Group items tagged

Lana Macdonald Aug 31, 2010 Overview: This site is set up to teach students how to do basic mathematical problems, such as algebra and beginning calculus. The audience is focused on older students. The content of this website makes up for the design. The site may not look pretty, but information is far more valuable to the student. Content: The content of the page is clear that it is an aid in learning some basic mathematical problems for students. The interaction is better than some sites in that it gives a problem, but the user has to click on "answer" for the problem to be solved. This allows the user to try to work the problem out by themselves before they are given the answer. The site also gives a fair number of examples to help the student. There is a short bio of the author which allows for author qualification, and facilitates finding the contact information. The author of the site has also offered his time to answer mathematical questions to aid in the students learning. The site updated frequently, and all links are working properly. Design: This site is not very esthetically pleasing; conversely the graphics are helpful and clear. However, for the most part the site is easy to work with the exception of the organization linked sites. The placement of the linked sites makes the page a little confusing, and hard to move around. Also the contact page was not easy to reach

Nicole Sutton 9/5/11 Overview: The Mathematics Lessons that are fun website is a simple website that provides math lessons and activities. The age range the website is extremely unclear. The website is only for math and no other subject and I find the home page rather confusing. The author of the website is very clear however the website looks very jumbled and not professional. The website is unclear in many areas. Content: The Mathematics Lessons that are fun website contains a jumbled set of boxes that are links to games and lessons for math. The quality of the website is not very helpful. I find it hard to find the information reliable because there is an author but no title or reason she is an expert. There is not a list of people involved and there is no clear purpose of the website given. There does not seem to be a sponsor nor any way to contact the owner of the website. There are no other resources given on the website. My overall impression with the content of the site was that is it very poor and unreliable. Design: The Mathematics Lessons that are fun website has an attractive but simple lay out, however is over powered by the confusion of the confusing links. You are not sure where to go upon the arrival of the home page. The copy write is given at the bottom of the page however it is not current which gives the impression that the site has not been edited in a long time. The use of multimedia is confusing there are random graphics and almost annoying colors everywhere. The information including grade level is not clear and the website does not contain easy to navigate links. The website is not a very reliable one and not one I would use for my classroom.

Regene DePiero 9/5/2011 Overview: The purpose of this site is to provide resources for math teachers.  It provides publications, teaching standards, and classroom resources.  It offers a long list of helpful tips for math teachers as well as project and lesson ideas. It is an easy to use site with a clean design layout and provides lots of relevant information. Content: The site offers complete, well organized, and easy to understand information.  Although lacking in any real interactive elements, it fulfills its intended purpose to serve as a comprehensive resource for math teachers.  The content seems to be updated frequently although no revision date could be seen aside from the copyright notice.  The sponsor of the site is clearly listed and links to other relevant sites and resources are provided.  Information appears to be accurate, although no specific author is credited. Design: The layout is simple and easy to navigate.  The table of contents is clearly listed to the left  and is accessible from any area on the site. A similar layout is used throughout the site and links are well organized.  Contact information is easy to find.  The site is lacking in multimedia elements but the links provided bring you to more interactive sites.  There is definitely enough information provided her that makes this site useful to any math teacher or future math teacher.

Casey KarchOctober 5, 2012Overview: The purpose of the Math Drills website is to provide a mathematics tool to instructors and parents through worksheets. They provide worksheets for elementary students to complete in grades one through six, ranging from just about anything they will need to learn to move through the district channels. Answer keys are provided as well. The intended audience is parents and teachers, helping to develop the children. The resources available to this site are links to worksheets, a tour of the website, and a link to contact the teachers and technicians that worked on the site. My impression is that it can be extremely useful for instructors and parents needing to get their students extra practice in mathematics. It is not an overwhelmingly designed site, so it is nice to navigate. Everything is in order and easy to understand. Content: The content in this site is exceptional. The main downfalls of it are the lack of hard information and varying information. It only contains worksheets, not explanations of the material. Other then that, it does not contain a date of last revision. On the plus side, the first look and information quality are excellent. The content will be very useful for teachers and parents, saving a lot of time. Design: Design is not very eye catching, but all the information is clearly labeled and easy to access. Home page is a nice touch, not too extravagant but not too boring. The use of multimedia, browser compatibility, and content presentation all appeal to multiple ages, making it an excellent source. Also, it contains an excellent link to find out further information by contacting the makers.

