Tuesday 25 December 2012

Top Three Algebra Solver Apps from Apple Store

Algebra has been commonly viewed as a difficult subject only meant for higher grade students that too even with a higher IQ level. Many people even forget that Algebra is a logical problem solving skill of mind and we use it often on a daily basis for accomplishing many things in our life. Though it’s not possible for everyone to excel in Algebra solving, but they can certainly do better than average with regular practice and a little bit of hard work. For today’s tech savvy students apps are a great way to make them learn and have fun simultaneously. These Algebra solver apps can help you to a great deal to learn it in a fun and interactive way.

Below, I am going to sum up five best Algebra solver apps for iPhone, iPod and iPad that can really help students to get a higher score.  

“meStudying: Algebra 1″ by gWhiz, LLC

This app is developed by Flourida Virtual School, a pioneer in the virtual k12 education. This app contains the entire lesion of High school Algebra 1 with over 400 questions. It also has detailed explanation for every question and an instant feedback. Other features include a calculator, scratch pad and a large layout design for easy navigation. You can download the “meStudying: Algebra 1” app at a price of $4.99 from Apple’s iTune store.  

“Algebra Boot Camp” by Pocket Cocktails Inc.

“Algebra Boot Camp” is an interactive reference e-book which is based on a top-selling algebra book. Alistair Savage, the technical consultant of this app, has a Ph.D. degree in Mathematics from Yale University. In this app problems are broken down into small sections with colorful illustrations and instructions. This app contains a sidebar which has additional tips and reviews for every section. The menu is quite user friendly and easy for navigation. The app will cost you $2.99, a far less price than the Text book which comes at $25.  

“Algebra” by YourTeacher.com

This is a great app developed by “YourTeacher.com” for helping students in their Algebra home work. It is designed in such a way to give you the experience of a classroom with various video examples, interactive practice problems, challenge problems, multiple choice quizzes, practice worksheets, and review notes. To complete a lesson it can take around 20-45 minutes. It offers 12 chapters of multiple mini-lessons, including “Combining like Terms” and “Inverse Variation. It is priced at only $9.99, which is quite less than hiring a private tutor.

Thursday 20 December 2012

The Role of an Online Math Tutor in Today’s Competitive Edge

Studies have shown that in most of the cases students find it difficult to handle the pressure of their math home works. They almost struggle to find out a math solution and to finish the home work within a limited time period. In order to get it done properly some students even show anxiety symptoms before the starting of a math class which can really hamper their growth and career as well. So what is the solution of it? Well, the answer to this ultimate question lies in taking the help of an online math tutor.

The online tutoring industry has been growing at a super-fast pace over the past few years. Interestingly according to a recent report disclosed by GIA (Global Industry Analysts Inc.), a reputed market research firm, the private tutoring industry is going to surpass $102.8 billion by 2018. In this highly competitive edge, our present day education system is not sufficient to nourish and flourish the students accordingly. And for a subject like math, it is becoming increasingly important for students to study and grasp it. So taking the help of math tutors has become the need of the hour.

Taking help of math tutors online can be really beneficial to students and contribute to their growth and success. First of all it provides a highly personalized, cutting edge and secure environment for studying according to your convenience. So students don’t feel pressurized just to finish their home works. Instead they find it fascinating to study and experiment with new ideas beyond their class room subjects which in turn prepare them not only for completive exams but also for whole life.

However, as there is a dark side of everything, taking help of online tutors also has some draw backs. For example students tend to get distracted easily while studying in a virtual environment. Sometimes the phone will ring, somebody will ring the doorbell and if the TV is switched on to grab the attention, it is difficult for a student to be focused on the tutoring session. So it is the responsibility of parents to create a suitable environment and schedule a proper time for taking online tutoring. Besides it is also important to check and verify the background of the math online tutor before starting off. The parents also should be involved in making an individual study plan with the help of the online tutor and monitor their children’s progress regularly. In this way they can really assist their children to get a good score in entrance examinations and to get success in this competitive edge.

Tuesday 18 December 2012

Online math help: Best way to improve your math skills

Online tutoring has been gaining popularity rapidly in recent years. According to a recent study by GIA (Global Industry Analysts Inc.), the global online tutoring market will go beyond $152 Billion by the end of 2015. Especially in developed countries like USA, UK, Canada and Australia it has become a key component of all mainstream education. Because traditional system of tutoring in these countries are quite high. So online tutoring seems to be a better option for parents who want to supplement their children’s education with a private tutor. When it comes to help in math subject, online help is an obvious choice for all.

There are many advantages of taking online math help.

1. One of the major and immediate benefits of online Math tutoring is it makes learning more creative and interesting. With advanced things like whiteboard technologies online tutoring sessions have become more interactive and enjoyable.

2. Another important fact is the student can record and even save all the text files of online sessions and review it any time if he/she faces some doubts. This is not at all possible in traditional system of learning.

