Geoboard, by MLC vs Owlet
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Geoboard, by MLC
Explore mathematical concepts like perimeter, area, and fractions by stretching virtual bands around pegs to form shapes. This open-ended educational tool is ideal for elementary and middle school learners, offering multiple board types and drawing tools for interactive discovery.
- Create line segments and polygons
- Multiple board types (square, rectangular, circular)
- Shape duplication and transformation
- Fill shapes with transparent color
- Display grid lines with numbering
- Drawing and annotation tools
- Save and share work
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Geoboard is a tool for exploring a variety of mathematical topics introduced in the elementary and middle grades. Learners stretch bands around the pegs to form line segments and polygons and make discoveries about perimeter, area, angles, congruence, fractions, and more. This virtual version of the manipulative is an open-ended educational tool, ideal for elementary classrooms and other learning environments. FEATURES • Create line segments and polygons by stretching bands around the Geoboard’s pegs. • Choose from 8 different band colors. • Fill individual shapes with a transparent color, or use the Fill All button to toggle all the bands between filled and unfilled. • Switch between the standard 25-peg square board, a rectangular board with 150 pegs, or a circular board with 13 pegs. The circular board enables explorations with angles, fractions, and time measurement. • Duplicate shapes then move, rotate, or flip them to explore symmetry and congruency. • Change the color of selected bands. • Display grid lines with or without numbering to more easily calculate area and identify shape locations. •Hide and reveal work with resizable covers to create your own problems and model strategies. • Use the drawing tools to annotate work and show understanding. • Add equations, expressions, and descriptions with the math text and writing tools. • Share your work by saving an image or providing a share code to others. MORE APPS For more Geoboard resources and other apps, visit:www.mathlearningcenter.org/apps LEARN MORE To learn about Bridges in Mathematics, an elementary curriculum that employs visual models such as the geoboard, please visit: www.mathlearningcenter.org/bridges/overview ABOUT US This app is brought to you by The Math Learning Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to K-12 math education since 1976. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Geoboard app was made possible by a generous donation from Dr. David Moursund. This app was crafted by Clarity Innovations. We help improve teaching and learning by creating solutions that match promising technologies with the needs of education. Visit us at: www.clarity-innovations.com
Owlet
This app uses a physical manipulative to teach arithmetic operations. Students model addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division using colored lights on a board, with the app reflecting their work in real-time. It offers various modes for exploration, problem-solving, and creation.
- Model arithmetic operations with colored lights
- Real-time app and board synchronization
- Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division modes
- Explore, Make, Solve, Find, and Create activities
- Supports missing number problems
- Create custom arithmetic problems
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Owlet: GlowGrid is one of a series of apps that use the Owlet GlowBoard manipulative. The specific focus of GlowGrid is using the GlowBoard to understand arithmetic operations like addition and subtraction. Students turn the dials on the GlowBoard to model arithmetic operations with the colored lights. The GlowGrid app communicates in real time with the GlowBoard, so the app reflects student work with the GlowBoard. GlowGrid has five modes for five arithmetic operations: Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, and Division with Remainders. Each operation has five different activities. - Explore: Students turn the dials to model arithmetic equations on the GlowBoard. The tablet shows the students the equation that they are modeling. - Make: The app challenges students to use the operation to make a target number in different ways, i.e. Make 11 in 9 different ways. - Solve: The app challenges students to solve arithmetic problems with the GlowBoard. - Find: The app challenges students to solve missing number problems with the GlowBoard. - Create: Students can create their own problem and use the GlowBoard to demonstrate the solution.
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Owlet at 5.0 against Geoboard, by MLC's 3.8. Owlet also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 39 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). Geoboard, by MLC's advantage is ratings volume (20 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Owlet holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Geoboard, by MLC has 20 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Geoboard, by MLC ships an update every 39 months, Owlet every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.
| Parameter | Geoboard, by MLC | Owlet |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (20 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 20 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 39 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 124 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Math Learning Center | BirdBrain Technologies LLC |
Customer experience
Geoboard, by MLC
Owlet
In-app purchases
Geoboard, by MLC
No in-app purchases
Owlet
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Geoboard, by MLC free?
Is Owlet free?
Which has better reviews, Geoboard, by MLC or Owlet?
Do Geoboard, by MLC or Owlet have ads?
Which is updated more often, Geoboard, by MLC or Owlet?
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