Posted by Erika Jeffs on 1/24/2010 Overview: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is website that provides updates on assessment, curriculum, and instruction for educators. The organization also has an impact on the policymakers of education. The NCTM provides updates for teachers on new research that is being conducted related to teaching mathematics. The site also provides scholarly journals and essays that teachers can purchase. Also, for an annual fee, individuals can become members of the NCTM. Content: It is evident that this site specifically for teachers and math professionals, but to fully understand the content of the website, you must read the mission statement. The authors and creators credentials are available as well as contact information. The content is updated frequently and dates are provided for each individual section that has been changed. The site has a lot of useful available material, but there's a lot of options each page making it difficult to find specific information. For teachers looking for the latest updates, this site is useful, but not appropriate for students. The links are all in working order and the advertisements are all from the NCTM. Design: The NCTM homepage is cluttered and difficult to navigate. There are clearly labeled tabs for navigation, but there is a lot of information on each page. Because of all the information, there seems to be no room for graphics or interactive tools. This site appears to have some importance in the math community, but it was very difficult to use.

On math playground there are a variety of different math ideas and concept that students can practice through online math games. This website includes games for students from kindergarten through seventh grade as well as topics like algebra, geometry, and precalculus. The website is designed very well and looks welcoming when you log on. There are pictures of some of the different games offered by the site that look fun and can draw attention to students using the site. One strength from the website is that it covers a vast majority of mathematical skills that are taught and practiced throughout elementary school. Although a weakness this site has is that they group different mathematical ideas together by grade, when even though we like to think that every fourth grader across the country are learning the same concepts, the likelihood of that being true is very low.

Scott Chanthongthip on January 23, 2010 Overview: National Library of Virtual Manipulatives is a free website offered online to help teachers us visual aids to teach mathematics. The content is from the Utah State University and is edited by the university. Content is easy to navigate and understand because it focuses on students from K-12. Content: The National Teachers Council of Mathematics five content standards are listed vertically in a grid, while the grades for each of the standards are listed across the top of the grid. Navigation based on the content standard and grade level appropriateness is accessible because of this organization. Teachers just need to find the content standard and line it up with the appropriate grade level. Although the site has a version that it offers to schools many of the virtual manipulatives are easy to use as long as one's computer has JAVA capabilities. There are four different language options for the different virtual manipulatives, so it makes it easy to use in bilingual settings (English, Spanish, French, and Chinese). The main reason for this website is to offer teachers with computer technology to teach manipulation of different math areas when the physical manipulatives are not available. Teachers can also use the site to help explain concept clarity of hard to understand math functions. Design: The initial web page offers a grid of math standards and grade levels from K-12. Teachers can click on the appropriate link and it will lead them to more options on different subjects in the content areas. None of the links are broken for the virtual manipulatives. Design of the website is updated often by the USU. NLVM also allows users to select from four different languages.

Kaci Philpot Overview: The purpose of this site is to provide teachers and students with fun, interactive Math manipulatives online, because manipulatives help students to see visual relationships in Math and help to actively engage students. The website has the following standards for math education; numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis & probability. Each standard has four different age groups to choose from: pre-k through 2, 3 through 5, 6 through 8, and 9 through 12. This website is one of the very few educational websites I have found that is free and clear or useless information and clutter. Content Summary: This website content quality is very high; it has an index chart on the homepage with grade levels and math standards. Each box on the chart is linked to a page of full of various virtual Math manipulatives. If you navigate to the credits page you can see who is in charge of creating what, however it does not provide information about or credibility of those individuals. It also does not have revision dates. But the site is well organized and has very rich content. The manipulatives are an excellent way to get students excited about learning math. Total yeses: 19 Total no's: 2 Total N/A: 3 Design Summary: The homepage of this site is very easy to navigate and understand, but it does not have very strong eye appeal at all. But the manipulatives are very useful and all have clear directions if necessary and all internal and external links work properly. It does not appear to have any outdated content, if Mathematics can even be outdated. My favorite link on this website is the link to the Spanish page. This would be very useful for teachers with ESL students; it helps to ease the language barrier. Total yeses: 22 Total no's: 2 Total N/A: 0