3. While tutoring online, student and the tutor, both can access to other valuable math resources that are available over internet which in turn can be learning as well as enriching experience for both of them.

4. Even parents can be involved in these online sessions and get an immediate feedback about the performance of their children.

5. At the end, as we know, this is the most convenient and affordable way to get a help in math.

If you are planning to hire a math tutor for your kid then you should consider My Tutor Store which is a one-stop-solution for all your math help needs and other subjects as well. This portal is a global leader in online tutoring having years of experience in this field. They provide both online and offline tutoring for all subjects from kindergarten to college level. All the tutors here are highly experienced with a minimum of Post-Graduation or a Master degree in their relevant subject. You’ll get one to one tutoring in all subjects and can clear all your doubts instantly. There are many packages to choose from that are specially designed for different IQ levels with a very affordable price.

Monday 17 December 2012

Getting Homework Help: Harmful or Helpful for Your Child?

Throughout the country, many voices have been raised against the over loading of homework. But we can’t deny the fact that Homework is an indispensable part of our education system since long time and still it remains. Even there are large percentages of people today who profoundly believe in it and support for its cause.

Research has already proved that children are more likely to succeed in study if their family takes active participation in their home work assignments and helps them to complete it. Even hiring an online tutor makes it easy to complete the assignments for parents and children as well .In fact it’s a two way opportunity for the whole family to interact, communicate and create better understanding about each other. Other benefits of assigning homework are:

• It helps the student to revise and practice what they’ve learned in class and prepares them for the next day.

• It teaches them to be self-disciplined and responsible

• It improves children’s memory and thinking skills

• It provides a more practical approach to study and to explore the subject more deeply in terms of projects, reports etc.

However it’s only the one side of the coin. When we analyze it practically, we get a different picture all together. To quote author Alfie Kohn “Homework is all pain and no gain”. In his book ‘The Homework Myth’, Alfie mentioned that “no study has ever found a correlation between homework and academic achievement in elementary school, and there is little reason to believe that homework is necessary in high school. In fact, it may even diminish interest in learning”. Even in certain families homework can be a burden in itself. Especially where both of the parents work outside which is quite common now days. In this case parents have to literally struggle to make their children complete their homework.

So what’s the end line then? Well, it lies in the fact that homework is doubtlessly an imperative part of our student life but teachers should be enough careful not to overload it. For example, the right amount of homework is directly proportional to the age and skills of a child. Research reveals that students up to second grade can gain from 20 to 30 minutes of doing homework while for third to sixth grade 30 to 60 minutes is enough. But from seventh grade onwards students should put an extra hour for doing homework. Parent’s involvement in children’s education can actually spark their enthusiasm for learning. Parents who are busy at work can take the help of online tutors. Especially for the subjects like Math, Science, English etc. Online tutoring is always a wise choice where children as well as parents can be involved from the comfort of their home.

Monday 10 December 2012

Algebra: An Art of Rational Thinking

Algebra is commonly viewed as a generalized arithmetic which is meant only for middle and high school level students. A more comprehensive definition says that it is a separate branch of mathematics in which letters and other symbols are used to represent numbers and quantities in formula and equations. Therefore today’s teachers regard it as the laws of number and imparting it in a wrong way into their students mind, restricting them to have a true understanding of the subject.

“Algebra is only for Older Students”- A Myth

But our modern day scholars in mathematics believe that Algebraic formulas are not about laws of number, but it deals with the laws of rational human thinking which is discovered in the course of investigating on numbers. It has been proved that Algebra is a gateway to enhance the logical thinking ability of mind and higher mathematical learning. That’s why it is more essential for the elementary students to learn the basic algebraic concepts for the development of their brains. In fact young children are far more capable of reasoning thinking than what we adult can do and this is the right age when their brain can be developed to its fullest potential. So it is of vital importance that Algebraic concepts should be included in the elementary curriculum and the teachers should be properly trained for it.  

Algebra as a Mathematical Thinking Tool

“Algebra is a language. This language has five major aspects: (1) unknowns, (2) formulas, (3) generalized patterns, (4) placeholders, (5) relationships. At any time that these ideas are discussed from kindergarten upward, there is opportunity to introduce the language of algebra.” as quoted by Zalman Usiskin, the well known educator and director of the University of the Chicago School of Mathematics.

Algebra basics can be divided into three broad categories as problem solving skills, representation skills, and reasoning skills. It is amusing to know that these thinking tools are used in our daily lives as habits of mind on a regular basis.

Problem solving is all about deciding what and how to do in a particular given situation using tools like guess and check, make a list, work backwards etc. While mathematical representations can be expressed in many forms like visually (diagrams, pictures, graphs etc.), numerically (tables, lists etc.), symbolically, and verbally. The ability to create, interpret, and translate these representations can actually boosts the logical thinking of brain. Lastly, the reasoning ability which involves real life cases helps to identify patterns and relate them to a particular problem.