Web Resources

Logarithms!!

When I was in high school, Logarithms were my favorite problems and topics, so I figured it would be useful for me to find some sites that can help me understand logs, plan lessons, and practice. I rated the following sites on a 5 star system based on the 5 following principles:

1) Accuracy: Does the site provide correct information

2) Audience: Is the site tailored well for either me as a teacher, or for my students if I choose to refer them to the site

3) Layout: It the site layout easy to understand and use

4) Credibility: Who created the site, URL (.edu, .org vs. .com)

5) Accessibility: Is the site easy to get to, free, does it require a login

Help Me Understand Logs!

The following sites are to help me and my students brush up on log knowledge. Some sites will be beneficial for me and my students, some are more beneficial for me, and some are more beneficial for my students.

1) Wolfram Math World (★★★★★)

    • Summary: Brief summary of log facts, properties and equations.
    • I gave this site 5 stars. 1) The information that is given is, to the best of my knowledge, correct. 2) The site is well written for people who already have a pretty deep understanding of logs, so it would be appropriate for teachers to look over. 3) The layout flows well because it starts with a simple explanation of logs then goes deep, then lists different log equations for different properties. 4) Although the URL ends with .com, it is WolframAlpha, which is a useful tool for many math subjects, and the bottom of the page sites where all the information came from. 5) It is easy to access and free.

2) TI Logarithms (★★★★)

    • Summary: List of sites on the TI website relating to logs.
    • I gave this site 4 stars. 1 & 4) The information that is given is correct because of the credibility of the source (TI). 2) Includes plenty of information on many different aspects of logs so the teacher can brush up on his or her knowledge. 3) The layout doesn't seem to be in any order, so it could be hard to find what you're looking for (no star). 5) It is easy to access and free.

3) What on Earth is a Logarithm? (★★★★★)

  • Summary: Basic explanation of what a Logarithm is, includes a Log calculator.
  • I gave this site 5 stars. 1) The information that is given is correct. 2) The site is well written for students that are having a hard time remembering logarithms because it slowly goes through where the components of the log came from, and has easy equations to follow. It also provides a log calculator at the bottom, but if a student isn't familiar with the log equation the calculator can be confusing. 3) The layout is simple and not confusing. 4) The URL is .edu and done by The University of Utah. 5) The site is easy to access and free.

4) Working with Logarithms (★★★★)

    • Summary: Shows students how to solve problems on their calculator
    • I gave this site 4 stars. 1) The information that is given is correct. 2) The site shows pictures along with descriptions that can help students when using their calculators. 3) The layout is straight forward and easy to understand because of bold and highlighted sections. 4) I did not give the site a star for credibility because it is not a well known site base (mathbits.com) 5) The site is easy to access and free.

5) Logarithmic Expressions and Equations (★★★★★)

    • Summary: Gives students practice with expressions and equations, and gives simple explanations for answers.
    • I gave this site 5 stars. 1) The information that is given is correct. 2) The practice problems include big, friendly font, which I believe makes the problems seem less intimidating. Also provides reviews in the lesson section that students can look over. The lesson section also provides ideas for teachers when planning lessons for teaching about logs. 3) The layout is easy to navigate. 4) The site is .org 5) The site is easy to access and free.

6) Instructional Math Videos (★★★1/2)

    • Summary: Youtube channel from a man who describes many different mathematical ideas. To get to the log explanations go to search box on side and search "logarithms". I wanted to provide the main page so students and teachers can look up other mathematical concept explanations.
    • I gave this site 3 1/2 stars (only regarding the log videos). 1) The information that is given is correct. 2) The man who is explaining logs talks about what he thinks when he sees the equations, and explains what different parts of the equations mean. This can be really helpful for students who missed class, and therefore missed the discussion of logs. 3) For a person who is familiar with youtube, the layout is very straight forward, but for people not familiar with it, knowing where to "search" and where the videos are can be confusing. Also, the videos aren't always in a logical order. I have 1/2 a star for layout. I think YouTube is easy to get around, but for people who don't, the man who created these videos has a site where he lists all the videos he has made by subject. 4) I did not give a star for credibility because it is just a man explaining concepts on youtube. The man doesn't tell us his qualifications for knowing this information other than saying "I think I can safely say that I am one of the most prolific math educators in the history of mankind! At least, that is what someone suggested to me. If so, I am one super duper happy human being". 5) The site is easy to access and free.

