What online tools do you use to teach mathematics? Are there any online word problems that students can solve? What about math games? Would students enjoy a tutoring service where they can do math exercises that they missed in school? Check out this post to discover the best math tools for teachers and learners!
Curiosity is what keeps us curious. We keep learning new things and expanding our knowledge base to the horizon. But not all of us have a background in science or studied different subjects at the college. So, how to get those math online tools for free if we are unable to pay for them?
VmathLive
VmathLive features online mathematics competitions for students in grades K-8. This is a paid product.
The offering features four primary components:
- An “Intelligent Teacher Dashboard” area that tracks student performance, including activity metrics, class progress for goals and milestones, and alerts for students who are struggling.
- A “Learn” component allowing students to progress at their own pace, through questions from 334 math topics.
- A “Master” component that quizzes students on what they have learned.
- A “Play” component with real-time competitions from students across the United States.
VmathLive costs $10 per student or $200 per class (up to 25 students), according to the company’s product page at the time of publication.
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/.
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.
IXL
While IXL is a subscription-based learning site, it does offer free daily math practice problems. Students can complete ten free questions (in each subject) per day and grow their math skills. The subscription membership includes unlimited practice questions, analytics, certificates, and personalized skill recommendations.
What teachers love: If a student gets a problem incorrect, the program shows all the steps to complete the problem so they can see where they went wrong and learn from their mistakes.
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.
Studygeek
Mathematical vocabulary is fundamental to understanding math. Study Geek is a great learning tool that has an alphabetical glossary of thousands of math vocabulary words. There is also a selection of informative videos that cover everything from geometry to algebra. The games aim is to test math vocabulary retention, and students will enjoy playing a game and learning at the same time.
Academy of Math
Aimed at children struggling with math in school, Academy of Math is a comprehensive tool that helps students get results. Videos and ongoing assessments tools put students in the driver’s seat of their own education. There are various topics to choose from, and educators can implement the resources on this platform into their teaching.
Dragon Box
This learner-based approach to math claims that 83% of children learn the basics of algebra in an hour. Through interactive games and explanations, students as young as five are introduced to algebra and how variables work. Students have no idea they are engaging with academic content, and the graphics are colorful and cute.
GetTheMath
The aim of this tool is to relate algebra to the real world. Through topics like “Math in Music” and “Math in Fashion,” students can learn how math is an integral part of everyday life. There are videos, exercises and other ways that students can engage with algebra in its real world setting. GetTheMath is an excellent way to combine theory with application.
Math is Fun
Just as the name implies, Math is Fun aims to make math enjoyable and entertaining. The site uses puzzles, games, quizzes, worksheets, and a forum to help guide students through their learning.
What teachers love: The problems and solutions are all explained in simple language, making it easier for students to learn on their own without the necessity of an adult or teacher to “translate.”
Wolfram MathWorld
MathWorld is a free online resource for everything related to mathematics. The site includes interactive GIFs and demonstrations, downloadable notebooks, and “capsule summaries” for various math terms. Students can explore more than 13,000 entries to strengthen their math foundation and build up their understanding.
What teachers love: The site allows older and more advanced students to really dig deep into mathematics, with topics and articles in several different math-related subjects for a variety of background and ability levels.
Art of Problem Solving
With the Art of Problem Solving, students have three different avenues to get help and resources related to math. The Online School is a gateway for students to enroll in additional math classes and AoPS’ Bookstore offers challenging, in-depth textbooks so students can further explore the subject.
What teachers love: Students can challenge themselves to dig deeper into the math subjects they find fascinating through moderated message boards, games, and articles.
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
Which One Doesn’t Belong? (pre-K–grade 12)
A similar site, showcases four shapes, numbers, or graphs and asks students to describe which one doesn’t belong, using math vocabulary. “This is great for opening a synchronous discussion, as it is considered a low-floor, high-ceiling task,” says Joseph Manfre, a math specialist for the Hawaii Department of Education. High school math teacher Mary Bourassa has her calculus students identify reasons why each graph in a set of four doesn’t belong by indicating graph characteristics like asymptotes and non-differentiable points, and later has her students create their own WODB sets.
Conclusion:
With online classes and online tutoring becoming so popular, you’d better be prepared. Thankfully, there are plenty of math tools out there to help you study or to just help you delve deeper into the wonderful world of mathematics (and I don’t mean “mathematics and me are like a ship and a bottle of rum” bad).