The saying that sooner or later the online world will replace teachers just might become true....nah, not really. But Virtual Nerd might just be the closest thing to the end of teachers...at least Math and Science. Virtual Nerd is a site that students and teachers can use to help teach content in math and science. Currently there are only tutorials for Algebra I, but they are working at adding some more.
You can get a basic account (Free) and have access to a dozen or so tutorials. Or you can get a premium account (paid - $49 a month) and have access to all the tutorials. They advertise in their opening video that tutors can be expensive, true, but a great teacher will be a virtual nerd for free. Besides, 600 a year is a lot of money considering most people who need such help probably can't afford it.
The tutorials are rather neat and they do allow for a lot of interaction and hands on help. If you know most of the steps you can easily skip to the one you need help with. It also organizes the tutorials in a neat fashion. To get a better idea of the software, just visit Virtual Nerd and watch the video intro to see some of the features. You can find the Algebra topics that are covered here
Thanks for posting your thoughts about Virtual Nerd, Michael. We'd definitely be among the first to point out that no web-application can substitute for a talented teacher or tutor. Our goal is to supplement the current educational ecosystem. Your point about the subscription fee is also well-made, and we hope to find a way to make our service available to all students regardless of their ability to afford the standard rate. We're working on that one. Within the next day or two, we'll be releasing a major upgrade to our site, including a dramatically expanded tutorial library, which will cover Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Intro Physics. Oh, just want to correct one thing. The free Basic subscription provides access to about 20% of our tutorials, so that's actually more like hundreds than a dozen. Also, for any of your readers who are educators, please let them know we offer Premium service to teachers for free--no strings attached, completely free for teachers.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Josh Salcman, Virtual Nerd President & Co-Founder
Thanks for the follow up. Always good to get feedback and corrections so that my post can be more accurate.
ReplyDeleteVery neat! These look really good for students to continue their learning and solidify what is happening at school. I always think that kids learn better when they walk themselves through the process and teach themselves in this way.
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