You can contact Sonya at richarso@onid.orst.edu.
This issue of TOMT marks the beginning of my 13th year of writing the Internet Department Article for TOMT. It has been an amazing experience. I have watched the offerings on the internet grow from early contributions written about math to the wonderful interactive material available today that allows users to actively explore concepts of mathematics. My deepest concern is that we so seldom seem to have the time to allow our students to engage in these kinds of in depth explorations. This article presents some of my favorite sites for students to explore the richn concepts of mathematics along with a few other sites that I hope you will find useful.
NLVM: The National Library of Virtual Mathematics is a wonderful collection of interactive materials that is well organized by grade level and topic. Its material on fractions is especially well done. The algebra balance scale, using sandbags and balloons to illustrate negative numbers, is a wonderful activity. Included here are explorations of the 3-Peg Puzzle, Pascal’s Triangle, and many other familiar puzzles. The Factor Tree includes finding the greatest common factor and least common multiple and is a must see!
SHODOR, Interactivate: This is a non-profit research and education organization that promotes science and math education. It creates, collects, and disseminates interactive Java-based material for exploration of science and mathematics. The material is organized by topic and easy to navigate.
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/
NCTM Illuminations: This website features a library of 103 online interactivities that allow students to explore mathematics. There is also a collection of over 500 lessons and a wonderful assortment of web links to online resources. The links are organized by topic and provide quick links to easily identified interactive experiences for your students. There is also a link to NCTM’s Principles and Standards for School Mathematics.
Make Sense of the Times Tables: Study 3 facts until they are mastered, then study 3 more, then put all six together. This is much more effective than looking at 10 facts and going over them again and again. Parents especially will appreciate the structured look at learning the times tables. Interactive practice is easy for students to use.
http://www.resourceroom.net/Math/1timestables.asp
Purple Math: Purplemath's algebra lessons are written with the student in mind. These lessons emphasize the practicalities rather than the technicalities, demonstrating dependable techniques, warning of likely "trick" questions, and pointing out common mistakes. The lessons are cross-referenced to help students find related material, and a "search" box is on every page to help locate material.
http://www.purplemath.com/index.htm
Multiplying Polynomials with Tiles: Select multiplication with monomials, binomials, or more advanced forms. This activity will show the factors (numbers being multiplied), then show the intermediate steps to find the product. It illustrates the FOIL method of multiplication. Make the appropriate changes in the tiles as you work through each of the steps in the solution. Scroll down the site to find the interactive Tiles.
http://argyll.epsb.ca/jreed/math9/strand2/2211.htm
Factoring Polynomials with Tiles: This is a visual and interactive opportunity to make sense of factoring using online algebra tiles. This is a companion to the Multiplication site.
http://argyll.epsb.ca/jreed/math9/strand2/factor1.htm
Thinkquest, Oracle Education Foundation: Students work in teams to build innovative and educational websites to share with the world. They learn research, writing, teamwork, and technology skills and compete for exciting prizes. Everybody wins by having their completed websites published in the ThinkQuest Library, a rich online resource visited by millions monthly. An example of a website in the library is MathMaze (the second link). It features a comprehensive look at the History of Math and Famous Mathematicians.
http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/01951/
Math.com: This website features a well organized collection of lessons for topics in mathematics. Select the subject to go to interactive lessons, interactive practice and other materials. This site is especially easy for to navigate.
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