Top >10 Mathematics Websites

1. Top >10 Mathematics Websites • Colleen Young

2. Top >10 Mathematics Websites • Any presentation claiming a top 10 (or >10 in my case) is clearly showing you the author’s top 10, not the top 10! • The images and/or text in the slides provide hyperlinks for further information. • Because I have used categories as well as individual websites this gives me the excuse to mention as many sites as I like, hence >10! • These are my top >10 because I really do use them – a lot – in the classroom!

3. Contents 5 12 16 19 22 page page page page page 25 28 31 34 37 page page page page page

4. Contents • In each section listed in the Contents, you will find: • A section header describing the section which follows • Images which link directly to a site and/or further information • Further information and commentary.

5. Inspiring, challenging and engaging online Mathematics resources. • Cambridge • University

6. The Nrich Project from the University of Cambridge aims to enrich the mathematicalexperiences of all learners • Nrich

8. Nrich • Nrich- a favourite site I return to again and again. The site has extensive resources including problems, games, interactives and articles for teachers. Choose the stage required from Teachers’ or Students’ menus on the front page. ChoosingSecondaryunder Teachers for example includes a link (under Collections) to an excellentstage 3 and 4 curriculum pagewhich suggest NRICH activities by curriculum topic. Also, very usefully, activities are listed by mathematical processes such as Thinking Strategically and Working Systematically. • Note also the link to the mapping document which is very valuable when searching for activities. • It is also possible toSearch by topicandActivities organised by topics arealso available on student pages. TheOther Resources collectionincludes the excellent poster collection as well as a wealth of other resources. The guides for Students and Teachers include links to register for newsletters.For the Interactive Whiteboard there are many outstanding interactives. Contents

9. Underground Mathematics has the aim of “Enabling all students to explore the connections that underpin mathematics” • Underground • Mathematics

11. Underground Mathematics • From the University of Cambridge comes Underground Mathematics which started in 2012 as the Cambridge Mathematics Education Project (CMEP). The site provides a library of rich resources for age 16+ students with the aim of “Enabling all students to explore the connections that underpin mathematics”. Underground Mathematics is being developed by the University of Cambridge, funded by a grant from the UK Department for Education. The resources are free for all users; you can read more about the team and their philosophy here. Follow Underground Mathematics on Twitter or Facebook. • Scroll down the main page and you will find a clear ‘How-to’ guide; use the menus and/or watch the video. Resources are helpfully classified by type and you can browse in many ways. • Note that you can also select individual elements on the map. Try Quadratics for example and check the station guide for information. Looking at the guide led me to Name that graph; as with all the resources on the site more than just the problem is provided, we also have printable resources, solutions and teachers notes. Contents

12. The outstanding graphing calculator for students of all ages • Desmos

15. Desmos • The superb graphing calculator from Desmos can be used by students of all ages from young students learning about coordinates and graphs to students studying for Mathematics degrees. • It is simple to use but has many sophisticated features. • For a series of pages on using Desmos including examples of syntax see this collection of pages. • Apps are available for both iOS and Android. iOS apps • Android App Contents

16. A computationnel knowledgeenginerather good atMathematics! • WolframAlpha

18. WolframAlpha WolframAlpha- a computational knowledge engine which is rather good at Mathematics (as well as many other subjects!).This is so useful for checking solutions or exploring many examples. A series of pages on WolframAlpha includesslideshowsto demonstrate syntax. WolframAlpha can be used with students of all ages from the very youngest to degree level students. A post written for students with some questions to try can be found on Mathematics for Students. Contents

19. If you are searching for problems and activities for your Mathematics lesson or perhaps for homework where do you start?. • Problems • & Activities

21. Problems & Activities • Problems – There are many excellent sites providing resources for problems, many are highlighted on their own pages. • See the following pages: • Problems and Activities • Rich Tasks • Resources • Students enjoy variety, to quote one of my students when asked about what makes a good Maths teacher?: • Use different media, it’s really important – the ordinary board, the whiteboard, worksheets, jigsaws, cut and stick (matching up exercises), drawing, walk around the classroom problems (treasure hunts), computers. Contents

