets the system requirements and you continue to have problems, please do not hesitate to contact our Client Care team! Be sure to include the results of your system requirements check when you contact us as well as any and all information that could help us find the problem.

Will there be any conflicts with parental control software that I have installed on my computer?

There might be. Some parental control software, under certain configurations, will block flash animations, pop-ups, and many of our dynamic adaptations, so DreamBox will either not run at all or will sometimes freeze. For best results, be sure that your parental control software allows cookies and considers “dreambox.com” to be a trusted site. You may also want to double-check any “user rights” settings you’ve made.

Will a wireless internet connection work?

DreamBox works great with wireless routers, gateways, and other similar access points. DreamBox simply requires an Internet connection with sufficient bandwidth. The user experience will depend on the signal strength of your wireless connection.

What do I do if I suspect my wireless internet connection is preventing me from accessing DreamBox?

If you are having problems using DreamBox on your wireless network, first make sure that your access point’s firewall and security settings have “dreambox.com” listed as a trusted site. If your security settings are configured correctly and you are still having issues accessing DreamBox, you should also check for any other security software running on your computer to ensure that it is also configured correctly. If this doesn’t help, please do not hesitate to contact our Client Care team. Be sure to include a list of firewalls, anti-virus programs, and other security software running on your computer and router, as well as any and all other information that could help us find the problem.

Why doesn’t DreamBox work with my iPad, iPhone, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DSi, etc?

We would certainly be thrilled to offer support for all internet devices, especially ones with touch screens. However, DreamBox is a Flash-based product. As of this writing, the iPad, iPhone, and Nintendo DSi Browser are not Flash-compatible. Also, while the Nintendo Wii’s browser does support some Flash applications, it does not support Flash Version 10, and at this time, cannot be upgraded to do so. For more information about this issue, you may wish to refer to the support materials for these devices.

How do I tell my computer to enable all the DreamBox pop-ups without having to click “yes” each time?

You should add https://dreambox.com to your trusted sites list. Each browser does this a little differently, so we’ve included instructions for the most common browsers:

• In Internet Explorer, select “Tools” from the Explorer menu and click “Internet Options”. Then click the “Privacy” tab. There should be a section called “Pop-up blocker”. Click the “Settings” button in this section to add https://dreambox.com to your trusted sites list.
• In Mozilla Firefox, select “Tools” from the Firefox menu and click “Options”. Go to “Content”, and locate a button to the right of the “Block pop-up windows” option that says “Exceptions”. Click this to add https://dreambox.com to your trusted sites list.
• In Google Chrome, locate and click on the grey “wrench” icon to the right of the address bar and select “Options”. Click the “Under The Hood” tab, and click “Content Settings”. Select “Pop-ups” from the “Features” list and click the “Exceptions” button to add https://dreambox.com to your trusted sites list.
• In Safari, click the gray “gear” icon to the far right of the address bar. If there’s a check mark next to the option “Block Pop-Up Windows”, uncheck it during your DreamBox sessions.

General questions

What is DreamBox Learning Math?

DreamBox Learning Math, the next generation of web-based learning, provides individualized learning for math in an motivating learning environment. DreamBox Learning Math automatically adapts to each student, to optimize his or her learning experience. We do this by customizing the content, difficulty, hints, pace, and sequence of lessons to match a student’s knowledge and learning style—just as a great tutor would do! There are millions of different paths a child could take through our curriculum

DreamBox Learning curriculum is based on the Common Core State Standards. K-2nd grade students personalize their learning experience by choosing a game character and a theme—pirates, dinosaurs, pets, or pixies—to turn their lessons into fun adventures. Older students and up enjoy a highly motivating learning environment that they can make their own. As students learn, they can earn badges, coins to personalize their music and wallpaper and even unlock new math mini-game rewards.

Rather than simply providing practice for a concept students already know, DreamBox Learning Math helps a student learn the math curriculum step by step, in a uniquely customized and engaging way. DreamBox Learning Math helps every child reach his or her potential!

What will my child learn? Which math standards are addressed?

The DreamBox Learning Math Program has more than 600 lessons for kindergarten through 4^th grade. The product’s underlying curriculum develops computational fluency, conceptual understanding, and problem-solving ability, which allow students to enrich and deepen their mathematical thinking. Content is aligned with the Common Core State Standards.

