I hear about more and more students learning math almost entirely through online programs.

Watch a video.

Answer some questions.

Get a score.

Move on.

And I understand the appeal.

Technology can grade instantly.

It can tell us which questions a student missed.

It can track progress and help us see where a student may need more practice.

Those are incredibly useful tools.

But there's an important distinction.

A tool isn't a teacher.

I've worked with students who have watched the same explanation over and over again and still didn't understand.

They didn't need to watch it one more time.

They needed someone to help figure out why it wasn't making sense.

Maybe they needed to see the problem visually.

Maybe they needed a different explanation.

Maybe the mistake wasn't actually the issue they thought it was.

That's something a good teacher can recognize.

I'm seeing more programs driven by AI, gamification, and automatically generated questions.

Those things aren't necessarily bad.

But when students aren't showing their work, explaining their thinking, or interacting with others who can challenge their thinking, I find students turn completing the program into the goal instead of understanding the math.

Is online math bad?

Absolutely not.

Our classes are online! And I have vouched for online work for most of my teaching career. (That’s what my Master’s was on!)

I just think we have to be thoughtful about what we ask technology to do.

It is fine to use it to review.

Use it for a quick assessment after students have worked something out by hand.

Use it to grade and collect data to help us decide what to work on next.

Use it to get the best instruction.

But don’t forget the other elements.

Math instruction requires interaction.

Time to ask questions and work through the thought process, including errors and reasoning.

Organization of written work, identification of errors, and reinforcement of correct reasoning.

And the ability to work together and say,

"Let's look at this a completely different way."

Technology can be an incredible tool for math education.

But it should support good teaching, not replace it.

That's why our classes are online, but they're taught live. We believe students need more than content on a screen. They need encouragement through working with classmates and a teacher who can listen, respond, and adjust when something isn't clicking.
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P.S. If you're looking for live math instruction this fall, simply reply to this email and we'd be happy to help you find the right fit for your child. Or, if you're a homeschool family, you can explore our fall class schedule here.
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