How to Deal with Math Online: Apps and Websites that Work Best

As per a study published in the Global Education census conducted by Cambridge International in 2018, mathematics is the most studied subject in the world. Before Covid-19, the subject was being studied offline, now it is done more online. Though teaching math online is not as easy as other subjects like social sciences or literature, still there are certain advantages of teaching and learning math online. It provides a learner with the freedom to watch videos and animation to understand some concepts.

Covid-19 has given a boost to online education which has brought a meaningful change in how students learn math as well. This led to the spurt of numerous math learning websites across the world. Here, we will see which apps and websites are making mathematics more enjoyable and the way online learning is changing how we learn math in todays’ times.

Best Software for Mathematics:

Various apps and software available on the internet today are making math more explorable and imaginative. If you want to solve a math problem as fast as possible, then these softwares will help you do that. They solve your math problems effortlessly, irrespective of the fact which section of mathematics they belong to, arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, or geometry. A few of them are:

1. Wolfram Alpha: Online equation solver
2. Maple Calculator- Mobile app
3. Microsoft Mathematics – For 2D and 3D diagrams
4. SpeQ Mathematics – For trigonometry problems
5. GeoGebra – Built-in calculus tools

This software is great to help you learn a wide range of mathematical topics like combinations, permutations, graphs, and matrices. This software is designed to keep not only the adults in mind but also the kids who want to learn simple things such as how to draw a cube, triangle, circle, etc.

Math Software for Teachers

After knowing about the software that assists students to ace their math problems and teach them faster, we will look into software that works best for a teacher from a teacher’s point of view. For better learning, a student needs a teacher who is an expert in that particular field. And to become an expert and to keep that position intact one needs to keep updating oneself. The following is the list of a few software’s that are good for a teacher to tutor students and for her own practice.

Illuminations- Illuminations is software designed by the NCTM as a unified resource for math teachers. It offers 100+ activities that align with common core standards, multiple hands-on lesson plans, helps with a review of standards, also hosts hundreds of online web links and resources for further research and analysis.

FluidMath- FluidMath is a new software designed for math teachers. It is a powerful tool that helps both teachers and students develop a visual connection with and between different conceptual topics. It has been found that exploring graph and graphic equations on this software assist students explore advanced mathematical equations beyond their own grade.

Math Forum- Math Forum is another website that works well for a teacher. On this website, they can access math tools and can also find resources for their own professional development. The website is created and maintained by Drexel University.

Besides these software, there are a few other software as well that are giving exemplary service to the discipline of math for years. These are MS Excel, LibreOffice (LO Calc, MATLAB 2021bb + toolboxes, Maple 2021, wxMaxima.

Software Used to Teach Mathematics

With the rise of online education and the explosion of teaching and learning websites and software, now it has become easy to get online assistance anytime-anywhere. There is various software that is useful for teaching mathematics. Some of them are-

Möbius: Möbius allows instructors to create interactive lessons and assignments for their students which can be accessed and tracked from any device.

Microsoft Mathematics – Helps students with algebra and equips them with a graphic calculator to draw 2D and 3D pictures.

Math Editor – Helps you create a mathematical equation using different signs and symbols and then practice them.

Maple Calculator – Best for dealing with problems at the high school and undergraduate level. It lets students click a picture of the question they are struggling with and get a step-by-step answer effortlessly.

Free Universal Algebra Equation Solver – It is the best software for solving complex algebraic equations. It provides students with both verbal and written solutions for all algebra problems.

Maxima – Maxima is an algebra solver website. It works with platforms like Linux, Unix, OS X, and BSD.

Teaching Math in a Virtual Classroom

Online classes are inevitable today. It has made education easier to reach people in the remotest areas and one can learn with the help of online classes at their convenience. However, teaching online requires some skills. There are a few points that need to be kept in mind while taking an online class.

• It is well known that math is one of the most difficult subjects. Therefore, it is important to start an online class with easy concepts and slowly move to trickier ones.
• Taking math classes online can be more difficult than taking an online class for other subjects. Sometimes it becomes tough for students to understand the concept at one time. To avoid repetition of the class, teachers should record the classes and provide them later to the students. This will help students in revising the topics whenever they are struggling with them.
• Try and incorporate learning breakdowns into your course through automated quizzes that will let you understand the progress of the class and give you insights into how you can fill certain learning gaps. Use a whiteboard and different-colored marker pens to highlight different formulas and equations.
• Use video lectures and animation wherever necessary. This helps grasp the concept more quickly and retain it for a longer period.

