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Locking Down The Internship: College Student Edition

As the spring season emerges, a similar question creeps into every hallway, classroom and Happy Hour conversation:

“So what are you doing this summer?”

A friend asked me this at a party during my spring semester of sophomore year. I had some vague, hazy fantasy of palm trees and sunny beaches in foreign lands. But reality has no Instagram filter. With no coherent answer to give, I began hyperventilating.

Read the rest of our blog here!

[griffinteen-blog]

Novels: Alternative Titles

Some novels, and pieces of writing are given alternative titles, for one reason or another but can you match up these lesser known titles with the more well known name?

Not going to post our score, but this gif says it all. 

[theeconomist]

Tennessee Williams was “the most autobiographical of American playwrights”

To young, experienced theatregoers, Tennessee Williams’s depictions of sex and homosexuality may seem overwrought or archaic. But for his time he was radical. If by the end of his life his work seemed rather old-fashioned, it was he who had made the fashion. The playwright died on this day in 1983

[tessalivesandbreathesbooks]

When, after years and years of waiting, you finally get the final book of a book series ...

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What do you think will be the future of education and technology?

“Online interactive textbooks, I could see that in the near future… Where you can mark down material in the books just for your individual use, and the program itself can walk through it with you.” - Alex, High School Junior.

See the rest of this student’s profile on our blog!

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Teaching through compassion and patience: A MathCrunch tutor story

Math is a global language — one that our tutors speak fluently. We feature the people who work around the clock to make sure students get the explanations they need in any situation. Meet:

Describe your experience with MathCrunch. Tutoring with MathCrunch has been great! All the tutors are super helpful and personable and most of the students are a joy to work with as they are eager and have the motivation to truly learn. It’s inspiring to work with students who will stay with you for an hour or more in the name of learning. It’s also really neat to see that the students and tutors you work with are from all over the world. Tutoring has taught me compassion and patience, especially when you are fortunate enough to be inspired daily as I am. Students often have problems with starting a problem, making simple mistakes, or not having enough confidence in themselves.

read the rest here!

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Disrupting the Education World: Inside TED2016’s Dream Campaign

On Monday, an impressively diverse cadre of entrepreneurs, artists, scholars, startup representatives, policymakers (and some who wear all of those hats) will convene in Vancouver for the TED2016 conference.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will discuss the concept of “radical repatterning”. Shortly beforehand, NYU Occupational Therapist Holly Cohen will discuss her front-end efforts on assistive technology: technology that improves the quality of life for people with disabilities.

The overarching theme for the week is but one word, which is easy to say but difficult to grasp in a single context: Dream.

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So what does a proclaimed “problem-solver-in-chief” and “tinkerer” (Kalanick’s and Cohen’s respective titles on the program) have in common?

Both individuals tell stories that reaffirm why MathCrunch decided to become official sponsors of the event in the first place: they saw technology and a seemingly unrelated field and added a dream to the equation. Dreams so outlandish that they have shaken the world.

Our team, with Naguib Sawiris at the helm, has fueled MathCrunch with the exact same dream. While Kalanick took the abstract idea of transportation and transformed Uber into a global platform that changed the way we navigate our cities and towns, Naguib also looked at the traditional tutoring space and decided to flip it on its head. And now, anyone with a smartphone can push a button to request both a driver and a tutor in an instant — with drivers and tutors operating equally as flexibly.

For Cohen, reinvention doesn’t stop at the smartphone. When she co-founded DIYability, her dream was to make tools, toys, and consumer electronics more accessible to all humans. Just as her assistive technology makes using traditional video game consoles possible for individuals who cannot use their hands, MathCrunch has looked at technology and education in a way that simplifies homework for hundreds of thousands of students.

These are but two notable speakers in a weeklong program saturated with enough talent to make your head spin.

While dreams can also be head-spinning, it’s a concept more easily grasped in relation to its tough opposite: reality. Each speaker will illuminate their lofty dream in relation to the harsh problems that have challenged its merit. Their story was made exceptional by their ability to surmount the challenges, logical and practical, in a never-ending cycle of rebuilding.

Our dream is to leverage technology in education to make personalized learning available to every student in the country, regardless of socio-economic background. Being a part of TED2016 allows our team to learn, grow and support the progressive dreams of other brilliant people.

