The nice thing about Betterexplained.com is that it teaches for understanding. The website was developed to give struggling math students a safe haven to learn and finally have that “aha” moment. Essentially the e-book, available for purchase on the site, offers students a better explanation of difficult math concepts. And as an educator myself, I believe in the teaching learning process. Math isn’t just about knowing how to solve for x. It’s also about knowing why we are even wasting our time doing it, and whether it’s a waste of time at all. There are too many young people, and older people, out there who are math zombies. And by math zombies I mean individuals who just “plug and chug,” as people call it, simply putting in numbers without really thinking about the reasoning behind their choices.
Likes
– Kalid Azad, the founder of Better Explained and a Princeton alum, writes on the about page that complex topics are easily understood when you put them on a more basic level. Everything was hard to do the first time, but it gets easier. I really liked reading his philosophy on learning.
“Math is no more about equations than poetry is about spelling. Equations and spelling exist to convey an idea. Understand that idea.”
– The article section is very helpful to look through when looking for more information on various math topics (as well as writing, business, and technology topics).
– Azad writes for human beings and the readability of his product is great. His e-book is clear, concise, and based on teaching research.
Dislikes
– Why not take better to the best? If this was all free instead of $19 dollars, that would be fantastic! But at least you don’t pay a monthly fee. Just a onetime payment for the e-book.
– The slides, interview, and videos that accompany the e-book are an additional $59 dollars.
– The website has a lot of information on each page and you have to scroll down endlessly forever.
– There are no real pictures on the front page, and the look of the site is pretty boring.
Overall Better Explained has a lot to offer to those who still want to learn from a book. Granted, it’s an e-book, but a book none the less. Students who want the problems worked out before their eyes must purchase a more expensive package.
– Dr. Drew
