As a student, you can always identify the math teacher in class. They are the ones tirelessly working on improvements to their system of teaching. The ones trying to make math engaging and interactive for all students in their classroom. Those teachers want to learn ways to integrate technology in their lessons. But there are many online resources that can help them with this task. They can find free online math tools for students just like you. And also neat apps you can use to practice math at home or on your smartphone.
If you love math, but hate your classes, then it’s time to try some of these math teaching software. They are designed to make learning quite fun as well as interactive. You’ll no longer dread your schoolwork – in fact, you will actually enjoy it.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a completely free personalized learning resource with online courses, videos, and exercises. Students can complete daily reviews and keep track of their progress within the platform’s learning dashboard. The math tutorials are categorized by subject and by grade level for easy navigation and utilize specialized content—with the help of organizations like NASA, California Academy of Sciences, and The Museum of Modern Art—to bring the lessons to life.
What teachers love: Practice problems provide hints one step at a time, so students can get help when they’re stuck at a specific point, but don’t necessarily need help with the entire problem. This allows them to work things out for themselves and learn at their own pace.
Grade levels: K-12; secondary
WizIQ
Features:
WizIQ is a cloud-based education platform specifically targeted at tutors and is equipped with a high definition virtualclassroom, an online whiteboard and real time messaging. It also lets tutors create multimedia tests and keep track of their students’performance with course related analytics. It’s particularly popular with GCSE and A Level students, who can access the content created by their tutor via an app.
Price:
Prices start from $20/month and are billed annually.
Restrictions:
Available to use in all countries.
WebEx
Features:
WebEx is a Cisco product designed for meetings and conferences. It has functions which let tutors draw, type, share their desktop screens and add in files, as well as having an online whiteboard. Tutors can also record meetings, which is invaluable if a student is stuck on a topic and wants to replay a lesson. Because Webex is not specifically targeted at tutors, it doesn’t have a graph function and tutors must invite students to each lesson, which can be arduous. On the whole, however, this is a reliable and easy to use teaching tool.
Price:
Starter pack (maximum three people per meeting) –free, Premium 8 –£15/month, Premium 25 –£30/month, Premium 100 – £49/month
Restrictions:
Webex is unavailable in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria.
Desmos
Desmos is a free online graphing calculator that students can use to graph functions, plot data and evaluate equations. The site also includes math examples and even creative art—so students can get the most out of the calculator.
What teachers love: The website and program are extremely user-friendly, with an extensive help center; and with Desmos, families don’t have to worry about purchasing a pricey graphing calculator.
Grade levels: 6-12; secondary
Zoom
Features:
Zoom is a remote conferencing service and has a host of features including video calls, voice calls, screensharing and webinars. Users have praised it for its reliability and its excellent video connection –calls rarely drop out. Like WebEx, it is not specifically designed for tutors, but the quality of the video connection means it well worth using.
Price:
There are a number of price tiers but the “basic”package –which allows users unlimited 1-to-1 meetings and 40 minute group meetings — are free.
Basic –free, Pro — $14.99/month, Business — $19.99/month, Enterprise — $17.99/month
Restrictions:
Zoom cannot be used in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and (temporarily) in the United Arab Emirates.
Zearn
It is (grades 1–5), a free, self-paced, web-based program aligned with Eureka Math—a free pre-K through 12 math curriculum—starts a typical lesson with fun warm-up activities, like adding up how many apples a cartoon fox eats, to engage students. As they work through the program, students complete timed arithmetic problems, watch instructional videos on new concepts, and solve practice problems. Shannon McGrath, an instructional coach in Western Springs, Illinois, says that Zearn is good “high-level, conceptual practice” and gives good feedback for both teachers and students, but can sometimes progress too slowly for kids who master concepts quickly.
Prodigy (grades 1–8)
A free game-based website (also available as an app for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Android). Prodigy is loved by kids, but less so by educators because it is more play based. Brittney Paige, a fifth-grade teacher in Seattle, says that even though it is more of a game, she likes that it automatically targets math concepts that students struggled with in its preassessment and tracks how much progress they make on target areas. Most teachers offer Prodigy as an option for students if they finish an assignment early.
