Math Reference - I love the quote from Albert Einstein on the front page of this site - "Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater." There are many more of Einstein's quirky comments dotted through this interesting and useful site created by Jennifer Ledbetter, a major in mathematics at Arkansas State University, who put the site together because when looking for references during her own studies she was unable to find one site that had all she needed. Math Reference must surely come close to her wish and is an excellent resource for anyone studying mathematics at school or college, or those who just want to know more about numbers in general. The site is more of a reference aid than a teaching tool per se, providing numerous definitions, charts, equations and graphs; from the exceedingly simple, such as multiplication tables, to the more complex such as rectangular, cylindrical and spherical coordinates, and from serious calculus to a list of odds for poker hands and probabilities in a game of dice. All aspects of mathematics are covered and although currently incomplete, the site is updated regularly. The website is functional in design, with the front page acting as the site directory, however the pages are easy to navigate and a search function is also available. Rating: 7 out of 10 (27 January 2003) LH
http://www.MathReference.net/
Coolmath.com - The mission of Coolmath.com is to make mathematics fun and the website succeeds admirably. Separate sections are aimed at kids, teenagers/adults, teachers and parents, with each designed to appeal to the targeted audience. For example, the kids section is very colourful with age appropriate interactive games, lessons, calculators, and puzzles. The sections aimed at the older age groups are more subdued in design and clearly explain concepts such as limits and exponentials. Parents can read articles about how to help and encourage their kids to learn, while teachers can find links to teaching resources and specific maths topics. The website maintainer is a maths teacher and even shares some of the tricks she uses in the classroom to make maths fun and easy. Too many kids thinks of maths as boring and hard to understand. Coolmath.com is an excellent way of showing them how maths works in a fun environment. Rating: 9 out of 10 (11 January 2003) KM
http://www.coolmath.com/
Exploremath.com - Exploremath.com is an online community involved in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Run by an online educational publisher aiming to develop tools and content for web-based teaching and learning, teachers are encouraged to join. Benefits of membership include creating course webpages, and posting assignments and other information for students and parents. Lesson plans developed by member of the community are available, along with multimedia activities which create correlations between equations and graphs to allow students to visualize and experiment with mathematical concepts. A forum and newsletter help community members keep in touch. With a very uncluttered and user-friendly layout, Exploremath.com is a wonderful example of how the internet can be used for teaching. The website has intensive multimedia content, and is best viewed using a version 4 or higher web browser with the latest Shockwave Plugin installed, along with monitor resolution no less than 16-bit (more than 256 colours) at 800x600 or greater. Lesson plans require Adobe Acrobat Reader. Rating: 8 out of 10 (13 December 2002) KM
http://www.exploremath.com/
Calculus.org - Calculus can give ulcers to even the most phlegmatic student, but this site should help. Like a warehouse, it has everything you might need to excel... somewhere. Edited by two professors at the University of California, Davis, the site contains problem sets, demos, exams, and detailed solutions to lead you through basic integral calculus, with more topics to come. There's also a set of funny excerpts from a book called "How to Ace Calculus: The Streetwise Guide." But most prominent is a tremendous, and roughly formatted, list of links to perhaps every calculus resource on the net. Textbooks, problems, Mathematica workbooks, enrichment material, and even software are all linked, if you can find them. Rating: 7 out of 10 (1 December 2002) AS
http://www.calculus.org/
Plus Magazine - Plus Magazine, an effort of the Millennium Mathematics Project out of Cambridge, comes out with an issue packed full of popular mathematics articles four or five times a year. Science professors write most of the pieces, so they are of interest to anyone, and they're well-edited, so they can be understood by secondary school students. Interviews are featured regularly, with big names like John Conway appearing recently. The site is simple and easy to navigate, and the front page has a sidebar covering recent mathematics news to keep you on top of things. A nice place to drop by every couple of months. Rating: 8 out of 10 (26 November 2002) AS
http://plus.maths.org/
Elements of Abstract and Linear Algebra - There are few good textbooks that are cheap, much less free, so with this site Edwin Connell has put together something special--a concise but complete introduction to linear algebra for anyone to read. As he explains, it's a minimal book, to which teachers can add, so it can be used as a foundation for courses on linear algebra with applications to mathematics, computer science, biology or any other subject. The writing is direct and to the point, which many students will appreciate, though a few more explanations might be useful. The approach is a little nonstandard, but logical, starting with basic ideas of abstract algebra that make the rest of the book go very smoothly. Connell asks for application-oriented additions that he can put up for general viewing, but none have been added yet. Rating: 9 out of 10 (23 September 2002) AS
http://www.math.miami.edu/~ec/book/
Mathematical Atlas - This site has been prepared by an associate professor of maths at Northern Illinois University and is in the nature of a resource site for university-level maths. It covers almost all the subject areas but is more oriented to the pure than the applied side. The home page has a set of clickable numbered bubbles, as well as conventional navigation buttons, and it took me a while to find the best way of getting round the site. The bubbles are intended to be sized according to the importance of the subject area to which they link (in terms of numbers of published papers), and located according to their interrelatedness, and a similar device is used on other pages. There is some guidance about the navigation, including a guided tour of the subject areas, and, once I got the hang of it, I was able to find as much detail as I wanted about virtually every area of maths. There is extensive interlinking between the subject areas, together with links to other sources, so that you can follow the trail easily. There is also a search facility and a useful index. If you feel like trying to contribute to discussions about existing theories, or trying to introduce some new theory of your own, you can join the question and answer pages, although it is not clear how up-to-date these are. Rating: 8 out of 10. (15 August 2002) MDH
http://www.math-atlas.org/
Number Patterns, Curves & Topology - If you enjoy math, are intrigued by puzzles, teach math at any level, or love to learn about the interconnections between math and other disciplines, this site is like a box of chocolates. Jill Britton has collected and annotated links to a wide range of mathematical topics from tangrams, fractals, mazes and cycloids to the abacus, cryptography, the mobius strip, and Fibonacci Numbers, along with a mathematical perspective on the map of the London Underground, and provides links to websites with text, illustrations, animations, interactive learning tools, audio and video clips. Her annotations are brief and helpful, and she has selected links that contribute to understanding the concepts. While this site lacks some of snappy, commercial graphic feel common on sites today, it has a beautifully clear and simple design with an Escher-like graphic background. It's only shortcomings are the lack of a table of contents and a search feature, as both would make browsing easier. I wish I had access to this site when I was teaching middle school mathematics because it would have helped me to create compelling and interesting examples for my students. Rating: 8 out of 10 (1 August 2002) CK
http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~jbritton/jbfunpatt.htm
