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PhotoMath: Every math student's dream come true
The latest from the "Why didn't they have this when I was in school?" news is a very cool app that scans printed mathematical expressions and then solves them. PhotoMath (free) is every school kid's dream. The app was pointed out by Mike Rose, who saw Amit Chowdry's writeup in Forbes. Apparently the app has a few quirks - Chowdry noted that it sometimes misreads the "X" in an equation as a multiplication symbol - but that still doesn't keep it from doing a great job of solving those equations. The educational benefit? It shows step by step how those equations are being solved so that students can learn the process to go through. When you point the iPhone's camera at a math or science textbook, a red frame appears that you place around the equation. The app uses OCR to grab the equation, then recognizes the type of calculation that is being made. Step by step, it shows how the problem is solved. The PhotoMath OCR capability is designed by London-based Microblink, which plans to use that function for future online banking apps. PhotoMath's description in the App Store notes that additional functionality will be added in future updates.
PhotoMath uses your phone's camera to solve equations
Need a little help getting through your next big math exam? MicroBlink has an app that could help you study more effectively -- perhaps too effectively. Its newly unveiled PhotoMath for iOS and Windows Phone (Android is due in early 2015) uses your smartphone's camera to scan math equations and not only solve them, but show the steps involved. Officially, it's meant to save you time flipping through a textbook to check answers when you're doing homework or cramming for a test. However, there's a concern that this could trivialize learning -- just because it shows you how to solve a problem doesn't mean that the knowledge will actually sink in. And if teachers don't confiscate smartphones at the door, unscrupulous students could cheat when no one is looking. The chances of that happening aren't very high at this stage, but apps like this suggest that schools might have to be vigilant in the future.
MIT researchers use algebraic equation that improves WiFi and LTE data streams: boosts speed, reduces network congestion
Dodging the issues of spectrum auctions and more cell towers, researchers at MIT have discovered that they can use an algebraic equation to improve data speeds by reducing dropped packets. It's these dropped packets that can build up congestion across a wireless network, as devices attempt to recoup these missing data nuggets. But instead of sending typical packets, MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics created an equation that describes a series of packets. If a packet fails to deliver, then the receiving device is apparently able to "solve" the missing chunk, with the processing load on phones, routers and base stations apparently negligible. The tech, which can also seamlessly transition a data stream between wireless internet and LTE, has already been tested on WiFi networks over at MIT; when two percent of data packets were dropped, speeds were boosted from 1Mbps to 16Mbps. If five percent of packets were being lost, the researchers then saw bandwidth increase from 0.5Mbps to 13.5Mbps. Companies are apparently already licensing the tech, although MIT isn't revealing more on this just yet. Muriel Medard, project lead, said that there were currently "very severe inefficiencies that should be remedied before you consider acquiring more resources" -- namely more spectrum and hardware, although the gains seen in these early tests are yet to be replicated in real life. There's more on the science and development at the source link below.
School district eyes iPads to improve students' math scores
We've heard of secondary schools and universities swapping out books for iPads before, but now thanks to a pilot program in four middle schools in Las Vegas, we're beginning to see just how helpful iPads can be in an educational setting. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1,150 children at the four schools were given iPads preloaded with Fuse Algebra textbooks and software instead of regular math books, pencils, and paper. Now while working on their math assignments, the children can use the iPads to watch tutorials and get instant feedback on an equation they completed. If they got the math problem wrong, they can put on headphones and watch a tutorial on the spot teaching them how to solve it correctly. While official results of the pilot program won't be available for some time, anecdotal evidence on its effectiveness is very good. One student said that she was traditionally a C or D student in math, but since using the iPad in the classroom, her average math scores have increased to Bs or As. The teachers are jut as enthusiastic about using the iPads in the classroom. Principal Robert Mars said, "Any tech we use – a laptop, smart board, iPod Touch, handheld transponder – anything that's tech-related, kids gravitate toward that. Every child is engaged constantly by having them in their hands."
HMH Fuse: California tests a full year Algebra course on an iPad app
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a major textbook company, has launched a year long pilot project with the HMH Fuse: Holt McDougal Algebra 1 full year algebra course on an iPad. The course mirrors all the content of the Holt McDougal Larson Algebra 1 2011 textbook currently being used in many schools. The pilot project includes 400 eighth grade students in the San Francisco, Long Beach, Riverside, and Fresno, California school districts. One group is using the HMH Fuse app, and a control group is using the standard text. As far as we know, this is the first time a full year subject matter course has been rolled out as an app. The study will be conducted by Empirical Educations Inc. an independent testing group, and it will measure differences and similarities in areas of achievement and attitudes about learning. They also want to learn about how and if the students use the app the way it was intended. Each teacher in the pilot project will teach one random class section using the app and another using the book, which may help account for differences in teaching style and his or her influence over the class. According to the testing agency, the study will eventually roll-out to 1200 students, with test reports due in the Fall of 2011. The hope is that it will be available to all California school districts in January, 2011. %Gallery-102158%
Austin Independent School District makes deal to buy more video games for classrooms
We've seen educational video games show up in the classroom before, and it looks like one school district is coming back for more. The Austin Independent School District has ordered up another set of edu-games from a company called Tabula Digita that provides 3D, first-person action-based games to teach students how to do basic math and algebra. One sample scenario in the games has students calculating the location of an in-game weather station on a graph, and then using the data found there to make charts and track down alien creatures. The press release doesn't mention costs, but according to its website, 15 single-user licenses to the games cost the school $1049.25 each, making up a cost of just over $24,000 for the entire 350 student program. The students, who were part of a 10-day JumpStart program and had previously failed a math retest, were allowed to play the games for 30 minutes a day, and, afterwards, 82% of the kids said they had improved their understanding of the concepts. No word on how their k/d ratio came out.
