Educational Applications that can be used to Teach Math Concepts, Math Skills, and Problem Solving.

Math can be a very difficult subject for some students to grasp. In order for students to gain critical thinking skills for problem solving, students need to acquire fluency and conceptual understanding. Manipulatives are a great way to help students, especially students with learning disabilities, gain understanding on abstract concepts. Do you have hands on manipulatives at your school? NO. DON'T WORRY, below is a list of great resources that will help students gain understanding on different math concepts using virtual manipulatives. Click the links to give them a try!

Take a look at the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives maintained by Utah State University. This resource bank allows users to access materials based on category: numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis. 

Illuminations, a website created by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, offers a variety of online activities that will help students understand different math concepts. One virtual manipulative they offer is BASE TEN BLOCKS, which helps students “see” the regrouping strategy. Here is a picture of a manipulative from the website for equivalent fractions. 

           

Computing Technology for Math Excellence provides a list of virtual manipulatives for teachers and parents.

Internet 4 Classrooms is a FREE website that offers internet resources to teachers to use in the classroom or resources to parents to reinforce topics at home.

Math Playground offers math games, logic puzzles, and word problems. The word problems will provide the student’s feedback after each step.

 Conceptua Math will help supplement your lesson planning on fractions. This resource will speak the text to students who struggle with reading or who are English Language learners.

Destination Math from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Learning Technology uses animation and speech output to keep students engaged in the math concepts. This resource is also available in Spanish for our English language learners. 

Reference: Dell, A., & Newton, D. (2008). Assistive technology in the classroom: Enhancing the school experiences of students with disabilities. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.