Cool Site For All Sorts of Math Things.

 The other day I came across a website Mathsbot.com. It has virtual manipulatives that work on an iPad rather than only on the computer but it is easier to use on the computer due to the curser.  This site also offers so many other things that I think I just added it to my list of decent resources.  

As far as ease of use, I didn't find any directions on how to use the manipulatives but I did learn to use them after playing with each one for a few minutes.  This means with just a bit of experimentation, you figure out how to use it.

I played with the algebra tiles manipulative.  I was thinking (x + 2)(x+ 3) when I created the problem but it could easily be a simple multiplication problem such as 12 x 13.  For the original problem I get x^2 +2x + 3x + 6 or x^2 + 5x + 6.  For the other I get 100 + 20 + 30 + 6 or 156 as an answer.  I believe this is now referred to as an area model.  

I love using this type of model when teaching binomial multiplication because it helps student visual the process and it show why you end up with certain terms.

I also played with the equation solver which is a way to visually show how things work.  I laid out my original equation as you can see.  What I discovered is that this defaults to the inequality sign so you have to click the set equal button to get it to be right.

To use it you would place the opposite value on the "number you want to move to the other side" and you have to place the same value on the other side which reinforces the idea of doing the same thing to both side.

In addition to manipulatives, there are pages of formulas and information on interior and exterior angles, trig ratios, angle names, basic angle rules, fractions, decimals, percentages, numbers and words, and polygon names.  these can be printed out for students to use if they need them.

There is a section on puzzles with several different types. The puzzle to the right is an example of a simultaneous grid.  Each shape has a value.  It appears the green rhombus is worth one  while the blue triangle is three.  That means the yellow circle is worth zero.

To discover if this is true, one just clicks on the square to see if the choices are correct.  I cans see placing one of these in front of class as a warm up because it requires some critical thought.

Another puzzle is the four operation puzzle where students place the digits 1 to 9 in the appropriate blanks to make the totals correct.  The puzzle allows one to click on the blanks to see if the selection is correct.  Again this makes a nice warm-up.

There is a section designed to generate questions from differentiated questions to test questions to worksheets, to topic ladders and loop cards.  I like the loop cards because they are set up so the answer to the problem on one card appears on the next card with a new equation.  This could be used in two ways.  First the cards could be printed out and hung around the room so students can follow the path working out the problem, then searching for an answer while writing on a master sheet.  The other way it can be used is to pass them out to students and having them say the problem.  Another student then says "I have the answer" and gives it before reading out the next problem. Continue around the room until it goes back to the first person. The loop cards allow you to change the number of cards produced. The nice thing is these generators produce more than one set for each one and offers a variety of possibilities.

This is followed by a starters and drill section a variety of activities from number squares and number of the day to Do It now and matching pairs.  These are nice because it is possible to get a whole new set every day and they are easy to use as warm-ups.

The last section is tools with a variety of things from the missing grids to function machines, to frequency tables.  Some can be used to learn things such as which are prime numbers based on the Sieve of Eratosthenes to Pascals triangle, to so many other things.

Check it out to see if you are interested in any of the resources.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.