Interactive Tool for Graphing Polynomials
Community Review for PhET Equation Grapher
My Take
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.
How I Use It
I used the PhET equation grapher when my class was working on graphing polynomials. I used PhET equation grapher to introduce how each part of the equation of a polynomial changes the graph. The students were able to successfully see how each part of a polynomial equation affects the graph. The students were not able to practice without having specific teacher led problems to work through, and the website did not hold their attention for long. I used PhET equation grapher in a middle school math class to learn about graphing polynomials. The students were able to see how each part of a polynomial equation affects its graph.