Is Algebra II Algebra II?

According to a piece by Erik Robelen (09-04-13, Education Week), what is called Algebra II in today’s American schools doesn’t have the rigor of Algebra II of the past. Robelen focuses on a study by Dr. Tom Loveless of the Brooking Institute, which says that the good news is that more students are taking Algebra II today, but that the bad news is that scores are declining. Loveless doesn’t know the reason for the problem but suggests that it could be that more low performing or poorly prepared students are taking the course, that the quality of the materials used has declined, and/or that teaching is less effective. It was found that, while students are not failing Algebra II courses, they are failing in Algebra II testing.

Easy Way to Find Educational Apps

EdShelf on the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest offers help with finding great applications for you and your students. For example, this week's recommendations from EdShelf include AlgebraGenie (gaming with algebra problems), Eyes on the Solar System (NASA tool), Stencyl (creates games), Tynker (teaches students computer science and programming), Sketchometry (practice in geometry), and MaKey MaKey (electronics kit). Some of the latest trending tools listed are: Mystery Math Town, Word Wonders Project, and Basker's Presidents. You can search for what you need by topic and/or receive email messages from EdShelf. Use the video intro to learn more about this site and its abundance of resources.

Looking for Mathematics & Science eTexts for iPads?

If you are watching for etexts at the App Store, you’ll find that more are being added every day, especially for high school science and mathematics. Both Pearson and McGraw-Hill, for example, have national editions of their biology books ready for download at $14.99 each. The books include traditional text content, interactive experiences, reading support, and options for encouraging student learning. There are also etexts for chemistry, physics, astronomy, environmental science, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, etc.  If you’d like to browse a list of texts available at the App Store, click the link above and you’ll find those that are ready for download by clicking on “See all textbooks in the iBook store.” For many of the books, you can download sample chapters.