22. Questions to get your students thinking and exercises to secure skills • Questions • & Exercises

24. Questions & Exercises • We should plan for questions carefully in our lessons, we need questions to really make our students think and we need questions to help them practise skills. • See: • Rich Questions, in particular Questions Worth Asking and Diagnostic Questions • Revision Activities • If we asked the students for their top Maths websites I know most of mine would include BBC bitesize which includes questions to try. • Suggestions for students: • Questions – lots of questions Contents

25. Notes and videos to support student learning • Notes • & • Videos

27. Notes & Videos • Students sometimes ask for extra examples or notes which prompted me to include pages on both: • Notes • Videos • If all that is needed is a definition, why not display one from an online resource students could then refer to at home?Reference – see in particular Jenny Eather’s dictionary and the glossary for teachers. • Many universities make excellent notes available online for all students. • See this Evernote shared notebook (no login is necessary and you do not need an Evernote account to use the Notebook). The mathcentre in particular has a great variety of resources including notes and videos. Contents

28. Applets, calculators & manipulatives to check work, demonstrate and explore concepts. • Applets & Calculators

30. Applets &Calculators • There are many great sites in this category. There are many calculators useful for checking work in class which students could also use at home. • I know common searches which send people to my blog are for the excellent Wisweb applets. • John Page’s Math Open Reference includes some excellent demonstrations on constructions • Search by technology type on the MathsTools site – this article by Bethany Hudnutt  is on the navigation of the site. • Two more excellent sites are the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives and Spencer Riley’s Teacher LED site of interactive whiteboard resources. Contents

31. GeoGebra - dynamic mathematics software. • Scratch – learn to code and do some maths too. • Tarsia – create puzzles. • Graph and share data with Plotly • Software

33. Software • Geogebra for interactive Geometry. This is a sophisticated program and much support is available online in the form of videos and tutorials. I have included some useful links in this post. From MIT Scratch is an object-oriented programming language which is an excellent resource for teaching students programming skills as well as doing Mathematics. • Software – a list like this would be incomplete without mentioning Geogebra for interactive Geometry. This is a sophisticated program and much support is available online in the form of videos and tutorials. I have included some useful links in this post. From MIT Scratch is an object-oriented programming language which is an excellent resource for teaching students programming skills as well as doing Mathematics. Contents

34. Enhance learning with some Mathematical games • Games

36. Games • Nrich has many articles on using games. My own favourite Nrich games and many other games and puzzles are on a companion blog Mathematics Games. • A site with many games to practise numeracy skills at 10 different levels is Sumdog (further information including the topics covered and instructions for students in this post). Contents

37. Online communities, great blogs to read and resource sharing • Sharing ideas & resources

39. Sharing ideas & Resources • Finally I would not be without the various blogs, online communities and resource sharing sites. • For plenty of reading and great ideas try these variousexcellent blogs. • Many resources have already been mentioned in the earlier sections but these sites all have extensive collections;The National STEM Centreis an outstanding example. SeeTESfor resourcesand forums andNCETM,The Guardian Teacher Network,Mark McCourt’s Emaths,alsoTwitterwhich can be a great source of ideas and information. • Thanks to the many teachers who share excellent resources, superb examples include Ben Cooper’s coops-online and Just Maths for resources and a great blog. • I would also like to mention some favourite blogs that always make me think – not Mathematics specific but these have important ideas for educators everywhere. • So -a lot more than 10 there and so many more that I have not mentioned! There are so many excellent free resources for Mathematics – which is why I enjoy writing my blog! My favourites are all here! Contents

40. Colleen Young https://twitter.com/ColleenYoung Mathematics, Learning & Technology Mathematics for Students