Chelsey Lynch 1/31/11 * Overview: This website is for the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. The intended audience of this site is teachers, and students of all ages. The available resources are a wide array of virtual math manipulatives. This website is extremely useful to teachers because it provides children with a firm grasp on concepts by letting them learn directly through physical objects that enable students to visualize relationships and applications. * Design: This website is attractive and very easy to navigate. The main page of the website contains a large grid system which serves as a menu for the math content area and grade level. All information to contact the sites provider is given, and all the information is current. The instructions for the manipulatives are very easy to follow and the site even provides examples when necessary. This site has adequate graphics, though the music and sounds in games is a little dated and sometimes annoying. * Content: The authors of this site appear to be highly education and experts in this field. The purpose of this site is very clear and the content achieves the intended purpose effectively. This site is extremely interactive, well organized, and easy to navigate. I have personally used this site numerous times and love it. The only things I wish this site contained more of are links to websites that are similar to this or had further information.

Kathryn Slothower September 11, 2011 Overview: The purpose of this website is to provide the knowledge and practice to students in math. The website breaks the skills into different sections which is very helpful however the information that they provide within each topic is not very detailed. The website is more designed for a brush up on the skill rather than learning the math skill. The website has numerous topics in math that students can use. The website has also broke the math subjects into the grade levels for students to explore the website through the grade that they choose. My overall impression of the website was okay. Content: At first look of this website the purpose and content are very obvious. There is information right away that tells what the viewer will find within this website. There was no information on the authors so although the information seems correct from my pervious knowledge I do not know if the author is credited. The content on the website is organized fairly well. The content is easy to find. The topics in math are separated however the website also separated the topics by grade level. It felt like this website was very helpful however it would be a website that was used for a brush up of knowledge because the information on the topics does not explain it very well. One of the better parts of the website is the practice that is available to use on each topic. Design: The design of this website is very interesting. On the homepage there is a paragraph about the purpose of the website and instructions on how to navigate through the website. Although this information is very useful it is the first thing that the viewer sees so the website is not very attractive. There are not a lot of other things on the homepage, which makes the homepage not very busy. There is an index on the left hand side of the page along with the top of the page. Even though there are aspects of the design that I do not like, I think that overall the

AAA Math features a comprehensive set of interactive arithmetic lessons. Unlimited practice is available on each topic which allows thorough mastery of the concepts.

This site is intended for Kindergarten through eighth grade, but is useful for both students and teachers. There is unlimited amounts of practice for various content for the students, but there is also lessons for the teachers. This website is very well designed. It's appealing to the eye and very easy to navigate for yourself. There is also a clear table of contents on the side which makes it easy to switch back and forth from different grade level or curriculum. This website offers a variety of tools for example games, practice problems, quizzes etc. There was also a clear author and sponsor for the site. The only thing I wasn't able to find was a revision date, but the type of math that was covered shouldn't have to be constantly revised. I think this website is very useful and if I end up teaching at the middle school level I will definitely introduce this website to my students and have them use it for practice.

mathematics videso

The Upshot appears in the NYTimes website. Claire C. Miller writes about the rift between women/girls and science and mathematics. The audience for this article is aimed at elementary teachers. It states that biases can unintentionally affect young women into believing that their math skills are below average or not expected. Historically, science breakthroughs and mathematical theories have been postulated by predominately men. Young women are said to not be encouraged to pursue mathematics and science as a career from a young age. Statistically, Information Technology companies hire upwards of 80% of their workforce from males. Women are severely unrepresented. The article ignores past cultural norms that perpetuated this stigma, yet focuses on encouragement to help lead young women into science and technology. The article places most of the effective encouragement on the teacher, not the parents. The article sites a study from 2002 where teachers graded anonymous papers and the results were such that the girls outscored the boys. When the identities were known by the grader, the results favored the males. I would like to understand more on this experiment. While I agree that young women should be encouraged to enter the math and science world, I am not convinced that grading favors males. The article brings up some good areas of focus and I agree that encouragement is important.

