Desmos

Desmos is an advanced graphing and teaching tool for math that's available on the web as well as on iOS and Android. In addition to equation plotting, classroom activities are available to help students learn about a variety of math concepts. For example, students can learn how to transform periodic functions by trying to slide marbles through points on a graph. Or they can plug in their own equation and see what kind of graph pops up; sliders allow students to adjust values and see what happens. Users can also click directly on the graph to find the coordinates of points of intersection, maxima, and minima.

Desmos encourages students to practice math skills as well as play with math to express their creativity. Students can enter an unlimited number of mathematical expressions and instantly see results graphed on the page. A variety of colors and features make it possible to turn graphs into complex and realistic drawings. With a free Desmos account, students and teachers can save graphs to revisit later. Several updates have been made that address accessibility needs in the classroom, including features for visually impaired and blind students, such as audio trace, refreshable braille-display support, and more -- although these features are not available for every activity.

Desmos takes an interactive approach to delivering math learning with graphing and visualization components. Desmos allows students to graph equations, plot data points, explore transformations, analyze functions, and solve equations, among other capabilities. It can also be utilized for activities related to modeling, data analysis, and real-world applications of mathematics. Students manipulate different parts of an equation to change the shape of a graph in an effort to meet a goal, such as sliding a marble through stars. Other tools like ExploreLearning Gizmos also let students manipulate graphs by changing the equation, but Desmos empowers students to collaborate with each other. Students can ask each other questions and try out challenges created by their peers.

Several features make Desmos a standout graphing option for students with varying math skills. Beginners benefit from the ability to use sliders as substitutes for undefined variables. This way, students can watch the graph dynamically change shape as they click and drag the variable up and down. Tables can be pre-populated with expressions or the expressions can be entered manually, and they let students graph groups of numbers at the same time. Geometry tools allow users to construct and manipulate geometric figures. These tools include points, lines, circles, polygons, and more. They are useful for visualizing geometric concepts, exploring properties, and solving geometry problems. Desmos also has regression tools that fit curves to data points, and it provides regression models.