As a maths teacher, I’m always on the look out for great resources that I can use to help me teach and, more importantly, help my pupils learn. Here, I’ve put together my pick of seven of the best online resources. Whether you are a teacher, pupil or parent you should be able to find something in this list that’s of use to you. They are all free, although you may need to sign up to get the best out of one or two of them. The list isn’t exhaustive – use the comments section to tell me your top picks and perhaps they might feature in a future list.
1 Hegarty Maths – Mr Hegarty is a maths teacher. He (and a couple of colleagues) have made a load of videos on various topics which are ideal for revision. Typically, a video contains a bit of a revision of a topic and worked solutions to exam questions. There’s a huge range of topics and levels – from Key Stage 3 through to A-Level maths. Teachers: you could set a homework to watch specific video as consolidation/revision at the end of a topic. Parents/pupils – if you’re stuck, search the sight for a video on the topic and learn!
2 Mangahigh is a website full of maths games and “Prodigi” challenges and quizzes. The games are fun, but its the Prodigi that I really like. I’ve used the site quite extensively over the last few months and I’ve been impressed with these challenges – using them to reinforce learning up to GCSE level. Just because they are online doesn’t mean that they are gimmicky or superficial. Teachers: Really consider signing up for a school account (free or paid) as it allows you to set challenges to classes, monitor who is doing what and how they are doing. Parents/pupils: The games on this page are fun, but make sure you scroll to the bottom of the page and try some of the “Prodigi”
3 “You can’t do simple maths under pressure” Does what it says on the tin – great fun! I’ve used it with Year 7’s through to Upper Sixth A-Level mathematicians – they all love it!
4 I don’t quite know how to describe Vi Hart’s You Tube videos, other than they are fun, quirky and well worth watching.
5 Woodands School in Kent were among the first to put together a collection of great maths resources. A couple of my favourites are the “Higher or Lower Card Investigation” – basically Brucie’s Play Your Cards Right (for those of us that are old enough to remember that TV show) and is great for teaching probability and “Billy Bug 2” co-ordinate game. I split my classes into teams and see which team can get the fastest score – it gets very competitive and a little chaotic but I’ve yet to find a better way to teach co-ordinates!
6 Desmos online graphing calculator I like this online graphing calculator because its simple to use, nothing to download (although I have downloaded the iPad app) and it works well. Its also worth ‘liking’ them on Facebook as they regularly publish “Think Fast” or “Mental Maths” problems that work as great lesson starters (teachers).
7 @TESMaths on Twitter posts lots of links to maths resources, including ROTD – resource of the day. You need an online TES account to then access most of the resources, but its free to set one up and you’ll be amazed at the quantity of online resources on the TES site. @TESMaths does a great job of picking out some real gems.
So what have I missed? Use the comments to let me know your best maths resources.
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