How to Find Free Online Math Tutoring Resources During Coronavirus Outbreak
As the coronavirus pandemic has closed schools around the country and forced many parents into the role of teachers, one lifeline may be particularly helpful: a free online math tutor.
On a cloudy afternoon in Washington, D.C., for example, Reggie Smith III is sheltering in place at home with his two daughters: a 20-year old college sophomore remotely attending her classes at Xavier University of Louisiana via Zoom, and an 8-year-old using Google Classroom to connect with her classmates. Smith, executive director of the nonprofit United States Distance Learning Association, has just completed a webinar for members of his team, and in a few moments will go help his youngest child with her schoolwork.
[Read: What to Expect From Online Exams Required During the Coronavirus Outbreak.]
Like many parents, Smith is experiencing what he calls the “fire-hose” effect of homeschooling.
“Parents are on information overload,” he says. “If you’re working full time, especially if you’re deemed an essential employee who can’t take time off, to get steamrolled with 6-8 hours of content for your children’s class is kind of daunting.”
Those hours might be standard coursework, but some students might need or even want a little extra support during their at-home studies — and parents, who might not have taken an algebra or trigonometry class in decades or longer, might want some as well.
While students can struggle with any subject at any time, former New York City elementary school teacher turned tutor, Kyle Somersall, says math can be particularly challenging for young learners at home.
“In a traditional classroom, math is typically taught in a more hands-on way than, say, reading, for instance,” says Somersall, who holds a master’s degree in education and now offers paid, private tutoring sessions in math and college test prep for middle school and high school students during the current lockdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Speaking from his home office in Harlem, Somersall says, “A teacher will usually demonstrate a problem, maybe using blocks or other props, and then students will break into groups and solve a problem together. That’s really hard to replicate at home.”
[Read: Weigh When to Take an Online Math Course.]
The website MathBRIX, which offers a free six-month trial, attempts to solve that challenge for students who are in kindergarten through second grade by providing virtual building blocks and other virtual math games to help stimulate problem-solving.
Somersall uses a variety of tools, including Google Docs, Zoom and Microsoft Whiteboard, to teach his students.
Bita Nazarian, executive director of 826 Valencia, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that helps under-resourced students between the ages of 6 and 18 learn literacy skills, says the sheer number of online tools available is belied by the fact that not all students’ needs are being met.
“There are a huge range of digital platforms available, but not all families have access to platforms or devices or Wi-Fi,” Nazarian says as her children, ages 8 and 9, run in and out of her home office, laughing. “It’s not enough to just get a link from a school and expect the parents, and the kids, will be able to immediately access the knowledge they need.”
In addition to resources offered by local school districts, a number of online tools offer specialized coursework and tutoring in math and other topics. Although the sheer number of offerings might be overwhelming, educational professionals and parents alike say there are a few free online math resources they use the most during the current period of homeschooling due to the coronavirus pandemic:
— Khan Academy
— Math I Can Do
— Mathspace
— The Math Learning Center
Khan Academy
Like many of the experts interviewed, Nazarian and her children use resources from the nonprofit Khan Academy, one of the most popular online learning tools.
“Khan Academy is well-positioned for kids of different ages,” Nazarian says, “with demos and practice lessons. It seems to be the standard for many students right now.”
While schools are closed due to the coronavirus, Khan Academy is offering free, daily schedules for students ages 2 to 18, according to its website. The schedules include suggestions for math practice, such as fifth grade math focused on decimals.
Nazarian also recommends Freckle for age-targeted math lessons. Freckle offers more than 50,000 math questions for students between kindergarten and ninth grade, according to its website.
Math I Can Do
For students ranging in levels from elementary school to college, the Math I Can Do editor helps with long-form math. The company is making its desktop app available at no cost for as long as schools are closed during the current coronavirus outbreak.
[Read: How to Prepare for College-Level Math.]
Mathspace
This online educational program for students ranging from elementary to high school ages offers textbooks, videos and lesson plans that students can do independently or with their teachers. Mathspace has made all of its resources free for all schools forced to close due to the coronavirus.
The Math Learning Center
Originally funded by the National Science Foundation to help foster teaching of various math disciplines, The Math Learning Center offers a wide range of free tools for students between pre-K and fifth grade and their teachers, including apps, lesson plans, publications and a blog that includes advice on home learning during school closures.
The variety of options available to help support parents and students during the COVID-19 pandemic can help ensure students are learning, but, Somersall warns, there are limitations on how and what students can realistically learn during this period.
“If you think about how much students forget during the summer months, and now add the months of the lockdown, I can’t imagine what it will be like over a six-month period,” he says. “A lot of what students need to learn just isn’t going to be able to be replicated with just the technology.”
But, Smith says, although it might not be at the same level as students and parents would expect in the classroom, the time spent homeschooling can serve another purpose.
“I think a lot of parents during this time will really connect with their children as students in ways they haven’t before,” Smith says. “It’s a chance to really understand what kind of learner your student is, what their learning style is, what they pay attention to, what makes them want to get up and take a break or wander around the house,” he says.
“At the end of this, parents will have a new understanding of their children, and, I think, a great appreciation for their teachers.”
Molly McCluskey is a multimedia journalist and editor who has spent the past decade living in and reporting from some of the most interesting places in the world — and a few not-so-interesting ones as well. She covers foreign affairs, economics, finance, travel and other topics for a wide range of national and international publications. A frequent contributor to U.S. News & World Report, McCluskey’s bylines include Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Pacific Standard, CityLab, The Washington Post, National Geographic and more. She is also the creator of Diplomatica, which profiles the hidden histories of diplomatic properties around the world.
She was the editor of CityLab’s limited series, Room to Grow, about the benefits and challenges of raising small kids in urban areas throughout the world, and has edited for publications ranging from Talking Points Memo to Al Jazeera English to Middle East Eye, and was a news producer for the European Broadcasting Union. She currently serves as Editor-at-Large of Diplomatic Courier, a global foreign affairs magazine.
McCluskey is a former reporting fellow in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a recipient of the McGraw Fellowship for Business Reporting, the inaugural recipient of the Solutions Journalism Network Freelance Fund reporting grant, a Media Scholar with Women Deliver and a Reporting the Border Fellow with the International Center of Journalists and the Border Center for Journalists and Bloggers. She is a frequent lecturer and panelist on journalism, press freedom and other topics around the world, and served four terms on the Board of Governors of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter @MollyEMcCluskey.
