Top 25 Free Math Resources

By Tech Powered Dad | February 6, 2012

$Free math resources$ For the last few weeks, I’ve been scouring the web with Google, listening to reader suggestions, and searching through others’ lists of resources, trying to find the top free math resources online. I was not surprised to learn that there are a ton of free math resources out there. Sorting through them has been no small task, and while I’d love to pretend this list is all-inclusive, I’d be a liar if I tried to make that claim for a number of reasons.

First, there are so many resources out there that I haven’t come close to seeing them all. Second, I tried not to be too repetitive with genres. For example, there are a number of cool graph/chart makers online, but I tried to stick to a single resource of each type as much as possible. Third, and most importantly, I was very biased in the process of making this list. I went with my favorites. So if you disagree with my rankings, or if you have suggestions of your own that I omitted, please add them in the comments below this post.

1. Wolfram Alpha

Wolfram’s computational knowledge can’t be beat as a resource for students and teachers. It’s my top choice for the best free resource available on the web. The Pro version was just announced earlier this week.

2. Khan Academy

Video lessons on any and every mathematical topic. Khan’s videos aren’t always the most polished, but the vast array of topics and thorough explanations make up for it.

3. Desmos

The best free online graphing calculator I’ve ever seen, now available in an iPad optimized format.

4. NLVM

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives created by Utah State has a wealth of interactive activities for K-12.

5. Wikipedia

I’m sure I’ll catch some heat for this one, especially so high, and I feel like I have to offer an explanation. For all that’s wrong with Wikipedia from an educational standpoint, there’s a heck of a lot more that’s right. For example, check out the entry on the Pythagorean theorem. The theorem is explained in far more detail and using far more approaches than any textbook I’ve come across. Additionally, the article itself only scratches the surface. The citations section at the bottom of Wikipedia articles is often a gold mine. The Pythogrean Theorem the article currently has 75 references, many of them to books and research publications, each of which would be a great place to go for a student doing a research paper. Rather than banning students from Wikipedia, I’d encourage them to learn to read it with careful scrutiny. After all, students need to develop a skeptical eye is for consuming information in the 21st century.

6. Geogebra

Free piece of dynamic geometry and algebra software that will remind you of Geometer’s Sketchpad (with a little something extra, like algebra and statistics).

7. Itunes

Apple’s software gives quick access to a wealth of free video lessons such as MIT Open Courseware.

8. Google Sketchup

Google’s 3D drawing software.

9. Illuminations

Activities from the National Council of Teacher’s of Mathematics

10. MIT’s Open Courseware

Free access to videos, lecture notes, assignments and solutions in over 2 dozen different classes at one of the most prestigious universities in the world? I think it qualifies for this list.