Number of High-Quality Math Sites Is Multiplying

Where can you go to find 87 tips for squaring numbers? Math contests simply for fun? More than 120 Web sites on calendars and time? Pointers for parents on what to look for in a math class? Homework help, brain busters, interactive puzzles and activities on everything from arithmetic to trigonometry?

The Web, of course.

A good place to start is the Math Forum at https://www.mathforum.com. Hosted by Pennsylvania’s Swarthmore College, this comprehensive site offers student, parent and teacher components. It features hundreds of links to high-quality sites on everything from the Mayan calendar to online forums on research, classroom-created tessellation sites and job opportunities for new math teachers.

Interactive, comprehensive and timely, the Math Forum is as close to a real online learning community as anything I’ve seen. Don’t expect young kids to want to browse on their own, though. Bells and whistles are not to be found here. The content is rich, but it’s presented primarily via text, so adults will want to steer youngsters to the student areas, which include some fun critical-thinking puzzles that everyone in the family can enjoy. Here’s a taste: What is the secret for quickly adding a list of consecutive numbers from zero to 100 without a calculator?

An Ask Dr. Math section can get Mom and Dad off the hook on some of the tougher math challenges by answering student homework questions on everything from arithmetic to calculus. E-mails are returned within two days.

In an effort to challenge elementary school-age kids to solve real-world math problems, Mega Mathematics (https://www.cs.uidaho.edu/~casey931/mega-math/), a project of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, presents kids with a variety of imaginative scenarios that ask them to play and experiment with math. Included are graph games and other lively activities with titles such as the Most Colorful Math of All, Algorithms and Ice Cream for All, Welcome to the Hotel Infinity and Untangling the Mathematics of Knots. For teachers, there are clear lesson plans and follow-up ideas for class discussions.

The Math League, at https://www.mathleague.com, is a wonderful spot for students in grades 4 through 12 to hone their competitive math edge. Here, they’ll find grade-specific math contests as well as lots of good test tips and practice materials. Earning prizes is fun, but the best part about the Math League is the opportunity it gives youngsters to compete without any high-stakes pressure--something they get fewer and fewer chances to do these days.

Middle- and high-school students can get a visual feel for geometry at Euclid’s Elements at https://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/elements.html. The site invites them to bend, rotate and otherwise manipulate triangles and other illustrations of Euclid’s proofs. Kids also can review concepts at the Gallery of Interactive Geometry (https://www.geom.umn.edu/apps/gallery.html) through a variety of student and teacher-created activities.

The Cornell Math and Science Gateway for High School at https://www.tc.cornell.edu/services/edu/mathscigateway/about.asp is a real idea factory in addition to being a practical resource for students, teachers and parents. It offers a range of links to sites on general science, math and other curriculum resources. It also covers physics, astronomy and other disciplines. But the site also explores more esoteric topics, such as history and literature’s connections to science. An Ask an Expert component helps make this a great site for the independent learner who wants to move ahead of the class.

An excellent way to introduce primary-grade students to math is through the Harcourt Animated Math Glossary at https://www.hbschool.com/glossary/math/glossary3.html.

Here, youngsters can see simple graphics and animations that demonstrate sometimes difficult terms such as “capacity” or “congruent.”

Chances are your child’s Internet-savvy math teacher is already tapped into at least one of these sites, but pass along these URLs anyway. The wealth of lesson plans, project ideas, professional development and mentoring opportunities can provide a wonderful midyear boost to any educator.

As a parent, you can play an important role by steering your secondary-school child toward some of these rich offerings, which let them explore math from new angles and provide them with ongoing support through interactive tutoring opportunities. You also can encourage your younger child’s math development by building an occasional family activity around one of the puzzles, games, problems of the week or brain busters you find in these sites. You don’t have to be a math whiz to have a good time working through these with your kids. The most important thing is that you spend time doing it together, which is a powerful way to pass along the message that math can be fun.

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Susan McLester is editor of Technology & Learning magazine.

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Helpful Web Sites

The Math Forum

https://www.mathforum.com

Mega Mathematics

https://www.cs.uidaho.edu/~casey931/mega-math/

Math League

https://www.mathleague.com

Euclid’s Elements

https://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/elements.html

Gallery of Interactive Geometry

https://www.geom.umn.edu/apps/gallery.html

Cornell Math and Science Gateway

https://www.tc.cornell.edu/Services/Edu/MathSciGateway/about.asp

Harcourt Multimedia Math Glossary

https://www.hbschool.com/glossary/math/glossary3.html