New Site Milestone! 600,000 views!

I don't have any new math concepts to present in this post.  Rather, I just want to announce that my site has reached another milestone, because as of this morning it has received more than 600,000 views!  That's a lot of traffic, and has come a long ways since I started.  So, I just want to send a brief thank you to everyone who has ever come by my site or contributed in any way, especially those who have stimulated discussion in my posts, suggested new topics for me to cover, and to all of those other sites out there that have generously linked to mine.  Math is not a simple topic for many students, and I am extremely happy that I am able to provide any degree of assistance in making these concepts more accessible and understandable.  Thanks to everyone for your support, and here's looking at 1 million views!

Mathematics and Multimedia: Partner Blog Highlight

In this post, I'd like to highlight a very well done math blog called Mathematics and Multimedia, a site that is maintained by Guillermo Bautista and is now a partner blog of Math Concepts Explained.  The material that he posts on his site discusses a wide variety of mathematical concepts that span the whole K-12 range of grades, and also into university levels.  He also blogs about alternative ways of teaching these topics, which is very helpful for both teachers and students alike to see something different from the usual/traditional methods.  Good math resources are also frequently shared, such as online calculators or other tools. 

Many examples demonstrate the usefulness of technology and its integration into education curriculums.  He is a strong supporter of the use of GeoGebra software for teaching and learning math, for which he has created more than 50 GeoGebra tutorial lessons and posted them on his site.  These lessons start with the basics of introducing the software and how to use it, and then gradually advance to demonstrate how it can be used for both teaching and learning.

Another one of his most popular posts includes a list of more than 20,000 mathematics contest problems and solutions.  This is an incredibly useful resource for anyone looking for practice questions.  The problem sets come from various contests or past exams, so it is all very relevant material, and there is such a huge selection that you would be an expert if you managed to get through all of it!

Guillermo is a very knowledgable instructor, which is evident by the diverse selection and depth of his explanations and content.  His blog has been created as a hobby, but you can see his passion for the subject in his writings.  It is highly recommended that you pay his site a visit to see if you can find anything there that is helpful to you!

Japanese multiplication method

There is a bunch of videos going around lately that seem to be very popular, which demonstrate a style of Japanese multiplication.  It is quite visual, and I would argue that more complicated products could require even more work than traditional (at least, what I consider traditional) methods.  In any case, it is a very interesting process that you could use to impress your friends and family, or even use it as a math trick.  Here's the gist of how the Japanese multiplication method works.

Let's try a simple example.  Find the product of 12 x 31.

Essentially, you denote the digits as groups of lines, and then you count the intersections to arrive at your result.  So, in this case, the 12 is represented by a group of 1 line and a group of 2 lines, and the 31 is represented by a group of 3 lines and a group of 1 line.  We'll draw the "12" lines slanting up in blue, and the "31" lines slanting down in orange.

Now, imagine that these lines and their intersections can be divided into columns.  You get the left point of the diamond in the first column, the top and bottom of the diamond together in the second column, and the right point of the diamond in the third column.  Now, to find the product of these two numbers, all you do is count the intersections in each column and write that number down.  These numbers will be the digits in the final answer.

Check with your calculator and you can verify that 12 x 31 = 372!  It takes a bit of work, but it's a pretty cool method of multiplying numbers together!  This works really easily when you are multiplying a pair of two digit numbers together.  When you have three digits numbers, or more, you simply add another group of lines, and then you will wind up with more columns to tally the intersections.  Also, in any one column, if you count more than 9 intersections, you simply carry the tens digit of your intersections over one column to the left and add to that total.  So, if you count 12 intersections in a column, the value you keep is the 2, and you add the 1 to whatever is in the column to the left.

If nothing else, I think this method is a really cool demonstration for a cool math trick, though I don't think that I would use it to replace the style of multiplication that I learned in school.  However, that's not to say that it won't be more appealing or useful to you!  Do you use this method in your studies?  Let me know in the comments, and don't forget to hit the Facebook Like button at the start of the post to support my site!

20+ Free Math Worksheet Sites for Teachers

In a recent blog post, I put out a call for recommendations of sites to include in my resource for math worksheets that I hoped to create.  I had several people respond to me, either by commenting here on my blog, through my new Facebook site, or through Twitter.  Thank you to everyone who contributed!  I don't know if this will ever be known as "THE math worksheets site," (though that would be nice!) but if anyone gains any benefit from it whatsoever in the months and years ahead, I will consider this a successful project.  I will certainly be monitoring its popularity and traffic to see how it goes!

What follows is a compilation of sites that I feel are a good resource that can be used by teachers, parents, students and homeschooler alike to help teach and practice math concepts.  None of them are my sites, though some have been kind enough to link back to me!  If anyone objects to any sites that I've included, please don't hesitate to contact me and I will remove it from my database.  READ MORE...

Math Worksheet Database

Several months ago, I posted an article about free printable math worksheets.  I created a couple of basics problem sets that could be printed off, and I also mentioned a couple of other websites that admittedly did a lot better at providing practice worksheets.  I quickly fell behind in keeping my selection of questions up to date, as I instead focused on keeping my blog active with new concept lessons.  Now, I want to do something a bit better and more productive.  

Instead of me having to create sheets that teachers and students can download to practice their math with, I am putting out a request to all of my readers for your help.  

Let me know in the comments below some of the sites that you know about and use where you find good practice math worksheets.  When I have a sufficient number, I will redo or add to my original worksheets blog post, but instead of providing (and having to make) the actual practice questions, I will make the page into a repository of links to other websites that all specialize in providing free math sheets.

I think that this is a way better plan that what I originally envisioned.  As much as I'd love to create all of my own work to share and make freely available to distribute, I unfortunately don't have the time necessary to dedicate to that project.  However, by making use of the power of social networking, I hopefully can put together a database of sites that are all relevant and useful, because they will already have been recommended by some of my readers!

Help me to get this database of math sites off the ground!  Leave me a note in the comments below, or on my new Facebook page, and I will compile them all and make a great resource of free practice materials for students and teachers to use.  I will also be sure to acknowledge everyone who suggests sites!  Thanks in advance for everyone's help!

Be sure to click the +1 button below, or my new Facebook Like button at the start of this post to help me get the word out!