Five great tools for math teachers
July 23, 2009
BY BILL FERRIS
Some kids love math. Some see it as a form of torture. Most are somewhere in between. If you’d like to reach out to students in the last two groups, consider using these five tools in class some time to help bridge the gap. I don’t teach math, but if I was still a student, these five would get me excited about math class.
WolframAlpha
Want to know the answer to just about anything? WolframAlpha is the world’s first computational knowledge engine. Imagine if you combined a graphing calculator with a librarian, that’s kinda what Wolfram Alpha would be like. It’ll answer all sorts of questions, and not just the mathematical variety. The nicest part is that you can phrase your questions in the form of questions. Yeah, that’s right, actual questions, like “What is the square root of pi?” or “What is fourteen percent of 50,000?” It’ll graph, it’ll solve equations, it’ll even tell you the meaning of life.
How to make your own slide rule
On the other end of the technology spectrum from WolframAlpha, this simple project from the U. of Montana shows you how to make your own circular slide rule. The slide rule may seem antiquated by today’s standards, but if it was reliable enough for astronauts to take into space, it can surely handle an day or two of trigonometry class.
SensibleUnits
Having trouble picturing what a 40-acre farm looks like? How heavy is a ton? It’s a little easier to appreciate just how big each of those measurements are when you know they equal 30 football fields or 5 female lions, respectively. SensibleUnits puts measurements into the context of objects you can picture easily, so when someone tells you their car gets 40 rods to the hogshead, you’ll know what they’re talking about.
Simpsons Math
Okay, I admit it. I’m a total Simpsons geek (see the last sentence of the above paragraph). I’ve loved the show since I was a kid. So I wonder, what do the people behind The Simpsons geek out on? Math, apparently. It turns out that some of the show’s staff have math degrees. Simpsons Math points out the venerable cartoon’s uses of mathematics over the years. Using The Simpsons as a frame of reference might be enough to get your non-mathematically inclined students excited about arithmetic.
EquationSheet.com
You don’t need me to tell you there are a lot of equations for mathematicians to keep track of. EquationSheet.com lets you or your students put the most useful mathematical and scientific formulas into one easy location, perfect for homework or for studying for the big test. Just be careful these study guides don’t turn into cheat sheets.
What’s your favorite tool or trick to use in math class? Do you know of a nifty website, or is there a cool non-tech project you’d like to share with the rest of the class? Sound off in the comments.
Photo credit: pauladamsmith on Flickr.