DreamBox Learning develops and enhances your child’s foundational math understanding through a carefully crafted sequence of activities which allow your child both choice and variety in game play. We use our core tools, including dot patterns (Numbergrams™), a ten frame, a math rack (aka rekenrek), number lines, snap blocks, function machine, and our “Human Calculator™”. Lessons and tools build a student’s understanding of 5 and 10, two important numbers in a base-ten system.

One of the first lessons played is a unit pretest, and there are numerous additional unit pretests through the product. Unit pretests assess a student’s existing knowledge and place them at an appropriate place in our curriculum.

Throughout the DreamBox Learning adventure, your child is given the flexibility to move between grades as appropriate. We do not show grade labels for the lesson games, and we do not require, for example, that all kindergarten lesson games are completed before first grade lesson games can begin. This allows your child to explore the math that is most interesting and developmentally appropriate for him/her.

Kindergarten:

• Compare more, less, and equal sets of objects up to 10
• Count up to 10 in units of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10
• Demonstrate ability to recognize sets of up to 10 at a quick glance (“subitizing”)
• Build number lines and hundreds chart up to 100
• Early addition and subtraction up to 10
• Recognize doubles
• Distance and orientation

1^st grade:

• Build, count, and recognize amounts up to 100
• Compare and order numbers up to 100 using symbols <, >, and =
• Count backwards and forwards
• Addition and subtraction using strategies of “using doubles” (for example, 7+8 = 7+7+1) and “making tens”, (for example, 9+7 = 10+6)
• Develop automatic recall of basic math facts
• Identify number patterns that make 15, 20, 50, and 100
• Understand the open number line, multiples of 10 (10-100), positive and negative, and distances between numbers
• Two-dimensional area and three-dimensional volume
• Place value to 100: identify, build and manipulate values up to 100 when presented with groupings of hundreds, tens, and ones.

2^nd grade:

• Solve problems with equal expressions
• Addition and subtraction strategies for two- and three-digit numbers
• Skip counting in jumps of 3-10
• Compare and order numbers from 100 to 1000
• Advanced addition and subtraction strategies
• Place value to 1000: identify, build, and manipulate values up to 1,000 when presented with groupings of thousands, hundreds, tens and ones.

3^rd grade:

• Place value to 10,000: identify, build, and manipulate values up to 10,000 when presented with groupings of thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones
• Solve multiplication facts to 12 using different representations and strategies, including repeated addition, picture arrays, and area models
• Understand and apply multiplication relationships such as the distributive, commutative, and associative properties
• Construct multiplication relationships with partial products (12x8 = 10x8 + 2x8)
• Using landmark multiplication facts (5, 10s) to find products with one group more or less
• Find factors for numbers to 100 and multiples of numbers 1-12

How does DreamBox Learning continuous assessment and placement work?

One of the first lesson games played is a unit pretest, and there are numerous additional unit pretests throughout the product. Students usually won’t notice that a lesson is a unit pretest rather than a standard lesson, though they are marked with a star on the lesson icon:

Unit pretests assess a student’s existing knowledge and place him/her at an appropriate place in our curriculum. Students who already know a particular concept, for example, will pass a unit pretest and then immediately skip over all the lesson games for that concept.

In addition, DreamBox assesses every response and makes small, immediate adjustments in the difficulty or scope of a particular problem, the type of hints given, and the lesson sequence that follows. All of these individual adaptations help ensure effective learning for your child.

What are the motivational / game aspects of DreamBox Learning?

One of the key factors of DreamBox’s success is providing an age-appropriate, motivating learning environment. Students in the Primary learning environment personalize their learning experience by choosing a game character and a theme — pirates, dinosaurs, pets, or pixies — turning their lessons into fun adventures. Intermediate learning environment students enjoy a highly motivating learning environment that they can make their own. As students learn, they can earn badges, coins to personalize their music and wallpaper and even unlock new math mini-game rewards.

What grade levels will DreamBox Learning Math be appropriate for?

The curriculum covered in DreamBox Learning Math will be appropriate for most kindergartners through 4^th grade students. It is also appropriate for many pre-K students and many 5^th graders.

Is DreamBox Learning for kids who are struggling, at grade level or advanced in math?

Because of our unique unit pretests and continual assessments, DreamBox is great for math learners of all abilities! Struggling students will get the basic foundational concepts they need along with appropriate practice for mastery. Students who love math and need additional challenges can move ahead in DreamBox as fast as they want.

How effective is DreamBox Learning at teaching math to students?

