Using math teaching tools online is an excellent way to help students engage with their learning. Many of these resources are free, making them accessible to students at all levels and stages in their education.
While some focus on college prep, others provide a range of real-life problem-solving and test practice. They also often make learning relevant to student interests and career goals.
Cuethink
Cuethink is a math teaching tool that helps students develop their problem-solving skills. It combines video vignettes called “thinklets” with scaffolds and rubrics to give students practice in systematic problem-solving and reading for understanding.
Teachers can also embed Cuethink into their existing classroom routines. The platform is based on a methodology that draws on the work of mathematician George Polya.
It breaks the problem-solving process into four phases: Understand, Plan, Solve and Review. This enables students to freely move through the stages.
The platform also allows students to record videos of their solutions. This allows them to demonstrate their reasoning and show how they solved the problem.
It also promotes peer collaboration as students comment on each other’s thinking and provide feedback using specific sentence stems. This gives students a chance to build their collaborative skills and learn from each other’s successes as well as their mistakes.
Shapes 3D
Shapes 3D is a great app to use in Key Stage 3. It’s perfect for students to understand geometry as it has a range of different shapes, including prisms, pyramids and Platonic solids.
The app lets pupils pick and choose from up to 27 unique shapes and unfold them into different net combinations. The app also has an option to highlight the vertices and edges of a prism or colour selected elements of a pyramid.
Children will be able to explore these shapes by themselves, or with the help of a teacher. The app is easy to navigate and uses simple gesture control to zoom and rotate shapes in any direction.
Another great way to introduce students to 3D shapes is by building them with modelling materials. For example, you can have them construct a mini house with cardboard and glue.
Virtual Nerd
With over 1,500 videos spanning topics from Pre-Algebra through Algebra 2 and Trigonometry, Virtual Nerd is a powerful resource for students. Whether they’re taking math in middle or high school, on the SAT or ACT, this app has a wide range of videos to help them understand concepts.
The patent-pending tutorial system presented by Virtual Nerd anticipates questions and enables learners to drill down with ease. It provides in-context information, hints and links to supporting tutorials, synchronized with videos, each 3 to 7 minutes long.
Each video is designed to provide a step-by-step review of the listed concept with a teacher lecturing and writing on a whiteboard. Users can search for tutorials by topic, Common Core standard or by textbook from the Pearson Mathematics Programs.
The unique tutorial system also enables students to customize the level of depth and detail they see. They can start at the same point and take their own path through the material in order to get what they need, or they can branch out and review two or three tutorials that cover supporting concepts.
Pen Tablet
Pen Tablets are a good option for teachers who want a device that works well for writing and drawing. They’re typically less expensive than tablets with built-in screens, and they offer a more comfortable writing experience.
One of the most popular writing tablets on the market is the Wacom Intuos. It comes in two sizes, small and medium, and is lightweight at under a pound.
The small size is perfect for math lessons that involve simple equations or minimal annotations, while the medium size is better if you do more illustrations and art.
This digital writing pad is one of the best digital writing pads for online teaching because it has a large writing area and several shortcut buttons to speed up your work. It also has a great design that makes it easy to carry around, even when you’re on the go.