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Eat, Pray, Study: A tutor’s story, from Jamaica to MathCrunch

Math is a global language — one that our tutors speak fluently. We feature the people who work round the clock to make sure students get the explanations they need in any situation. Meet:

Rowena-Renee

Alma mater: Northern Caribbean University, Class of 2012

Favorite area of study: Applied Mathematics

Other than tutoring, what hats do you wear? Saxophone player, Event planner, Education Director at my church, and independent tutor! During my studies I was the Vice President of Finance and Planning and Treasurer of the United Student Movement. I was also a Resident Advisor and a Lecturer’s Assistant. Favorite non-MC app: Pinterest and 2048/City2048

How would you describe your teaching style?

I like to give the student a chance to demonstrate what they know and then help them to use what they do know to solve the problem at hand.

How long have you been tutoring for MC? What is your tutoring/educational background?

I have been with MC for 1 year and 2 months. I officially began tutoring in 2008 but took a break and restarted in 2013 when I started doing so independently. Then I started with MathCrunch in November of 2014. I taught in the high school system for a year at 2 of Jamaica’s top all boys high schools — The Kingston College (8 months) and The Munro College (4 months).

Looking back to high school and college, what would you have done differently? I probably would have gone to sixth form and matriculated to a different university (I love my alma mater but my program was a baby when I started there.) I am very introverted but I probably would have gotten more involved than I was.

Any study tips? Eat, pray, study! Haha! No seriously, if you want to be good at something it is okay to spend good time with it. But if you want to be great, you need to go the extra mile. There will be sleepless nights, and flashcards are your best friends; take them everywhere — literally! For math practice is definitely the key. Someone once told me that their dad made them do 100 of each type of questions they struggled with, it was painful, but it worked.

How did you find out about MathCrunch? On oDesk, now Upwork.

Describe your experience with MathCrunch. Maybe tell a story about an inspiring or difficult tutoring session. How has tutoring helped you learn? What do students often have problems with? My experience at MathCrunch has been a full rollercoaster ride. There have been days when a single session motivates you so much you feel you could light up the sky, then there are those that are so depressing you feel like quitting. MathCrunch has definitely made me into a well-rounded educator. They constantly give us updates on teaching styles and the theory behind each of them. I have seen where, even outside of an actual MathCrunch session, the lessons learned empowered me to shine brighter. Students usually struggle with applying earlier concepts to what they are doing at the moment they seek assistance. Math is probably the one subject that follows you from the earliest possible stages of learning, like 1 + 1, to the most advanced. The problem is, many people try to learn mathematical concepts in a vacuum.

What do you think will be the future of education and technology? Well MathCrunch has definitely set the pace where that is concerned. The common thread in all applications of technology is the ability to accomplish goals from anywhere and at any time — convenience. Thus, technology will definitely be empowering students to learn at their own convenience, not just in time and space, but also at their own pace of learning.

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We’ve all been there.

We’ve all been there.

Somehow, through all the craziness of the quarter/semester/term, through the countless homework assignments, the tears and laughter, the events and study groups so carefully planned…

You forgot about that test. Or you knew about it, but there haven’t been enough hours in the day.

Your heart sinks as your teacher matter-of-factly mentions the exam next class — nobody else even lifts their head. Somehow you were the only one who missed the memo.

Here’s a guide for both students and parents for how to navigate the panic process, salvage a decent grade, and come out (relatively) untraumatized.

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Are We The 2% And Other Questions On Testing

We live in a time when GPAs and test scores make or break students’ chances of qualifying for separate tiers of higher education (or simply of getting in at all). So naturally, our trust is quantified by the numbers our children produce in this dimension.

But is it problematic to direct our trust into that which we can only find in numbers?

See our take on this week’s blog.

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Student Spotlight

Starting this week, we’ll feature students from around the country who are using MathCrunch. Meet:

Nick Elleson

Junior, Conner High School

Favorite subject? AP Chemistry; Least favorite? English. Extracurriculars? I play lots of tennis. I practice every day! Favorite App? Twitter. I love interacting with all my friends in a fast way!

