GeoGebra – App of the Month

Today I would like to introduce GeoGebra as another app of the month. It is a very well-known project and it’s probably used in almost all schools in mathematics lessons. But what exactly is GeoGebra?

GeoGebra is an interactive geometry, algebra, statistics and calculus application, intended for learning and teaching mathematics and science from primary school to university level. GeoGebra is available on multiple platforms with its desktop applications for Windows, macOS and Linux, with its tablet apps for Android, iPad and Windows, and with its web application based on HTML5 technology. (Wikipedia)

Features of GeoGebra

The Wikipedia article about GeoGebra lists some functions. In short, GeoGebra provides many powerful features behind an easy-to-use user interface. These include:

• Function graphs
• Certain integrals and basic functions
• Length of distances, size of angles
• vectors, normal vector
• Calculating with complex numbers, matrices, polynomials
• Built-in Computer Algebra System
• Built-in statistics and calculus tools

Installation

GeoGebra is another example for the fact that nowadays it depends less and less on the operating system, but one actually only needs a browser to use apps for education. It is available for a variety of platforms, but you can also use it online.

On the project website you can download packages in DEB or RPM format. There you will also find a portable version that can be started directly from a USB stick. To install the DEB for Debian or Ubuntu, download the appropriate package and install it with the package manager.

$ sudo dpkg -i geogebra-classic*

Then you can start the program via the program launcher.

GeoGebra is available in different versions for almost all platforms. Among other things there is also an Augmented Reality App. This allows functions, shapes, etc. to be represented virtually in space. Here is an example:

At our school we use GeoGebra mainly in mathematics lessons. Personally as a primary school teacher I use it rather less in my teaching 🙂

Conclusion

GeoGebra is an award-winning software that can be used very well in the classroom. There is also a “exam mode” so that you can use the app in exams. Some, however, criticize the license used for this software. Parts of the software are licensed under the GPL, other parts (e.g. the installer or the language files) are licensed under their own license. Use for teaching is free of charge – for students and teachers.

Overall, you can only recommend this software because it offers a lot of features and is still easy to use.