Big Screen Calculator

If there’s a flaw to the current generation of handheld scientific calculators on the market it’s that they are so small that it’s hard to show students how to use. The teacher either has to crowd around a calculator with a single student or work with a document camera on the big screen for the whole class. There’s a better way. Texas Instruments has just released its PC emulator for its popular line of TI-30XS and TI-24 calculators. It works with PCs and Macs and looks like a cartoon version of the calculator but all the buttons are active and the 4-line screen shows the result. The SmartView emulator costs $87, but is available on a 30-day free trial.

Bringing Numbers to the Big Screen

If showing the difference between a linear equation and a quadratic is stressing you or yourr computer to the point of going back to the chalk board, Autograph 3.2 can help by breathing life into numbers when they’re projected on the big screen. On top of working in six languages, the application can handle 1-d, 2-d and 3-d plots of all equations, shapes and patterns. The program can show the measure of any angle, add images and works well with Word files for writing up lab results. The $150 program can be tried out for 30 days and there are educational discounts available, like the $900 classroom pack.    

Equal Opportunity Math

There’re plenty of digital and online curriculum programs for math, but until now nothing aimed at the special needs of students with disabilities. AbleNet’s Equals is a pre-K through 12-th grade math curriculum for kids with a variety of abilities. The site’s lesson topics range from algebra and geometry to estimating and data analysis, and each area has three levels of instructional strategies for those with a variety of disabilities: mild, moderate or even severe disabilities. 

FREEBEE FRIDAY: Free Help with Math

Need some help getting math students up to speed with the fundamentals of algebra and geometry? Sylvan Learning now has a free service called SchoolMathPrep that can lend a hand to 7th through 12th graders getting up to speed on their math work. The site contains 2,000 videos, 750 structured lessons and a multitude of practice examples. It covers everything from pre-algebra to Geometry. The service is aligned with major textbooks and can be searched based on keyword or concept. It’s all free during school hours for teachers to use once they register.

Math Help is Calling

I knew it was just a matter of time, but you can now use an iPhone or iPod Touch to help study and improve understanding and grades. Pearson and Modality have come up with AlgebraPrep, a program that’s now available on Apple’s App Store. On top of all-day, all-night video tips and practice tests, AlgebraPrep has sections that explain everything from real numbers, inequalities and graphing to exponents, radicals and the ever popular quadratic equation. The program is based on Elayn Martin-Gay’s series of math textbooks and costs $2.99 

 

FREEBEE FRIDAY: Instant Curriculum

Need an updated curriculum but can’t afford new textbooks or high-end digital courses? Don’t freak out because there are hundreds of classroom courses available online for free at Connexions. With everything from classes on the elements of music to Biochemistry, the Connexions courses are thorough and generally written by authoritative authors. A gem is Kerry Felder’s Algebra II curriculum that has just been accepted by the state of California. Just register and download as many of the over 700 classes available as you like and use them to treat specific subjects or build a whole class around them.  

Practice Makes Perfect

Tired of using the same tired math problems?IXL has thousands of online math worksheets for pre-K through sixth grade that cover everything from geometric figures to basic math facts. The problems can be customized to meet student needs and the teacher can get a progress report. It’s free for 30-days and costs $200 for the typical 30-student classroom.

More Math

If figuring out new and creative math assignments and lessons has you down, Key Curriculum Press’s Critical Math can help with a slew of online content. The interactive activities not only help students relate to the assignments but they actually retain it. The service is aligned with state standards, is meant to augment the traditional teaching of Algebra 1 and 2 as well as Geometry courses and comes with lesson plans, worksheets and teacher notes. It will be available in September.

Math Help for those in Need

What math class doesn’t have one or two students that never seem to catch up with the class and are always lagging behind the group. Here’re are two ways to make sure that those in need of a little extra instruction and practice get it and the rest of the class doesn’t get bogged down.

HotMath can help with a service called Catchup Math that seeks to help at-risk math students. The online remediation program starts with a 15-minute quiz to establish what the student’s strengths and weaknesses are, which then moves on to a structured series of reviews and practice problems. There are videos, games and interactive activities to help reinforce the material and drill the student. Catchup Math is for those having trouble in Pre-algebra, Algebra 1 and 2 as well as Geometry. Along the way, teachers get progress reports, scores and an idea of how much time was spent on each topic so they can fine tune the process. Discounted school pricing for the 2009-10 school year starts at $3 per student.

Guaranteach’s Web site lets teachers customize a curriculum for each child based on their abilities and needs. After filling out a 30-question survey, the program identifies what help the student needs and how best to approach the situation. Guaranteach then creates an individualized lesson plan. On top of quizzes, there’s a textbook reference tool and more than 5,000 instructive videos. The service costs $4.95 a month per student. 

Supercharged Calculator

The graphing calculator takes a big step forward for teachers and students with two new sites from calculator maker Texas Instruments that are chock full of customizable lessons, examples and help for the numerophobic. There’s a TI Npsired site for algebra and geometry that are aligned to popular textbooks and state standards and have lots of downloadable assignments and teaching resources. No surprise, the focus is on lesson plans that use the handheld devices to help kids learn about everything from linear functions to transformational geometry.