My Top 25 Free Math Resources for Education

The President understands that math teachers have a unique role to play in the future of education.  To be a well-informed citizen and a participant in the knowledge economy, Americans must be mathematically literate.  We need to be able to do basic computation and solve complex problems. We must understand the magic of compound interest and how it affects our personal financial decisions.  We should be able to use the logic of Algebra and the spatial reasoning of Geometry to understand and solve real-life problems.  These mathematical practices equip learners with the ability to solve complex problems and think critically about issues unrelated to mathematical concepts.  With these skills, our young people will have the potential to do amazing things – in math, in science, or whatever field they choose to pursue. As professionals devoted to the teaching and learning of mathematics, you are the teachers, the school leaders, the professors, the curriculum developers, and the researchers who will shape young students' minds to be leaders of the future. - Ed.gov

If we want our students to become productive, contributing citizens of the United States, then we need to change the way that we are currently teaching math in our schools! We need to integrate inquiry, problem-solving and real-world application into our math curricula. Students should be engaged in creative, critical thinking when they are solving problems. Teachers should articulate that there are multiple ways to arrive at the same solution to any given problem and allow students to struggle in order to make discoveries on their own with guided facilitation and appropriate scaffolding.

To help with this problem, I am sharing my Top 25 Free Math Resources For Education that allow for student inquiry, exploration, and application. I hope you find useful ways to integrate these online resources into your instruction!

*For 21st Century Math Pedagogy visit my related blog posts:

Three Act Mathematical Problem Solving
Camera, Set, Mathematics!
My Three Acts of a Real World Math Problem

Inquiry and Application

• Get the Math:  http://www.thirteen.org/get-the-math/
• Real World Math: http://www.realworldmath.org/Real_World_Math/RealWorldMath.org.html
• Yummy Math: http://www.yummymath.com/
• 3DVinci: http://www.3dvinci.net/ccp0-display/freestuff.html

Online Tools and Apps

• Meta-Calculator: http://www.meta-calculator.com/online/
• On-Line Utilities & Software: http://tinyurl.com/3bxusf
• Interactivate Tools: http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/tools/
• Online Utilities and Software for Mathematics: http://tinyurl.com/3bxusf
• Web2.0 Scientific Calculator: http://web2.0calc.com/
• Chartle: http://www.chartle.net/

Interactives

• Phet Interactive Simulations (Math): http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/math
• Illuminations: http://illuminations.nctm.org/
• Math Playground: http://www.mathplayground.com/index.html

Math Support

• Web Math: http://www.webmath.com/index.html
• Math Village: http://www.mathvillage.info/
• Math TV: http://www.mathtv.com/videos_by_topic
• Khan Academy: http://www.khanacademy.org/

Resources

• Discovery Education (Math): http://bit.ly/tJ8sPL
• Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (Math): http://free.ed.gov/subjects.cfm?subject_id=33
• NSDL (Math): http://nsdl.org/commcore/math?id=6.EE
• Thinkfinity (Mathematics): http://bit.ly/vcJmww

Practice

• Jefferson Lab: http://education.jlab.org/solquiz/index.html
• IXL: http://www.ixl.com/1c?gclid=CIHU3KHstakCFadd5QodbRpm8w

Math in the Media

• 15 Paperless Math Strategies: http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/2011/06/fifteen-paperless-math-strategies.html
• The Three Acts of A Mathematical Story: http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=10285

Other lists that you might find valuable

• My Top 25 Free Science Resources for Education
• My top Free Online Tools and Resources for PBL
• My Top 52 Webtools for Students: Symbaloo EDU Webmix
• 15 Free Online Apps to Get Your Students Creating
• 12 Free Online Apps to Get Your Students Publishing