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The Learning Edge lets students prep for SAT via iPhone app

The Learning Edge is helping students prepare and compete with fellow peers for the SAT via an iPhone application.

The SAT Ladder app lets users compete anonymously against other students and ranks them based on the results of the head-to-head matches. Users can compete in challenges drawn from the SAT critical reading, mathematics and writing sections.

?The current generation of high school students is all about mobile devices,? said Mark Anestis, founder/director of the Learning Edge, Hamden, CT.

?Smart phones are everywhere,? he said. ?If they can practice for the test on their phone, they will practice for their test more ? and in my experience, doing well on this exam is all about embracing the process and practicing. 

?One of the ultimate goals I have for my students is to try and make the learning experience fun,? he said. ?I try to teach my students to approach the SAT as if it were a game.

?Treating it like a game helps to decrease the anxiety that is often associated with the SAT and also helps students identify and focus on the strategies that will best allow them to achieve their personal goals.?

Game on
The app consists of two game modes ? solo mode and head-to-head mode.

Additionally, there is a free lite version, as well as a full one.

The lite version lets users access the solo mode and engage in five-round matches.

The full version features both modes and lets students engage in matches against chosen or randomly selected competitors.

Students can compete with peers via the app

?This app is different from all the other SAT apps currently on the market ? it's the only one that allows you to face off against your peers and battle head-to-head as you actually study,? Mr. Anestis said.

?I've found that the head-to-head format gets the competitive juices flowing and really pushes students to play more games,? he said. ?There is the pride element, too ? everyone wants to get to the top of the Ladder.

?The ultimate benefit for users who climb to the top of the Ladder is that their SAT scores will climb with them.?

Mobile questions
As students play more games, they will be exposed to more SAT questions.

Students who look over the explanations to the questions ? which they can get via a subscription on the Web site ? will learn both how to categorize and how to solve the questions they see so that if they encounter a similar question again in the future, they will be better prepared to get that question right the second time around.

?Learning from one?s mistakes is crucial to success on the SAT,? Mr. Anestis said. ?One of the most valuable features of this app is that the practice questions are very close approximations of what students will encounter on the real thing.

?A great deal of care and effort was put into crafting questions that are appropriate both intellectually and conceptually,? he said. ?The realistic test questions greatly enhance the quality of the app.?