What kind of student would you describe yourself as? I would describe myself as a hard-working student who wants to be successful in all of my classes. Sometimes I can be a goof though, not going to lie.

What’s the hardest part about high school? Balancing my social life and school work with my athletic life (tennis). It is hard sometimes having three-hour practices after school basically every day and being able to come home to get the large amount of homework I have done - all while doing my best to maintain all As.

Looking back to freshman year, what would you have done differently? I would have probably taken it a lot more seriously. Even though I got good grades that year, I didn’t take it as seriously as I should/could have.

Looking forward to college? Yes! I am very excited! I am hopefully going to go to college as a student athlete so I need to be prepared to be able to maintain good grades and work hard in all aspects of it.

Any study tips? Never try to cram tons of random information in last second. Also, don’t stay up all night studying for a test. It is better to break up study time over a course of several days and to look at the big picture of the content then to cram every little detail last second.

How did you find out about MathCrunch? I just searched “math tutor” on the App Store. I saw a bunch of other apps that were just camera-based and only gave you the answer, which wouldn’t have helped me to learn the content at all. I saw that MathCrunch would actually benefit me to learn the content rather than just knowing the answer, which is what I needed.

Describe your experience with MathCrunch. I am very new to it and have just been using my free minutes so far but it has been absolutely amazing. In the amount of time I had my tutor helped me look at the problem in a way I have never learned before. He explained it so much better to me than even my teacher did. Also, he knew exactly what I needed as soon as I told him the scenario. There is no other app this amazing that I have used. My tutor was extremely nice and the app was extremely understandable.

What can MathCrunch do better?

Nothing I can think of! The only thing I dislike about the app is the fact that there is a decent cost involved after the free minutes are used up. But that is one of the only always the app can make money, so it makes sense.

What do you think will be the future of education and technology?

I think that MathCrunch is a good example of what the future of technology and education should and could be. It is extremely helpful. Especially for me, a busy student athlete who doesn’t have the schedule to work around for an appointment with a teacher or to stay after school with my teacher. That’s what I love most about the app is that it is based on when I can do it off of MY schedule. I can completely see that the app is based on the student which is awesome!

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How To Pull Off The Late College Visit

Shopping for colleges can be exciting, almost like blind dating. Except if the date turns into something more serious, you know it won’t be cheap.

With a rising price tag on schools, most families find it worth their time to go through a shopping process during application season. There’s only one way to get a true feel for a campus: go there while the semester is in full swing.

Many juniors get this out of the way during the spring. Many seniors schedule tours in the fall. Some send applications blind and wait until acceptance and then visit even later. Because I was neurotically indecisive about where to go, I toured during every season! Ironically, it felt like I spent more time on the road than in senior year classes.

If you’re squeaking in a campus visit or two this season, here’s a few things that fly over the heads of parents and prospects when they make the journey.

Sit in on a class. This is kind of a tricky one, seeing as it most likely breaks school policy. But are you a rule-follower parent? Or is the world your classroom, Will Hunting?

Matt Damon didn’t need a classroom!

In reality, you could go to a department the student is interested in and politely ask them for a class list. Find a large lecture, sit in the back and get a feel for the every-day grind (provided students there actually attend class every day). Are students engaged?

Eat two meals: Once at the dining halls, then once at a nearby staple off-campus. Depending on the college town, not everyone sticks solely to a meal plan. Trying both gives you a better idea about the off-campus culture, bar scene, and general things to do when you’re not in the library.

Speak up, parents. There were so many questions I could have asked but instead just passively stared at the students pacing to their next classes. Good thing I had “those” parents, raising their hands and asking every question that led to every factoid jammed into the tour guide’s head. Everyone’s grateful for it!

Walk into the dorms. I promise it’s not as weird as it sounds. Ask a Resident Advisor to check around the rooms to see exactly what living quarters your precious child will spend their first year out of the nest. This can be a deal breaker. It also gives you the chance to…

Talk to students. You can find out a lot about how students feel about it when you put them on the spot: “How is it here, really?” Ask about what they wish they had seen there when making the decision. Where else they were looking to go. Where the best spots are. Whatever comes to mind! They were once in your shoes and (most) would be happy to talk to you.