Help Me Plan a Lesson!

The following sites are to give me ideas of how to teach logs, and some good lesson plan examples:

7) Algebra: Logarithms Lesson Plan (★★★1/2)

    • Summary: Lesson plan to teach logs, including sub topics of logs and example problems.
    • I gave this site 3 1/2 stars. 1) The information that is given is correct. 2) The site is obviously for someone who has either the textbook or previous lesson plans that were used because it starts by telling the reader to look over lesson A5 first, which it doesn't provide for us (Because of this I took off half a star). But it gives a nice explanation along with practice problems for Logs, and shows a good order that the information can be taught in. Also, some of its pages could easily be turned into handouts or classwork. 3) The layout is nice because the first page contains what could be considered a table of contents, so it is easy to see where each topic is located, which also provides an outline for when it will be taught. 4) I did not give it a star for credibility because it gives us no indication of where it is from or who wrote it. 5) It is easy to access, and free.

8) Classroom Activity: Properties of Logarithms (★★★★★)

    • Summary: Lesson plan about the properties of logarithms. Includes calculator instruction, hand out activities and teacher responses.
    • I gave this site 5 stars. 1) The information that is given is correct. 2) The site provides adequate information for me as a teacher to produce a lesson plan from the given materials. 3) The layout makes it easy to find the documents needed for the lesson. 4) This is from a IT website. 5) It's easy to access and free.

9) Exponential Functions and Logarithms Lesson Plan (★★★★★)

    • Summary: Lesson plan including objectives, questions to ask, and what students should get out of (understand) from each part of the lesson.
    • I gave this site 5 stars. 1) The information that is given is correct. 2) The site provides a good narrative for teachers to look at and plan a lesson around. Also includes worksheet at end. 3) The layout is in the form of a lesson, meaning that everything flows in the order that the author suggests it be taught in. Also, it is easy to back track from this lesson plan to where it came from. 4) This site has a .edu URL, and is from a teacher from The University of Georgia. 5) It is easy to access and free.

10) Lesson Planet (★★★)

    • Summary: Collection of lesson plans for teaching logs that have the support of other teachers.
    • I gave this site 3 stars. 1) The information that is given is correct. 2) The site provides a variety of lesson plans for teachers by teachers. 3) The layout is easy to follow, making it easy to find lessons for logs or other subjects. 4) I did not give a star for credibility because these lessons are only reviewed by teachers, but not supported by a credited site. 5) I did not give a star for accessibility because you have to have a log in to access the lessons, and they only provide a 10 day free trial, which implies that it costs money.

11) SMART Exchange: Lessons for your SMART board (★★★1/2)

    • Summary: Collection of lesson plans for teaching logs on a SMART board.
    • I gave this site 3 1/2 stars. 1) The information (about the logs) is correct. Because I am not familiar with SMART boards I can not judge whether or not the directions for the SMART boards are correct. I still gave a full star for accuracy because it is the log information that I am looking at. 2) This site is well tailored for teachers who are familiar with the SMART board. 3) The layout is easy to follow. 4) I did not give a star for credibility because these lessons are not supported by a credited site. 5) This site is free, but you do need to create a login and password to access the information, so I gave 1/2 a star for accessibility.

Other helpful site for planning lessons were described in the "Help Me Understand Logs!" section.

Remember, Logs are FUN!!

12) Logarithms (to "I'm Yours") (★★★★)

    • Summary: Fun song to show students to remind them that Logs are fun!
    • I gave this site 4 stars. 1) The information that is provided is correct. (Many students do want to run from the room when there teacher talks about logs, but remember, logs are fun!) 2) This is a funny song to show students during lectures about logs. The audience is anyone who has had trouble with logs, which will probably be a lot of people in a math class. 3) Layout is nice because it includes the vocals, video and lyrics. 4) I did not give it a star for credibility because it is just someone singing on YouTube. 5) The site is easy to access and free.

I hope these past 12 sites are helpful to you and your students when you are teaching logarithms!