Research shows that DreamBox is effectively teaching math. An SRI study found that students who received additional online math instruction from DreamBox Learning scored an average of 2.3 points higher on the NWEA mathematics test than students who didn’t receive the additional DreamBox Learning instruction. These gains are equivalent to progressing 5.5 points in percentile ranking in just 16 weeks. Learn more about the effectiveness studies of DreamBox Learning.

Is DreamBox an appropriate math curriculum for homeschooling?

DreamBox Learning Math is an effective, completely individualized online math curriculum. It offers homeschooling families a robust math-learning curriculum that’s highly engaging so children will be motivated to play and learn.

Furthermore, independent research has shown DreamBox to be highly effective. An SRI study found that students who received additional online math instruction from DreamBox Learning scored an average of 2.3 points higher on the NWEA mathematics test than students who didn’t receive the additional DreamBox Learning instruction. These gains are equivalent to progressing 5.5 points in percentile ranking in just 16 weeks. Learn more about DreamBox effectiveness studies. Finally, when compared to other homeschool curriculum choices, DreamBox is very affordable and it comes with a money-back guarantee. Families can even try it free to see how well it fits their students’ needs.

Read more about how DreamBox works with homeschools.

Who designed the lessons?

Lessons are designed for their educational content by our experienced, National Board Certified elementary school teachers. They carefully create the detailed framework of adaptations — in hints, difficulty, pace, etc. — that will help each student individually learn the material. Then the teachers, our creative team, and our software developers work closely together to add a motivational framework to fully engage and encourage the students to progress through the lessons and have fun while learning.

My child uses DreamBox at school. Is there a way to see their school progress with my home account?

Of course! Contact Client Care and they will be more than happy to assist you in linking your child’s school progress with your home account. Be sure to include your child’s name, the school that they attend, and the name of their teacher.

However, keep in mind that only one student progress file (per student) can be saved to your account. In most cases, our Client Care staff will link the student file with the greatest amount of progress. If you have a strong preference for which progress file should be kept, please be sure to include that with your request.

My child is only 4 years old. What can I do to make sure their DreamBox experience is positive and not overwhelming?

Although our product is written for 5-9 year olds, many 4-year-olds have successfully used DreamBox. The following are tips from other parents on how to ensure that your child will enjoy both interacting with the computer and learn to navigate and play DreamBox successfully.

1. Start with short sessions with an adult present. It’s enough to only play 2-3 games. Having you by their side builds game-play and mouse skills confidence. It lets your child know that you value the time spent on the computer and support math learning. One-on-one time is always special and ensures that you’ll intervene before frustration kicks in.
2. Let your child lead. Your child may click on areas that don’t do anything, and that’s ok - this is how children learn to explore a new environment! Your child needs to experiment in order to learn how to react to highlighting and clickable areas.
3. Wait for your child to ask for help and watch for signs of frustration. Nobody knows your child’s frustration level better than you. When you see that your child is done exploring and is ready for some guidance, give it. You can point to a clickable area and suggest that they “try clicking here.” Or better yet answer a question with a question. “Do you see anything that is highlighted? Is that a good place to click?”
4. Let your child make mistakes. This is particularly important when playing the math games. If you intervene and prevent your child from choosing incorrect answers DreamBox cannot properly analyze their input and give them the appropriate lessons.
5. Replay the Mouse Tutorials over and over again! These are located in the Arcade in the Carnival and are always free. (Unlike other games in the Carnival area the Mouse Tutorials never require a child to spend a token.) The Mouse Tutorials were specifically written to help our youngest users learn to use a mouse or keypad.
   1. The balloon popping activity focuses on rollover movement.
   2. The bowling pin game allows your child to practice clicking on specific targets.
   3. Finally, the turtle game is all about dragging and dropping objects.
   Some users also prefer a kid’s mouse, which can be bought at many computer accessory stores.
6. Offer to move the mouse for your child, but only do what your child tells you to do! Some children really want to play the games even before they have developed the mouse skills to do so. It’s okay to play one or two games this way because your child leaves the game highly satisfied and continues to make progress.
7. Play the On-the-Go Activities when you’re not on the computer. As your child makes progress in the DreamBox lessons, we’ll send you emails with short, fun games to play while cooking dinner or talking in the car. These games mimic the same skills your child has accomplished in DreamBox. Playing these in a different context reinforces your values that math is important and fun.

What progress reports will parents receive?

Parents can review detailed progress reports any time they want via the Parent Dashboard link when they log in. The progress reports show which math concepts the student has “skipped in placement” (i.e. already knew and therefore successfully passed in our unit pretests) or “presumed passed” (i.e. assumed to already know because of their initial grade placement), which lessons they have successfully completed, and which lessons they are currently working on.

