Desmos- An Excellent Tool for Math Teachers

June, 2015
Desmos is a good platform for math teachers and students. Desmos is a graphing calculator that allows you to easily plot functions, create tables, add sliders, animate graphs and many more. Some of the features it provides to users include:

"Graphing:
 Plot polar, cartesian, or parametric graphs. There’s no limit to how many expressions you can graph at one time - and you don’t even need to enter expressions in y= form!

Sliders:
 Adjust values interactively to build intuition, or animate any parameter to visualize its effect on the graph

Tables:
 Input and plot data, or create an input-output table for any function

Statistics:
 Find best-fit lines, parabolas, and more.

Zooming:
 Scale the axes independently or at the same time with the pinch of two fingers, or edit the window size manually to get the perfect window.

Points of Interest:
Touch a curve to show maximums, minimums, and points of intersection. Tap the gray points of interest to see their coordinates. Hold and drag along a curve to see the coordinates change under your finger.

Scientific Calculator:
 Just type in any equation you want to solve and Desmos will show you the answer. It can handle square roots, logs, absolute value, and more.

Inequalities: 
Plot cartesian and polar inequalities"

Watch this video to learn more about Desmos

Desmos is available on Apple Store, Google Play and on the Web.

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5 New Math Websites for Teachers

May 22, 2015
Today we have curated for you this list featuring some new math websites. These are recommendations we have received in the mail in the last few weeks but we never had time to review them in separate posts. We invite you to check them out and share with us what you think of them.

1- Math is Fun

Math Is Fun is a website that offers some great math resources for k-12 students and teachers. These resources include worksheets, games, exercises, activities, lesson ideas and many more.

2- Math Playground

“Math Playground is a popular learning site filled with math games, logic puzzles, step-by-step instructional videos, math practice, and a variety of problem solving activities. A favorite of parents and teachers, Math Playground provides a very safe place for kids to learn and explore math concepts online at their own pace.”

3- Illuminations

Illuminations is a project designed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and supported by the Verizon Foundation. It “access to quality standards-based resources for teaching and learning mathematics, including interactive tools for students and instructional support for teachers.”

4- MathCrunch

MathCrunch is a fast way to get help with math.”Get instant math help on your phone. Submit a problem, instantly connect with an experienced tutor, reach a solution and most importantly, learn.”

5- Common Core 4 Kids

Common Core 4 Kids is a website that “math videos and quizzes that teach the basic math concepts that children need to know to get a strong foundation in math. The math videos not only helps students get a strong understanding of the concepts but also helps teachers and parents to assist in the learning effort.”

6-  Cool Math

This is one of the oldest math platforms out there. It was founded around 1997 and provides a wide variety of interesting math resources and materials. For those of you not yet familiar with site, Cool Math has three websites:

• Coolmath.com

 "Coolmath.com offers "math for ages 13-100" -- explanations that are easy to grasp on topics like algebra, pre-calculus and more."

• Coolmath4Kids

"For 12 and under users, Coolmath4Kids is an amusement park of math, games, and more, designed to teach math and make it FUN."

• Coolmath-Games

"This is {a } brain-training site, for everyone, where logic & thinking meets fun & games. These games have no violence, no empty action, just a lot of challenges that will make you forget you're getting a mental workout!"

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Awesome Interactive Simulations for Learning Math and Science

April 19, 2015
PhET is a very good platform that offers free interactive simulations to help  students develop a an informed understanding of a variety of phenomena covering science, physics and math.  These simulations come to life via the use of graphics, interactive controls, sliders and radio buttons. Students can easily manipulate its intuitive interface and even get animated feedback and responses as they navigate their way through simulations.

All of the simulations provided by PhET are free to use and can be easily  integrated in your classroom instruction. To be able to access them you need to make sure your browser runs Flash and Java because all of these interactive simulations are written in Java and Flash.

Watch this video to learn more about PhET interactive simulations.

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A Wonderful Math Website for Students

April, 2015

MathGames provides 1200 different ways to practice math, ranging from Pre-K all the way to the 8th grade. Parents and Teachers get instant feedback on their students progress and can decide which method is best used to reach their students - interactive questions or fun games powered by the very same content. Whatever works best to keep students engaged and focused on practicing math.

MathGames works on smartphones, tablets, desktops and in the last 12 months 2500 new schools have started using MathGames.com in their classrooms, reaching over 400,000 students. All of the content on the website is 100% free.

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Geogebra- An Excellent Platform for Math and Science Teachers

March, 2015
Geogebra is an excellent platform that provides a wide range of materials and resources on everything related to mathematics and science.Materials featured in this website are various and work for all levels of education. Geogebra brings together geometry, algebra, spreadsheets, graphing, statistics and calculus in one easy-to-use package.

Some of the materials you can access and use with your students from Geogebra include worksheets, books, tools, links, and spreadsheet data files. Geogebra is also a powerful community that hosts millions of users brought together by their love for STEM subjects. You can join discussions, rate materials, comment on what others share and even upload your own materials to share with others. Geogebra is a free open source software freely available for non-commercial users.

Some of the features Geogebra provides for its users include:

* Free to use software for learning, teaching and evaluation
* Fully interactive, easy-to-use interface with many powerful features
* Access to an ever-expanding pool of resources at tube.geogebra.org
* Available in many languages
* A fun way to really see and experience mathematics and science
* Adaptable to any curriculum or project
* Used by millions of people around the world
*Geogebra works across different platforms

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New Tools to Reinforce Students Mathematical Skills

March, 2015
Looking for additional engaging ways to help your students understand mathematical concepts and reinforce their skills? Here are some teacher-tested tools that can help, from calculators to study groups to fun games.

Mathtopia 

Addictive like Candy Crush, but nutritious Math Facts and assessments for the brain.

Base Ten BINGO 

Play a bingo game using base ten blocks as virtual manipulatives.

Scalar 

A calculator that saves all of your past calculations on a virtual piece of paper.

Jasymchat 

Chat with classmates and share mathematical equations represented accurately.

NumberShire 

 A series of math games set in an animated whimsical Renaissance-style kingdom.


Want more? Check out these collections of tools.

Math Manipulatives/Games 

This one is curated by associate professor Brandi Leming.

Free Math Apps - All Grades 

This one is curated by media paraprofessional Natalie Thomas.

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