If you are even loosely acquainted with someone in a non-awkward way who attends the school, definitely contact them to give you an off-the-beaten-path tour. Consider having your child spend the night… if you dare.

In the end, no matter what time of year you decide to embark on the college tour journey, the evaluation boils down to the question: Can he/she really see themselves spending four years here? Try to do everything in your power to answer that question while you’re there.

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A Few Travel Tips You Overlooked

Remember being a restless twenty-something?

Nothing kept you from traveling the world on a moment’s whim — no schedule, no job (that was scary, wasn’t it?), no kids — nothing but best friends’ weddings and single suitcases. As I sat in the airport on a jet-lagged Sunday, I realized not everyone can travel this carefree.

A woman behind me began to wear a hole into her phone, tapping fervently to call her spouse and sons’ teachers.

Here’s some of what I heard in the crammed terminal.

“I’m worried his work has piled up too much since we stayed a few extra days.” “He told me he has a few questions about the homework, but is worried the rest of the class has already moved on.”

It’s a fact of life: events arise that require you to take off work and/or your student to miss school. Whether it’s a last-minute trip or foreseeable occasion, here are some highly effective pre-emptive measures.

Prioritize their schoolwork with everything else.

Your to-do travel list remains the same: turn off the lights, forward the mail, arrange for the pets, remember to bring the children…

But what about your kids’ housekeeping tasks? Have they arranged a plan with their teachers? It’s important to maintain understanding of broad lesson concepts (math problem sets, reading comprehension exercises). This requires a little more careful planning than making sure they “bring their homework with them”.

Keep in mind that whatever the circumstances the family is taking time off for, there are indefinite limitations. We can best roll with the punches by setting time aside each day to…

Follow a condensed curriculum.

In a perfect world, the student would keep up with the courseload while away, reading the textbook and following the lesson plan as if she were in the classroom anyway.

Arguably, nothing can fully replace teacher instruction; their methods of evaluation and ways to achieve benchmarks are unique to their teaching. But the teacher can tailor a simplified lesson plan that the student can follow so that they’re not completely oblivious upon their return.

Couple this with a streamlined homework plan that fits the students’ travel schedule and needs (giving the added opportunity for the student to develop questions on their own).

Seek quick tutoring while away.

For the majority of students who aren’t homeschooled, seeking help for simple problems can be problematic when on the road. Like the stressed-out airport mother realized, contacting the teacher constantly and too late in the game is unrealstic. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Just imagine: a magical app that connects students to a live tutor, from anywhere in the country, at any time, on any subject, for any specific question!

Follow up a week after returning.

Schedule a quick wrap-up with teachers in troublesome subjects. Is your son/daughter catching up with concepts that they’ve missed? If it’s taking a little longer, it’s much better to shorten the learning curve earlier than later.

Maintaining contact after the trip is crucial to make sure the bases are covered and your student hasn’t fallen behind.

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MathCrunch Publication

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MathCrunch Publication

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Parents: Are you prepared for Report Card Day?

It’s coming: Report Cards.

What’s worse is there is nothing you can do to stop it. Whether you are a student turning in grades or a parent ready to see your child’s marks, there can be quite a bit of anticipation on report card day.

Parents Worry About Report Cards, too!

Believe it or not, parents have been known to exhibit the same anxiety their kids show over report card day. Many parents see their children as a representation of themselves, and it’s common that many parents feel like they have failed somehow when they see low marks on a student’s report card. This not only creates stress for parents, but stress for kids who don’t want to let any them down.

Set the Stage

When you know it’s coming, create an environment where your child doesn't feel threatened to bring home a bad grade. Instead of treating it as an opportunity to punish, use this moment as a way to effectively communicate the troubles the child is experiencing. Make sure you listen before you dismiss your child as lazy or unfocused. Learning is not always as easy as ‘showing up, soaking in knowledge, and regurgitating’ what they've learned. Some kids, especially children that have a hard time with math, may really be having trouble with the subject they are not doing well in.

Ask Questions

Is there more to the story? By asking your child questions, you can help find the solution to the problem. Has your child expressed disdain toward the teacher? Does your child say that the other students are having trouble in the same area? Is your child being bullied? Are they having a hard time concentrating in class? Are they ‘missing a step’ or something simple that makes the rest of the curriculum more difficult? Are they practicing? Do they need some extra help?