Learning math while having fun

Educational Math Games

This site provides math worksheets that are designed to help students learn mathematics.

Aylin Márquez 14 September 2011 Overview: Superteacherworksheets.com provides a variety of mathematics; science and social studies; and reading and writing worksheets designed for teachers. The intended audience for the probability sheets is students from third to sixth grade. The site also provides teaching tools, fun activities, games, and downloadable electronic books. Content: The purpose of the site is informational. The content of this site is well organized and promotes interactivity between students. The intended audience for each internal links varies from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade students. The internal and external links work properly and are related to the students' needs. The site offers sufficient information that is designed to improve teachers' teaching techniques. Even though the information seems current, the site does not provide the latest revision date. Design: The homepage downloads efficiently, is attractive and has strong eye appeal. The user can navigate around the site easily. The worksheets are downloadable PDF files. Some include instructions; some do not. Each graphic on the worksheets serves a clear purpose. Lists of links are well organized and easy to use.

Overview: This website is a really good site for math help. It offers help on many topics of upper level math. The Fact Monster Homework Center also offers information on the history of mathematics and quizzes are available for the student. Games are also available to the student. The site is through Fact Monster and the Homework Center offers help on many other subjects in school.  Content: The Homework Center offers help on numbers, formulas, factors, fractions, measurements and money. The website is mainly geared toward the secondary level of school. Games are also available to the student for help with studying. The author of the webpage is not available but the copyright date and company is. The content is up to date.  Design: The design would appeal to older students. There are colors and the graphics aren't boring. The site is very easy to navigate. The links are big and bold and easy for the viewer to see. 

Overview: S.O.S Mathematics is a free resource for math help for high school, college and adult math students. The website reviews all different math subjects ranging from Algebra to Differential Equations. You can also get help regarding specific topics rather than the subject as a whole. The website has more than 2,500 math pages that are easy- to- understand and helpful. This website also helps with test preparation and offers 'Cyberboard', which is a help forum used to ask specific math questions. Content: The homepage loads quickly but there is an advertisement pop-up along with an advertisement on the top of the homepage. Above the advertisement is a toolbar with links to each subject of math. There is a wide variety of subjects that are available to the student for help. There is a current copyright date on the website and the content appears up-to-date. At the bottom of the homepage is the company's contact information. When clicking on a subject, lists of sub-topics are included under that subject, which makes navigation on the webpage easier for the student. Design: The content of this webpage may be very helpful to students, but the design of the website is a bit bland and boring. The design does not look very up to date. The design of this website could potentially turn away a student looking for help at first glance because it's not appealing to the student. 

Find out what your fifth-grader is learning when it comes to mathematics.

Melissa Mings 11/16/12 Audience: Educators Author: A Professional teacher, Mr. G Purpose: This article is to let educators know some advanced Elementary and Middle school students are using iPads as a tool to extend their normal math lessons into group work that may be beyond other students in their grade level.

Illuminations is a NCTM site that provides and lesson plans interactive manipulatives for mathematics teachers and students

Purplemath.com Reviewed by Betina Turner 8/31/10 ITEC 2360-02 This website is a very helpful site for students to get extra help with 7-12 Math. It has lessons the students can go over and there are also forums and helpful links to other sources that can provide extra help with Secondary Math. This web site is simple to use and it is up to date and it clearly states who made the website and give contact information. I have personally used this website to refresh algebra concepts and my mother uses it with her students when they are struggling with math concepts and they really like it and they are able to understand the material better. This site is a great resource for alternate learning.

OVERVIEW Purplemath.com is helpful to sudents who need suplimental help in mathematics.  It goes over basic content, and explains why there is a certain rule in the "math world."  It also has links to helpful sites that could make subject matter easier to understand.  There are also links on this site for test prep.  Overall, this is a good site if you know what you are looking for. CONTENT Links to other sites are helpful, current and working properly.  It's not  very well organized, but you can find your way around.  There doesn't seem to be any bias associated with it.  The content is current, accurate, and consistent with other sites. DESIGN The design isn't done very well.  It's not attractive and there are a lot of links in places where you might not actually look for what you are looking for.  It's easy to navigate within the site once you find what you are looking for, and the links are all working.