Web Resource 2: Math for Dummies

I love how fun and easy to understand the
 For Dummies books are!

As a student, I really love the For Dummies book series. In high school, I've used it to study for ACT, SAT, SAT II, and AP tests and they're usually wonderful in effectively and painlessly explaining concepts and injecting humor into learning, studying, and test-preparation. Heck, I even have access to a New Orleans for Dummies one after having attended college in the Big Easy (awesome city by the way!). In fact, they have books ranging from AP Biology for Dummies to Resume for Dummies to Dating for Dummies (If anyone's interested, leave a comment below and I might be able to hook you up! Hah! I said that as if I have readers.)! I digress. The Math-For Dummies web site gathers the math excerpts from the For Dummies book series. It is organized by topic-by-topic short tutorials and example problem explanations for middle school to high school mathematics students(pre-algebra, algebra, calculus, geometry, trigonometry, probability and statistics, and graphing calculator tutorials). This site can be used by students to quickly review select topics in high school math and possibly decide if a particular For Dummies book is right for them.

In addition to select high school math topics, the For Dummies web site also "Math for Real Life," "Everyday Math for Dummies," and "Technical Math for Dummies." These links explore how math can be used in real life situations. Selective topics include how to estimate taxes when shopping, use body dimensions to estimate length, calculate GPA, quickly calculate tips and perform additions, approach problem solving, and quickly count changes). For teachers, these ideas can help them come up with engaging lesson plans.

This web site is not very interactive: you can click into different links to explore different topics, but that's about it. It is free and does not require any sign up. However, all the excerpts are from the For Dummies book series and the site features the selective books on the right of the screen. So an obvious con is that the purpose of the site is to promote its books by giving readers glimpses of all the excerpts. Alternatively, as a For Dummies fan, a pro is also that you can learn about different For Dummies books to buy to help you with different topics in math. For people not interested in spending money, the site does offer some cool topics and a way to quickly review key math concepts.

Overall, I think this site is best for use outside of class for students (review site) and teachers (resource site for planning) as it doesn't have many activities for in-class instruction. Also, the site features advertisement links on the right that could be inappropriate for school.