Open the Lines of Communication

If there isn't anything major standing in the way of your child and a good grade, and your student simply ‘doesn't get it’, there is good news! There are many ways you can help steer your child back on course! Open the lines of communication with your child’s teacher and see what they have to say. You will get a better idea of what is going on in class by piecing what your child says, and what your teacher says together. Is your child sleeping in class? Not turning their homework in?

Be open-minded and remember to stay objective. Listen to your child’s teacher and don’t dismiss the things they have to say. Be willing to make changes at home to incorporate more study time, schedule some time with a tutor (or use our 24/7 Math Tutor app anytime!), and help get your child on track to a better future. Feed positive thoughts into your child so that nothing, not even themselves, stands in their way of learning.

Remember; you and your scholar have teachers, school counselors, after school tutors, and MathCrunch on your side! These are only some of the tools you can use to help you and your struggling child succeed. Remember, a bad grade does not directly translate to a slow learner, or worse, a bad student. It just means they might need a little more practice, and we can help! 

[mathcrunchapp]

The Order of Operations

The term “operations” in math simply means anything to do with adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, etc. For most algebra equations, if it’s not a number it is probably an operation, or what you need to ‘do’ to solve the problem. The ‘order of operations’ is what order you use the operations in order to solve for the answer.

For example:

 16 + 9 / 3 – 11 = X

The Right Order

If we tried to solve this problem from left to right, or right to left, we would end up with the wrong answer. To solve for X, we have to solve smaller parts of this problem in the correct order. That correct order is as follows:

Parenthesis

Parenthesis in math problem represent groups of numbers that symbolize one number. Some examples of these are:                2(2 +7)                     or             10 /(45*2)

Do you see parenthesis in this math problem?

16 + 9 / 3 – 11 = X

No, there are no parenthesis in this problem. Now we can move on to the next step!

Exponents

In short, exponents are the smaller number used to explain how many times to multiple a number by itself. In the example of this expression: (5)(5)(5) = 53

The ‘3’ is the exponent, and ittells you to simply multiply the 5 three times.

Are there any exponents in the original expression?

16 + 9 / 3 – 11 = X

No, there are no exponents in the original expression.  Now we can move on to the next step!

Multiply and Divide

The next step in the order of operations is to solve all multiplication and division aspects of the expression.

In the above example: 16 + 9 / 3 – 11 = X  it’s a good idea to group the type of problems that you have inside the equation.

For example, 16+ (9/3) -11=X

When you solve 9/3, that leaves the equation at: 16 +3 -11=X

Add and Subtract

When all of the other steps of the Order of Operations are done, you can Add and Subtract, just like you would any normal simplistic math problem.

In the above example: 16 +3 -11=X

Solves to 8=X

Notes on ‘Pairs’

It is important to remember that the Multiply/Divide and Addition/Subtract part of PEMDAS are pairs. This means if division and multiplication are in the same problem, you work the problem from left to right doing the multiplication and division, whichever comes first. The same must be done for the adding and subtracting part. Follow along with the problem below.

16 / 8 x 3 +2 – 5

Remember that that Multiply and Divide are grouped together, so while you should always do the multiplication and division first before you do the adding and subtracting, you should also follow it from left to right. Since division is literally what comes first, we do that and THEN the multiplication:

16 / 8 x 3 + 2 – 5 divide before you multiply

2 x 3 + 2 – 5

6 + 2 – 5

All that is left is the adding and subtracting, which we will now do in order from left to right:

6 + 2 – 5

8 – 5

3

Try this one all on your own and then check back and see if you got the right answer:

18 + 30 / 5 – 2 x 4

  Answer:

18 + 30 / 5 – 2 x 4

18 + 6 – 2 x 4

18 + 6 – 8

24 – 8

16

If you got 16 then pat yourself on the back, you are well on your way to mastering The Order of Operations. If you are still having trouble, especially with a particular problem, try going to MathCrunch.com or downloading our app MatchCrunch straight from the app store where we have tutors standing by at any time, ready to help you with any problem you may have. Good luck!