App Reviews - Spencer Tinman

SC College- and Career-Ready Mathematics Standards

6.NS.6 

Extend the understanding of the number line to include all rational numbers and apply this concept to the coordinate plane. 

a. Understand the concept of opposite numbers, including zero, and their relative locations on the number line. 

b. Understand that the signs of the coordinates in ordered pairs indicate their location on an axis or in a quadrant on the coordinate plane. 

c. Recognize when ordered pairs are reflections of each other on the coordinate plane across one axis, both axes, or the origin. 

d. Plot rational numbers on number lines and ordered pairs on coordinate planes.

Khan Academy - https://www.educationalappstore.com/app/khan-academy

The Khan Academy app is a one stop shop for all things K-12+ education.  They have videos, articles, practices, quizzes, etc. for any topic you can think of.  The app and website are both free of charge for students and teachers alike.  Students from middle school to college would benefit the most from this app as they would be able to navigate it and use it best. The app works on android/apple devices but there is a website too that works on all browsers.  The review I posted is from the Educational App Store, which has over 3000+ reviews and is used by parents/teachers alike to find quality educational resources.  Their goal in founding was to make it easier for people to find good tech through the sea of what is available and enrich the education of younger students.

CK-12 - https://www.educationworld.com/app-review-ck-12-math-and-science-ipadiphone

CK-12 is a free app that focuses on K-12 math and science skills.  They have videos and practices for students to complete but also include lessons for teachers to use. The targeted audience is in the name as K-12 students would benefit the most from this app.  The app works best on iPad and iPhone. I used a review from Education World for this application because of it’s almost 25 year history of assisting teachers with useful resources.  They have also won many awards including “Best of…” lists from USA Today, MSN, Apple, and more.

GeoGebra - https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/geogebra

GeoGebra allows students to work more “hands-on” than the previously listed applications.  The main use is for graphing and modeling in mathematics from middle to high school+.  I chose it for this standard because I have used it as a way for students to use the coordinate plane and manipulate it and plot different points.  GeoGebra is a free app that is compatible with iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook and Linux.  Common Sense Education was the source I used for this review because it has a history of teaching about credible sourcing.  A website that focuses on internet safety and credibility and has a specific section for educators is a trustworthy place. 

My Choice:

I use all three of these in my classroom to teach this standard to my sixth grade students because they are free and can be used in concert to fully teach the topic.  The all in one approach of Khan Academy and CK-12 are a beautiful thing for a teacher.  The manipulative nature of GeoGebra is a great way to deepen my students’ learning and is a powerful tool for my more hands-on learners.  Out of the three options, I would choose Khan Academy because it can do a little bit of everything well.  If you were inclined to do so, you could teach the entire standard with the resources available on Khan Academy.  The resources go from introduction videos to practices with examples and explanations and go all the way through a Unit Test.  The Khan Academy app is a little more user friendly than the other two options as well which is massively important for teachers.  We want our students to spend their time learning the material that we are teaching and not on learning how to use the application.  The combination of these factors is what led me to choosing Khan Academy over the other options.