Today's post highlights a cool tool that Jeremy pushed out to students recently. This tool is called EquatIO. It is a Chrome extension, which means it lives on the Chrome browser toolbar and is accessible with one quick click of the mouse. And what's even more exciting is this a a math tool! I know that sometimes the math teachers have a hard time trying to make computers and Chromebooks fit into what they are doing, so I am hopeful that when tools like this come available, you find them useful and exciting for your kids to use!
EquatIO allows the user to create equations and formulas pretty easily by using the onscreen equations editor. It's premium features make it even easier! These allow equations to be created by handwriting either on a touchscreen or by drawing with a mouse, or by using voice input/dictation. Check out the video below to see how it works.
Another handy premium feature is the integration with Google Docs and Google forms (Sheets and Slides are on their way, too). With a simple mouse click, you can insert the equations you created into a Google Doc or Form to create formative and summative assessments very easily. Here is a video on how to use EquatIO with Google Docs:
And here is how to use it with Google Forms:
The good news: you can have 30 days of access to EquatIO's premium features for free to try them out. Once that 30 day trial is up, though, the only feature you'll have is the onscreen equation editor, so you'd have to copy and paste the formulas and equations you create. Not a huge hassle, but an extra step.
Give it a try; see what you think. Have your kids try it out in class. It was pushed out to them, so chances are at some point, they saw a window pop up on their screen asking to allow permissions for it. I'm sure some kids just blindly clicked "Allow", but some may have canceled it. If that happened, the extension is still accessible by click in the three dots in the upper right corner of the screen, then going to More Tools, then clicking on Extensions, then clicking the box to enable it.
Take the time to try out EquatIO and share your thoughts in the comments below!
P.S. -- My apologies to the teachers at TRS who read through this; I see Rachel sent out some documentation to you about how to use EquatIO, so I'm sure much of what I said was redundant. Think of this post as reteaching :-)
Renee, great minds think alike. :) I believe Jeff had said after the 30 day premium trial we won't be able to use EquatIO with Forms, which is really disappointing to me since it has so many applications for utilizing forms as an assessment. (https://www.texthelp.com/en-us/products/equatio/premium-features/)
ReplyDeleteWe can save the images from docs and upload them into forms after the trial period, but that is just so time consuming and frustrating!
My favorite feature is that it is compatible with Read+Write for Google-- so once the equation is on Docs the Read+Write for Google will read the expression/equation/formula/etc. outloud. I think that it is a great way for students to check how they're doing with place value or translating between English and math/algebraic expressions. I haven't physically tried that out yet but I definitely will soon to be sure it works the way Jeff implied it would work.
Thanks for including how to re-enable the extension for students who may have clicked "deny" to the requesting permissions-- I forgot to include that! I know so many students came to me asking what it was- many saying their classmates already had clicked "deny."
I am so excited to see what features come out in the upcoming months. I just hope they aren't all for "premium." Since by then our 30-day trials will be up.
Hi Renee, thanks for the awesome blog post! After the 30 day premium trial you will still be able to insert what you make, no copying & pasting necessary. You will only get 2 handwriting recognition inserts per day and no math prediction though. The Forms part is premium as well and we have a Slides integration coming soon. We also have a ton of other premium features in the works for the next few months that will help students create and consume math in the manner they prefer :) I want them to be able to be creative problem solvers and have the technology enhance this, rather than inhibit it!
ReplyDeleteFeel free to send me any feedback: j.mcgowan@texthelp.com , I don't know why my post was from Unknown :(
DeleteThank you so much for your comments! Is is great to know what is still available after the trial period! Even if teachers decide to forego the premium features, this is still a nice tool to be able to use! I am looking forward to seeing it in action in our classrooms!
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