The Math Forum

What I read:
http://mathforum.org/

The Math Forum is a web site from Drexel University in Pennsylvania. Their slogan is “People Learning Math Together.” This site is intended for all people interested in math to come together to enrich and support the learning, sharing, teaching and communication of math topics. My immediate as well as overall impression of the site was that it is extremely professional as well as warm and inviting. I appreciate that very much since many people (myself included) can be scared off from a site if it seems to belong to people who know more than I. This site is welcoming to students, teachers, parents, researchers and interested citizens. So go forth fearlessly!

The LowDown

1. Fun games, puzzles, math problems & tutoring for students
2. Resources, homework help, math library & answers questions for parents
3. Lesson plans by grade level, discussion forums, education policy topics & professional development for teachers
4. Weekly newsletter that includes sites to visit, key issues in math education and tips
5. 6-week online continuing education courses on multiple topics for only $149 (1.5 CEU certificate)
6. Ask Dr. Math forum and books
7. 2010 Math Games your class can participate in (Make 1-100 using only #’s 2010 using operations)
8. Free 21 day trial class membership for Problem of the Week (PoW)- individual available too
9. Links to interactive math tools
10. Active, interesting, focused and timely discussion forum

I would recommend reading the About page first for a good overview. There is an easy to find search button and some of the information is in more than one place for ease of use. The web site is very fluid with two exceptions. First, the site doesn’t have a back button, you have to use your browser’s. Second, the discussion forums don’t seem to take advantage of using threads to post. For example, I found an interesting post but had to search back several pages to find the original one that it was responding to. I love that the site is current. Discussions posts were from today. Pictures of staff were fun to look at, they seem very friendly. The advertisements on the site were math related only which is refreshing. If you are thinking of taking an online workshop, check out the description first. Some of them require you to be a member of the PoW at the class level which means during the class you either need to have just ordered the free trial or you need to spend $119 more. If you are a current teacher however, this seems like a worthwhile expenditure because you and 36 students get access to the PoW archives.

I signed up for Math Forum’s newsletter today and was particularly enticed by the online workshop possibilities given that the cost is extremely affordable compared to other online classes I’ve seen, as well as the discussion forums which I am going to have to go back to and spend an hour or two just reading them. Compared to the A to Z Teacher Forum and other such online teacher discussion boards, this one seemed focused and interesting. Posts were on topic (math) and some shared very interesting information such as the history of math and other out of the ordinary math topics as well as the typical ones. If you are looking for an answer to your math question or feedback on your lessons or ideas, the Math Forum seems like an excellent place to exchange those ideas or just ask Dr. Math. I’ll have to think of a good question for her or him or…actually there are over 300 volunteers who answer these questions. Questions can come from any age learner and will be sent to a Dr. Math who can (hopefully) answer your question.

So, click on Math Forum now or bookmark it for later. You can also find the link to the right of this blog in the Mathematics Links box.

Teacher Resource
http://mathforum.org/teachers/

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