High School Notes

Houghton Mifflin Releases iPad Algebra App

April 15, 2011 RSS Feed Print

One of the world's largest K-12 textbook manufacturers has released its first high school textbook on the iPad.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt released an Algebra 1 app Thursday that combines textbook information with interactive content, which many hope will engage students. At $59.99, the app costs about the same as an algebra textbook, although students will need an iPad to use it. The company plans to release Geometry and Algebra 2 versions later this spring.

In California, 400 students are testing the app; early returns are favorable. About 90 percent of students who are using the iPad in the pilot program are at least "proficient" according to current math benchmarks, compared to just 60 percent of students in traditional classes.

"We are seeing a marked increase in student engagement and self-guided instruction with our California pilot students," Bethlam Forsa, an executive vice president for the company said in a statement. "Teachers and students are reporting that they prefer using the app over traditional content delivery methods."

The app has more than 400 video tutorials and step-by-step animations that walk them through equations and problems, and students are able to "write" on the iPad with their fingers.

More schools throughout the country are experimenting with iPads. This week, the school district in Auburn, Maine said it would buy 285 iPad 2 tablets for kindergarteners to use next fall at a cost of $200,000.

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Tags:: technology,; Apple Inc.,; math,; high school,; K-12 education

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Well, i for one i believe this to be great application that may..or may not.. change the way education is taught and how students learn. In the meantime I believe $60 is a little too high for an application that requires no materials at all, and does not go through any manufacturing process. The highest I will ever pay for an app like this would be at least $30, just for the hard work and quality put into it. Also wondering, will H-M ever consider an Android platform since android is becoming a big part of the tablet market?

Brandon of GA 7:55AM June 08, 2011

I agree that assessment needs to involve more than multiple choice. It is important that the multiple choice is part of the students self assessment. It is up to the teacher to assign additional problems at the end of the section as typically done in a traditional math course, the majority of which are not multiple choice. It is up to the teacher to facilitate the instruction and to assess the students on multiple levels and this includes free, open and extended responses, not to mention projects, collaborative activities and writing and discussing math. What is so valuable about this is that the step by step tutorials, videos, math in motion examples and practice problems can be completed and checked by the students and they can get good immediate feedback and assistance at home, on the bus, anywhere and since it is an app, no internet connection is needed and will sync with the teachers management system upon connection to a wifi. What valuable information for the teacher to have at their finger tips and how helpful for the students to have the ability to get this sort of support at home. Parents also have access to it as well. So often parents are "voted off the math help" island beyond 4th or 5th grade, and feel like they can not assist their students. This really empowers and assists parents in helping their kids. Very cool. I urge you to keep asking the good critical questions and you do and REALLY encourage you to try out the app. I think there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. I have been teaching mathematics for 20+ years and this is the best program I have ever come across and the first time I can use what I consider a very "over used" phrase: "Game Changer in Education".

Deb Burdick-Hinton of AK 6:09PM April 21, 2011

At Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, we do care about the student and doing everything we can to ensure they understand the material. HMH Fuse: Algebra 1 was developed specifically to address the issue of helping students understand the material. So, how does the app do that?
First, it provides support not offered by the traditional textbook. There is a feature called MathMotion, which are self-paced interactive problem solving tutorials that enable students to scroll through the steps involved in solving complex algebraic problems. There are also video tutorial for each lesson in the book – more than 400 in all. If the student didn’t grasp the material in-class, they can watch a video tutorial of a master teacher teaching the material as often as they want, wherever they want. As one student using the app today said, “It’s like having my own personal tutor available whenever I want.”
Second, as you mention, it does assess the student’s knowledge throughout each chapter (with a pre-assessment, assessments in the chapter, and a post-assessment), but it goes far beyond that by automatically offering remediation activities when a student assessment shows they require it. This is a key feature in ensuring each student has every opportunity to succeed – even when it requires catching up.
Third, when the app is used in-class, the student’s assessment results are available to the teacher automatically. The teacher then knows exactly how each student is performing and can personalize his or her instruction for each student.
We believe that innovations like HMH Fuse: Algebra 1 are the future of education because they empower the student in their own learning process – and empower the teacher to better understand student performance.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt of MA 11:07AM April 16, 2011

Houghton Mifflin Releases iPad Algebra App

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