A website that can Solve any Math Problem

WebMATH is a website that helps students solve any problem. It generates answers to specific questions and equations as uploaded by the user anytime. The solution provided to the user by this website is real-time. The user just needs to press ‘solve’ after posting a question and WebMATH is ready with the solution. It not only provides an answer to the question but also an explanation that how it has reached the answer given.

Teaching Math on Google

Google can be a great resource for students to look at different text or video-based lectures explaining the desired topic differently. With the integration that Google now offers with ed-tech giants like Byju’s, Toppr, Careesrs360, etc., you can ask your students to test out practice problems on a topic that you explained in the class. You may not have access to their results, but it will allow your students to test out more problems than the ones available in the textbooks.

Can I Teach Math Online?

Yes, you can teach math online. There are various apps and software available online that can help you teach an online math class. MS Excel, LibreOffice (LO Calc, MATLAB 2010b + toolboxes, Octave, wxMaxima are a few websites and programs that help a teacher teach math online. There are also apps and websites that can guide you on how to take an online class and how you can prepare for it.

Showing Math Work Online

A student can use various ways to show his/ her homework online.

Make a Video – The best way to tell your teacher online how you have solved a particular question is to explain the process followed by you to the teacher by recording a video. There is a specific video maker available for showing your work to your teacher online. Flipgrid is one such application.

Take a picture – Another way to show your work to your teacher is by taking a picture of the problem solved by you and then uploading it. This is a nice way of showing work. Picture homework like copies that a teacher can check easily.

Use a Google Form – You can also use Google form to show your work. In Google form, you first need to upload the equation then click on the file upload option. Here you can upload your answer either in PDF or image form from your device.

11 Teacher-Recommended Math Apps and Online Tools

Mathematics is the most studied subject all over the world according to a survey done in 2018. But despite this popularity of the subject, not everyone likes math. Some find it difficult and for others it is boring. In this situation, it becomes tough for teachers to get a satisfactory response from their students about their learning. Moreover, teaching math online is not an easy job considering the complexity of the subject. To overcome this difficulty, teachers suggest using a few apps and other online tools that can reverse the hard work and make math more interesting. Here is a list of 11 teacher-recommended math apps and online tools.

1. Moose Math – It is a game-based math app. By solving problems on this app, students can earn points which they can use in building a town. This app is both fun and learning so keeps students interested in math. This app is especially helpful for children to learn basic math like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
2. Happy Numbers – Happy Numbers is a math website that breaks down tough mathematical calculations and helps students comprehend higher-level math problems. This again is a fun-based math app that lets a student turn into dinosaurs to solve sums and in return, they hatch dinosaur eggs.

3. Prodigy – Prodigy is loved by teachers and students alike. Prodigy is a smart app in the sense that it can identify a student’s level of understanding based on their pre-assessment and presents to them questions on which they need improvement. The app also tracks the progress level of students and provides timely feedback.
4. Zearn – Learning math with Zearn is fun. On Zearn, a student learns with various warm-ups and activities like counting how many bananas a monkey can eat through animation videos. Students feel very happy practicing on this app.
5. Open Middle – Open Middle is an open math task-based website. The website educates students by propelling them to think creatively and analytically. It presents students with an incomplete equation and asks students to complete using their analytical skills.
6. Would You Rather Math – This is a site that teaches students real-life examples. For instance, if a question mentions a box of chocolate, they use a real box of chocolate to demonstrate the problem which is really fun.
7. Which One Does Not Belong – This is a site that teaches students by enhancing their skill of differentiation and identification. In a question, this site uses 4 boxes, shapes, numbers, or graphs and asks students, which one does not belong? The site then lets students come up with their own questions.
8. Fraction Task – As the name suggests this site works on developing clarity on fractions among students. The site is full of images of triangles within a triangle and asks students, ‘what do you observe’? Once students are clear with a basic understanding of fractions, they are ready to learn further.
9. Visual Pattern – Visual Pattern is like Open Middle in its approach. In a question, Visual Pattern shows the beginning of a pattern and asks students to complete the pattern. This again propels students to think and conclude.
10. Applets – Applets from RosemanChance.com helps students manipulate and identify some sampling distribution patterns in a graph. This exercise is immensely helpful in developing the skill of visualizing a sum in a student.
11. Desmos – Demos is an interactive and activity-based math website. The specialty of this website is that it helps students learn social and emotional learning by integrating it with math.

Which software is used in mathematics?

The software that is leading the market currently is Maple, Mathematica, Matlab, SciL-ab, and MuPAD. These are commonly used software by mathematicians, scientists, and engineers all over the world.

This article provides a complete guide to questions related to teaching and learning math online for both teachers and students.