Wednesday, September 9, 2015

I enjoy Math!... Not!

Math and I have had a love-hate relationship. I love Math when I can easily understand it. I hate it when no matter what I do, I can't seem to get it through my thick skull which used to happen pretty much most of the time. So generally speaking, I loathed Math when I was a student. However with the technology nowadays, students can easily solve a math equation by using a smartphone camera. Yep folks, you read that right, by just using a camera as a calculator.

Photomath is an application that is downloadable from your app store. It can read and solve mathematical problems by using the camera on a smartphone and it gives realtime solutions. I think this application is brilliant to students who want to finish their math homework quickly and to parents who want to check their kid's assignment.  I got ecstatic when I saw this app online that I just have to try it out myself. Below is a screenshot of my phone testing the app.

The instructions are straightforward. Just aim the camera on the math problem like you're about to take a photo using a point and shoot digital cam and voila!, the solution is right on the screen. To check how on earth the app came up with the solution, one can simply tap the steps icon and it will take you to the next screen showing the detailed step by step process.

On the technical side, Photomath uses a microblink's proprietary mobile machine vision technology (same technology used to scan barcodes, QR codes, scanning ID or checks to deposit to your bank account through a mobile phone) to recognize text of a math problem and because of its innovative technology, future updates will be made from user's reviews and in app reports to enable solving more complex math problems. Currently, photomath can solve arithmetic expressions, fractions and decimals, powers and roots, simple linear equations, quadratic equations, inequalities, simple equation systems and absolute value inequalities.

One might focus on the negative aspect of using such an excellent application as a cheating tool but let's face it, when kids get stuck on their homework and parents can't help them, this app can figure it out. Eliminating the frustration in solving complex math problems can be a motivation for kids to love math. I believe that photomath is the future calculator.

Currently, the application doesn't support handwritten text problem (It's not as magical as disney, yet!) only printed problems from math textbooks and/or online.  

It is available on apple, android, google play, windows store and amazon apps and is 100% free!

Say no more to that awkward moment when you finish a math problem and the answer is not on the choices given because now you can use photomath.

So, have I learned to love Math? I probably just like it. Apparently, Its usefulness is not as explicit as the math equations on the textbooks but I believe that one has to realize the importance of Math to understand and overcome life's challenges in general.




P.S. This is my honest opinion about the application that I am using. I am not paid for this endorsement. 






3 comments:

  1. I still hate Math, but I'll try out the Photomath app. Who knows, I might tolerate the subject after haha.

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  2. I hate math too. Haha. So happy that I only do basic ones in my daily life. Wish this app was existing when I was still studying.

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  3. I hate math too but my daughter loves it! I'll check out that app.

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