This is a great way for students to learn interactively.

PhET equation grapher is an online polynomial graphing website with a great concept, but it strictly just shows the graph. There are no sample problems. I liked that the students were able to see how the graphs of polynomials change. The product would serve my classroom better if the website gave practice problems for the students to graph. I had to give the students specific equations to type in, and then tell them how to change the equations so they could see how the graphs change. This website is very basic, but is great for a teacher led lesson.

The PhET Equation Grapher should not be confused with the other PhET tools. While the grapher is a valuable supplement to other teaching tool, it itself does not foster a high level of engagement with students. That being said, there are other teaching tools that are offered on the PhET site that I use constantly in my physics classroom. I think that with additional support for how to use the Equation Grapher and potentially links to other PhET simulations that would make this grapher appear more applicable to the real world, this tool could be used to a greater extent by students than just simply as an augment for a teacher's lesson.

The PhET site has some good applications, but I can create most of them quickly and easily with other software.