Polypad

(polypad.amplify.com)

94 points | by ivank 2 days ago ago

8 comments

  • WillAdams 16 minutes ago

    I really wish I could find a site for 2D geometry/pedagogy which would "click" as well for me, and be as useful as:

    https://www.blockscad3d.com/editor/

    has been. Really miss directly programming in PostScript in Altsys Virtuoso on my NeXT Cube.

    I've tried Processing and Nodebox, and they haven't quite clicked, and scripting in Inkscape feels clunky....

  • tieandjeans 3 hours ago

    Amplify (neé Desmos) builds great tools and manipulatives that are great for classroom use and curious play. Read more of the pedagogy behind these tools on Mathworlds. https://danmeyer.substack.com/

    • jamessb 2 hours ago

      > Amplify (neé Desmos)

      It looks like "Amplify Education, Inc" and "Desmos Studio" (Public Benefit Corporation) are separate entities.

      The desmos website still shows that most of the Desmos "math tools" still exist under the Desmos name (graphing calculator, scientific calculator, four function, matrix, geometry, 3D), but that "Desmos Classroom" specifically has been renamed to "Amplify Classroom" [1].

      The amplify usage guidelines [2] say that "Amplify does not own but partners with Desmos Studio, the maker of a suite of free math tools, including a graphing calculator used by over 75 million people around the world. (See desmos.com for more information.)"

      [1]: https://www.desmos.com/

      [2]: https://amplify.com/ac-usage-guidelines/

  • mosselman 4 hours ago

    I am super impressed by this. The landing page is GREAT, it really shows you what it can do and I tried creating a polypad and it works just as well as the landing page makes it seem.

    I would have loved to have this when I was in school and I can imagine it is a great tool for teachers. I am going to let my kids play around with this.

    In rereading my comment it sounds like some sort of lame ad, which I can assure you it isn't. I am just excited about it.

    • christoph 3 hours ago

      Same! It’s one of those projects where as soon as I scroll the landing page, I can hear the fireworks of ideas going off in my head! It seems to work really well on mobile as well. I think it’s got real visual aesthetic appeal - it takes me right back to the handdrawn colour diagrams in the textbooks when I was at primary school.

  • yanis_t 3 hours ago

    That's really cool. A nice touch is how the help is implement with every widget having a little question mark you can click, and it shows a tutorial on the left panel. Also thank you for letting us in without sign up.

  • pocksuppet 2 hours ago

    I just get "403 Forbidden". What is this website?

    • mold_aid 34 minutes ago

      An edtech product that illustrates mathematical relationships through colors and shapes.