Thumbs Up for GeoGebra - A Cool Tool for Math Teachers and Students

GeoGebra – A Cool Tool for Math Educators

GeoGebra (geometry and algebra, get it? If not, you probably shouldn’t waste your time reading the rest) is a neat little program to help students learn and explore math – what could be better?

What can you do with GeoGebra you ask? Well, some of the functionality in the tool include:

• ·         Graphing Calculator (2 and 3 dimensions)
• ·         Probability Calculator
• ·         Spreadsheet tool
• ·         Dynamic Geography Construction and Calculations

I have been using the tool just a little in a Geometry class I’m currently taking and it has proven very useful for making geographic constructions to solve problems and create sketches to use in other programs (like word processing).

HOW DO I GET IT?

There are several ways to use the tool, but the all start at the GeoGerbra.org website.

Here’s where you get to make a few choices. First, the GeoGebra Classic app has the other modules in it. It doesn’t look like that’s getting any more development, but it’s still functional and supported (they’ll fix the bugs but not add new features). The top three hot spots are the newer versions, but they are separate apps. They have a more modern look to them, but from what I can tell the functionality is similar, even if the layout is different. I can’t see any real plus or minus to either, but my class is using the classic app, so that’s what I’ll talk about most.

The next choice is to run a web version or download a copy to your device. All the modules and classic are available for Windows, Mac and Chrome. The classic is also available as a Linux download. (That’s new to me, but I love their icon).

What to choose? That’s probably up to you. Mainly because they are all FREE. I know I kinda buried the lead there. So choose what is best for your situation. If you want all the kids to be using the same tool, maybe the web version is best. If you don’t want to always be tethered to the net, maybe the stand alone version is best.

NOW WHAT? 

As an instructor, you can quickly make drawings you can add to other material. Here is a quick shot of a shape I drew and added to a geometry paper this semester.

Students can also make drawings to verify different geometric theorems, like this drawing that shows cool things about angle trisectors in a triangle

Or this one that I created to demonstrate a nine point circle.

The interface is extremely intuitive. With a 10-minute intro from my instructor and about 10 minutes of playing around, I was able to make the drawings above in just a couple minutes each.

OK, BUT WHAT ELSE?

By signing up for a free account, the package comes with cloud storage of the files you make, so nobody is tied to a specific device. This is great for schools that use shared computing resources.

Also with an account, you have access to a plethora of files that others shared. Here is a screenshot I took of one that shows what you can do with a bit more practice. This one is by Steve Phelps:

In addition, people share interactive modules that teachers can use for tons of things. Here is a screenshot of a lesson to help younger kids with positive and negatives using a thermometer as an aid instead of a number line. This lesson was done by the GeoGebra Team

THIS IS COOL! TELL ME MORE!

There’s a huge online forum with people discussing and sharing problems, solutions, teaching methods and cool things they found. There are also tutorials available for each of the modules.

If anything, I was a bit overwhelmed by how much GeoGebra can do and how many people are working together to make interesting lessons and examples for students.

AND FINALLY...

 It’s definitely a tool I will be using in the classroom and one I think any teacher working on anything to do with math would find useful.