Desmos Review for Teachers

Desmos is a tool to help every student learn math and love learning math. In this opportunity, we are going to share Desmos reviews for the teachers. If you want to get that information, do not hesitate to read the text below.

What is Desmos?

Need to know that Desmos is a free graphing and teaching tool for math that is available on the web as well as on Android and iOS. Besides plotting equations, the classroom activities are available to assist the students learn about a lot of math concepts. For instance, the students are able to learn how to transform periodic functions by attempting to slide marbles through points on a graph. Or the students are able to plug in their own equation and then see what type of graph pops up. The sliders will allow the students to adjust values and see what occurs. Also, the users are able to click directly on the graph to discover the coordinates of points of intersection, minima and maxima.

Desmos encourages the students to practice math skills as well as play with math to express their own creativity. Kids are able to enter an unlimited number of mathematical expressions and see results graphed on the page instantly. A variant of colors and features make it possible to turn graphs into realistic drawings. With a free Desmos account, the teachers and the students are able to save graphs to revisit later.

Desmos Review for Teachers

How Can I Teach with Desmos?

As a teacher, you have to know that Desmos can be used in a range of different methods. Desmos can be used as a free graphing calculator, saving the students from buying a $100 calculator. The teachers are able to use it to make high-quality images for presentations and assessments. The classroom activities are where Desmos virtually stands out. The teachers are able to use Desmos to assist the students connect mathematical concepts to real-world shapes and pictures. Of course, starting an activity with your students is very easy. Simply, you are able to ask your students to enter the activity code into the site. Before assigning an activity, you have to try the student preview.

The teacher moves are listed at the bottom of activities. It gives specific ways you are able to coach your students while they are working. Progress can be monitored by using the teacher dashboard. Using this information, the teachers are able to work specifically with students one at a time, or you are able to pause the whole class if most are headed down the wrong path. Also, Desmos can be a powerful tool in leading math discourse. You are able to use the Snapshot tool to capture specific student responses and sequence them in the best order to encourage class conversation.

Is Desmos Good for Learning?

Desmos will take an inquiry approach to learning math. The students manipulate different parts of an equation to alter the shape of a graph to meet a goal, such as sliding a marble through the stars. Persistence is encouraged because the kids are able to adjust and try again if the graph does not look quite right. Also, other tools like ExploreLearning Gizmos will let the kids manipulate graphs by changing the equation, however Desmos empowers the students to collaborate with each other. The students are able to ask each other questions and try out challenges made by their peers.

Some features make Desmos a standout graphing choice for the students with varying math skills. For beginners, they benefit from the ability to use the sliders as substitutes for undefined variables. This way, the kids are able to watch the graph move and change shape because they click and drag the variable up and down. A feature which appeals to more advanced users is the ability to graph tables and inequalities. Tables are able to be pre-populated with expressions or entered manually. And they let the students graph groups of numbers at the same time.

Pro and Cons of Desmos

Apparently, there are pros and cons of Desmos. In the text below, you are going to get its explanation.

    • Pros
      Free and easy-to-use tool which gives the students a visual way to understand expressions, and teachers a powerful platform for the instruction.
    • Cons
      Without meaningful help, less experienced students might struggle when things get complicated.

Bottom Line: Part calculator, and part interactive simulation tool, Desmos is a standout example of inquiry-driven math with smart instructional support.

Safety of Desmos

The terms of Desmos state they allow the teachers and students to make individual accounts, even though no account is needed to use the graphing calculator. Besides that, the students are able to access teacher classroom activities with a PIN given by the teacher. The terms state that for the schools using the school collaboration functionality, a school user can share information with other authorized school users or invite other authorized school users to access, review, or edit school material. Generally, interactions on the website are centered around math-related activities.

Privacy of Desmos

The terms of Desmos state that they support social login through Google and only collect the minimal amount of personal information to use the Service. The service can collect or have access to Student Data which is given by the school or by the student. The kind of information the service can collect depends on how the school uses the service. Information collected will include a student’s first and last name, class assignment data, email address, and other classroom content. Also, the terms of Desmos state that they can use data which has been de-identified or aggregated for product development, research analytics, or marketing the service.

Aside from that, Desmos can give personalized content and information for the teachers, school administration officials, and other users associated with the schools. The terms of Desmos state that they will never use student data to engage in advertising or direct advertising to the student users. Also, the terms of Desmos state that Desmos will not allow third-party advertising networks or other third parties to gather information regarding users’ browsing behavior from their own service for advertising purposes.

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