Happy Numbers (pre-K–grade 5)
A subscription-based website ($14.50 per student or $1,450 per site for first-time schools) that breaks down mathematical equations to help students build understanding of higher-order math concepts. To use it, students transform into a dinosaur character and solve math problems to hatch dinosaur eggs. Tabrizi said that the website is helpful, but she recommends using it in moderation: It can feel tedious for students if they practice longer than 10 minutes a day.
BitPaper
This is one of the most popular whiteboards for teaching on the internet right now. BitPaper has a lot of useful features and an intuitive user interface for both the teacher and the students.
Useful features for teachers:
- Online Chat
- Audio and Video Chat
- Screen sharing
- Drag and Drop
- Auto Saving
- Data import and export
- Multi-User
- Permanent Web Link (URL)
- Supports Multiple File Formats
- Limited Feature Free Usage
Online Chat
The ability of a student to chat using a shared chat means the students can ask questions while the teacher is presenting their new topic or subject. It also allows the teacher to share related links to content.
Audio and Video Chat
The use of Audio and Video chat means that the nonverbal communication that normally is available in the classroom can come across to the online teaching environment. The ability to hear the tone and inflection of the student’s voice will let the teacher know if the student really understood. The use of video chat means the teacher can read the student’s body language for the same reasons.
Screen Sharing
The ability to share your whole screen in a Web Conference style way means that you can show students absolutely anything you can see on your own computer. You can demo software packages and show students how to complete any task on their own computer with your computer.
Drag and Drop
Rather than having to click on a button and go searching for a file on your computer using a windows file browser, it is so much simpler to be able to drag and drop directly onto your whiteboard. It saves time and is more intuitive.
Autosave
When you are teaching a class, you are juggling heaps of things and even more so in an online class where there is also technology to deal with. The Autosave feature means the whiteboard is saved periodically so that you do not lose your work and have one less thing to worry about.
Data Import and Export
Mathematics extensively uses data sets for higher math problems and the ability to import and export this data means you don’t have to recreate it in the whiteboard. It also means you can base your mathematics on real data sets. Once you have changed that data during the class you can then export the results by downloading them to your computer or to student computers.
Multi-User
This means that the teacher can present, and the students can also be allowed to have access as well in a tutorial style delivery to show understanding. This increases engagement for the students and helps the teacher clarify topics.
Permanent Web Link (URL)
The ability to have a permanent web page link or URL (Universal Resource Locator) means that once the student knows the link they can bookmark. This means it is easy for them to attend the next class and share with other students.
Supports Multiple File Formats
The ability to support multiple file formats means that you don’t have to convert documents for use with the whiteboard. Supported file formats are:
- Images (JPG, BMP, GIF, PNG)
- Word Documents
- Adobe PDF Documents
- And more.
Limited Feature Free Usage
BitPaper is an online whiteboard software solution that can be used for free. However, the free plan limits the use of certain functions. For example, you cannot start calls and you can only submit one paper per month.
Full pricing is available at https://bitpaper.io/pricing/.
Scribblar
Features:
Scribblar resembles Bitpaper in that it is a virtual whiteboard. It also offers chat and audio, so tutors don’t have to use two pieces of software at once. A number of prestigious teaching establishments, such as the University of Cambridge and Harvard University use it, but it is also suitable for younger students. Unlike Bitpaper, however, it is not free.
Price:
Starter – $14/month, Standard – $24/month, Premium – $39/month, Pro – $69/month
Restrictions:
Available to use in all countries.
MyTutoring
Features:
MyTutoring is an online tutoring solution platform. It comes with an interactive whiteboard, audio and video communication, instant messaging and a document and screen sharing feature. Unlike a lot of online maths tutor software, it lets tutors choose colours and design a logo, so it is more attractive and fun for young students. Whether someone is teaching one student or multiple students at a time, MyTutoring is a great place to do it. However, compared to much of the software on offer, it costs a lot per month to use.
Price:
$29/month for private tutors.
Restrictions:
Available to use in all countries.
Conclusion:
There are a ton of ways to learn about math tools for students, and for teachers. This article is going to highlight the best websites and apps for teaching math in a classroom or from the comforts of your home. If you’re looking for a place to start your search, this article will give you some great ideas about what tools to look at when learning about free online math tools for students and teachers.