In addition, parents receive an email whenever their child has successfully completed a group of lessons that demonstrates understanding of a significant concept in mathematics. We will explain what your child has learned, and provide some tips for further honing that knowledge, including quick games that can be played together in the car or while cooking dinner. We will also send an email when your child has completed an adventure story and earned a Certificate to print out.

Is there a way to give a DreamBox account as a gift?

There is! Go to www.dreambox.com and scroll to the very bottom of the page. The second link from the bottom left will say “Gifts”. Click here to be taken to our Gift Certificates page. Then click the green “Buy” button below “Give a gift”, and you will be taken to our quick, secure online order form.

You can also give a DreamBox gift certificate using your Parent Dashboard. Click the “Account/Settings” tab and select “My Subscription”. Then click on “Buy a gift subscription”.

I heard there was a way to get free months of DreamBox. How do I do this?

There is indeed a way to get free months of DreamBox, through our Referral Program. Not only do you get a free month for referring your friends, but your friends get a free month too!

Here’s how it works: when logging into the Parent Dashboard, you should see a green button in the right-hand column that says "Invite friends to try DreamBox". You can click this button and follow the instructions to send an invitation to another parent. Once they receive the invite, they’ll want to click the link they receive, and follow the instructions to purchase a subscription. Once they’ve been subscribed for 30 days, both parents receive the free month for all the children on their subscription.

Keep in mind that there are no limits to the number of free subscriptions you can earn through referral, although you cannot refer a person who has already signed up.

Is DreamBox available in languages besides English?

DreamBox is designed to be relatively easy to localize, and we certainly want to localize it to various languages in the future. However, we have no timeline to share right now.

Can DreamBox be used by students who are hearing-impaired?

DreamBox has been designed for students who may not yet know how to read, so the program does not use very much screen text. However while DreamBox has not been specifically designed to be accessible soundlessly, it has been used successfully on a one-on-one basis with other deaf students.

For example, a teacher at non-profit organization Abilities United (abilitiesunited.org), has used DreamBox with a number of her students. She works with them one-on-one once or twice a week and found that it is really helping both children and adults with disabilities who have not responded to other programs. Students who could not hear the instructions on DreamBox still found it compelling due to its highly visual engagement. The teacher worked with her hearing-impaired students personally and was able to sign the instructions to them. It was not important that students could not hear as long as they were given the instructions by the teacher.

For this reason, while there are no alternative text-based versions of DreamBox Learning available at this time, it can still be an engaging and rewarding experience for children with no hearing.

Can DreamBox be used by students who are visual-impaired?

DreamBox Learning’s lessons have many visual components, most notably its virtual manipulatives. For nearly all of DreamBox Learning’s activities, these manipulatives are vital to conveying the lesson. Furthermore, a great deal of the coursework does require students to click on objects using their mouse, and even the components that use a keyboard often require the student to click on a specific area first.

For these reasons, we recommend that visually-impaired students work with an instructor when using DreamBox Learning. The instructor should determine, on a case-by-case basis, if the student will be able to use DreamBox Learning without assistance, with assistance, or at all.

What is the best way to provide DreamBox Learning with feedback on your program?

We love customer feedback! In the lower right-hand corner of the DreamBox game screen, there is a button labeled “Send Your Feedback”. If you would like to comment on something specific on a screen or in a lesson, simply click the link, choose the category that most closely matches the type of feedback you want to give, and write a detailed a message in the feedback form. This method provides us with a great deal of information about how your computer interacts with DreamBox, and it’s also the best method for receiving assistance.

You can also provide feedback on your child’s overall experience with DreamBox Learning. The “Send Your Feedback” button is great for this, but you can also submit general feedback at Support Request form.

What will DreamBox Learning do with my feedback?

We will read each and every feedback form in detail and to the best of our ability make the appropriate improvements to our product. If we have further questions about your comments, we will contact you to discuss them.

How do I contact DreamBox Learning?

There are 3 ways to contact us:

1. The best way to get Client Care help is to use the Support request form. If you want us to contact you about your feedback, simply click that option.
2. Email us at support@dreambox.com.
3. Call our Client Care team at 425-646-8080, or toll free at 877-451-7845 (weekdays, 7am to 5pm, Pacific Time).

Be sure to include your name, the email address on your account, and any information that will help us locate your account and/or diagnose the issue you are experiencing.

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