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So you think you are an expert at the child’s game Tic Tac Toe?  Now try it in 3D at MathsNet Interactive!  This game was designed in 3D to prevent the first player from always winning.  Instead of connecting three in a row to win, you have to connect two rows that meet at a right angle to form an “L”.  You are the blue marbles, and the computer plays the part of the red.  By clicking and dragging the 3D shape, you can rotate and spin the cube so that you can see your game board from all angles.  Check it out!  This would be a great follow-up activity to teaching about 3D solids in Geometry, not to mention it would also work well with an Interactive Whiteboard.

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Mandala Maker Perfect for Math Concepts

Division: Visual Representations Online

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Math Help Step-by-Step

Interactive Whiteboard Links

Games for the Interactive Whiteboard

Kids and Cookies: Fun Division for Kids

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http://amyboehman.blogspot.com

Struggling with solving your math homework? Sometimes you have most of the problem figured out, but the last step is where you get stuck.  Where do you turn to for help especially if you are working on Algebra, Calculus or Trig?  Chances are that mom and dad forgot how to do this once they left a formal schooling environment.  Try mathaway.com!

Using Mathaway, you can type in your problem ranging from Basic Math through Calculus (no option for Geometry at this time) and Mathaway will lay out how to solve the problem step-by-step.  One of my friends was lamenting over Algebra homework – she had one problem left to do and was stuck.  I sure don’t remember how to do this.  Mathaway came to the rescue!  It provided clear step-by-step directions on how to reach the solution.

I was more impressed with Mathaway for higher-level math than for basic math.  For example, if I entered a basic math problem that was addition, subtraction or multiplication, Mathaway mearly gave me the answer without showing me the steps or the process of how it arrived at the answer.  (See below)

But if I entered a long division problem, it was beautiful!  Everything was written out step by step with clear explanation. (See one step of this problem below.) Mathaway had similar results for the higher level math problems, so I can see where this site would be a life-saver.

Overall, I like Mathaway for higher-level math problems and not for basic math.  I think this could be the key to helping students who are missing one step in a process, and don’t have anyone at home who can help them.

RELATED POSTS:

Mandala Maker Perfect for Math Concepts

Division: Visual Representations Online

Online Math Manipulatives and Activities

http://amyboehman.blogspot.com

Yet another cool website can be found through the GirlsGoTech.org page.  It’s a mandala maker that allows you to create a symmetrical design using basic shapes and colors, and can be used in the classroom to reinforce geometric concepts in math.  As kids work on their design, they can preview the finished design to see if they want to go back and make changes. Here is the design that I created below:

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Teachers, what do you do when you are teaching division and your students just don’t get it?  Just like we learned in college, you go back to manipulatives.  Once children  understand concrete examples, they can start moving to abstract problems.  Until they get to that point, any visual examples you can provide the child will help.  For example, the online E-Lab through Harcourt School Publishers is a wonderful opportunity for children to “see” division problems. The first site illustrates division with two digit divisors. (See picture below.)

The second site by E-Lab allows children to practice division with remainders depending in the problem you type in. (See picture below.)  Very few sites give children a visual representation of how division works, so these sites are valuable resources to teachers.

Happy dividing!

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Check out the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives!  Right now this is a free site, and I’m not sure it will stay that way because the site is already advertising their activities on CD.  However, for now teachers can use this site in math class for free. The site offers a variety of online math manipulatives for K-12 ranging from Base Ten Blocks, to geoboards, and spinners.  Now you can use these items without the mess!  Virtual clean-up!  I used the geoboards in my class and laughed – the children were still expecting the rubber bands to snap off the screen and hit them.

Another one of my favorite sites is the interactive online clock.  Project this website in class to help your class tell time on an analog clock.  Using the red and green buttons at the bottom of the screen will allow you to create different times on the clock.  Notice that the sun and moon will rise and set in the background as you change the time, which helps the children distinguish between AM and PM.  If you use a Smartboard or an interactive whiteboard, this site is even better since students can come to the board and use the buttons to change the time in class.  Use the button on the right side, you can also display the time in a digital clock, so the students can compare the clocks side by side. Since you can hide the digital clock, it’s great for quizzing the kids on the analog clock since they can check their work on the digital clock.

A few other sites worth checking out for math instruction:

1.  Online graphing calculator

2. Interactive Math Games (such as Arthimetic Four)

3.  Create a graph

4. More virtual manipulatives