iOS Math Apps by Teachers
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 10:55AM 
You've probably heard of apps developed by kids, like Bustin Jieber by twelve-year-old Thomas Suarez and MathTime by fifth grader Owen Voorhees and his slightly younger brother Finn. It's really great to see youth creating apps. It's also fantastic to see educators developing apps. I'd like to tell you about two new math apps and the teachers who made them.
William Gann is a fifth grade teacher in Willard, Missouri. He codes his own math apps with input from his students. He started with an iOS app to help practice rounding. His newest offering is a game called 32 where the objective to to combine given numbers to make an expression that equals 32. It's a great way for students to apply their knowledge of the Order of Operations. 32 is available for 99¢ as an iPhone/iPod touch app or as an iPad app.
William has developed other math apps, including ones that address multiplication, division, prime numbers, and more. Search for William Gann in the App Store to see all of his apps. Also, check out the KY3 News story that features William: Willard 5th Grade Math Students are using iPods with Some of Their Teacher's Own Apps in Class.
Kevin Scritchfield teaches math at Sierra High School in California. He worked with a developer to make the first of what he hopes to be many apps. This first app is for iPad and is called Alge-Bingo. Kevin says the game is great for Pre-Algebra and Algebra I students who are just learning how to solve equations. He priced Alge-Bingo at 99¢.
32 and Alge-Bingo are just two of the many great apps for math out there, and it's nice that they are brought to us by ambitious classroom teachers.
Craving more math apps? I'm keeping a list of good and (mostly) free math apps on my Pinterest board.
Reader Comments (7)
Great to see other teachers creating apps for their own use in class! I am a Primary School teacher in New Zealand, with 6-7 year old students, and I have created a few (mainly math), iPad apps that I use with them all the time. 100s Board would have to be my favorite app, with students giving the best (and honest!) feedback. You can find 100s Board and my other apps at http://www.rubberchickenapps.com
That's terrific, Matthew. Thanks for sharing!
My fifth graders and I worked with developers to create Palm apps 10 years ago. It was such a worthwhile experience for everyone involved and produced some super-useful student-friendly apps.
Plain web apps work well, too. I made an app that helps learn percentages and fractiions - http://percentagecalculator.info . Check it out!
What a cool teacher! I wish my teachers had the same passion. I made a little tool myself to help my son with his math work. Maybe it can be of help to you and your friends http://percentagecalculator.biz
Hello, this is my 1st visit in this blog which I found while searching for some tutorials. I must say these teachers are clever. They have created such nice apps for children. I think in the near future learning will happen by means of electronic devices such as iPads, Nooks, etc. So I think this step will be a important step for looking forward. Hats off to those teachers who made this possible. Keep it up. :)
Greetings everyone,
Here are couple of iOS apps that can greatly improve student's interest in math:
First one is for younger kids:
Math Samurai
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/math-samurai/id440652209?mt=8
Next one is free and it is math based logic game - excellent for older kids:
Digitron
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/digitron-lite/id499184246?mt=8
If you are a teacher interested in testing the app for your school, please contact me thru edin.us (please use your school email) and I'll send you promo code for Math Samurai.
Thanks!
We recently worked with a 3rd grade teacher in Dallas, TX to develop Teaching Table, a math app that allows you to create interactive math lessons. Check it out at
Teaching Table