Lori Vrionis was creating videos for publishers of college math textbooks when she decided to create a website that would help students struggling with math homework.
By having topics in different modules -- ration and proportion, percentages and word problems -- Vrionis, a math tutor and former classroom teacher, thought that students not only could choose the topic they wanted, they also could work at their own pace and in the privacy of their home.
In 2003, the Roswell grandmother launched Algebasics.com.
“It was not designed to replace the teacher or the textbook but rather to supplement those things, to give students another way to look at the material,” she said. “It was an outgrowth of what I was doing with my students one-on-one.”
If homework is a source of stress in your family, take heed: This, too, shall pass.
Algebasics, which will soon expand to include help with geometry, trigonometry and calculus, is one of several homegrown websites available to not just help students but parents and teachers, too.
While Algebasics is strictly for math and TripLingo is strictly a foreign language site, OpenStudy provides help with those and every other subject you can imagine and at every instruction level. Except for TripLingo, the sites are free.
“I started researching online education 12 years ago while a student at Stanford University. OpenStudy arose from those research ideas,” said Chris Sprague, who co-founded the site with Ashwin Ram, a Georgia Tech professor, and Preetha Ram, dean of science at Emory University.
OpenStudy, funded by the Gates Foundation Next Generation Learning Challenge, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, is partners with MIT OpenCourseWare and New York University Open Education. However, the website's focus is peers helping peers.
"We want students to know that this is a lifeline available," said Sprague. "All they need to do is engage with the community that is available 24/7."
The single most important thing about OpenStudy, he said, is students become heroes and role models to one another, changing the perception of learning at a grass-roots level.
Sprague said, "They gain titles like lifesaver, star, hero, superhero and legend for being more helpful and turning the light bulb on."
Below is a snapshot of each website:
Algebasics
Website: Algebasics.com
The founder: Lori Vrionis, Roswell tutor, mother of three, grandmother of six, former classroom teacher
By the numbers: 300,000 people from 185 countries have used the site.
What's its mission? To alleviate math anxiety.
How is it different? It's broken down by topic and can be accessed on an iPhone. Users also can scroll back and forth and work at their own pace.
Cost: Free
What people are saying: "I cannot begin to tell you how much your site, Algebasics.com, has helped me. Your explanations make the problems seem so much easier! Thank you!!!" -- Allison G.
OpenStudy
Website: OpenStudy.com
The CEO and co-founder: Chris Sprague, 31-year-old Stanford grad from Marietta
By the numbers: 55,000 registered students from 190 countries and 1,500 schools. Typically ask 35,000 study questions a month; 70 percent are answered within five minutes.
What's its mission? To make education more equitable and engaging by expanding the domain of teachers and the rewards of teaching to a global set of peers. The website aims to be the "game" parents want their kids to play.
How is it different? It's real-time interactive study, matching students studying the same subject at the same time so that they can help one another immediately. Whereas most education applications allow students to discover new content to learn from, OpenStudy focuses on discovering new people to learn with.
Cost: Free
What people are saying: "This website is really a revolution -- it has changed the way we study." -- iamignorant
TripLingo
Website: TripLingo.com
Founder: Jesse Maddox, a 25-year-old graduate of Brown University living in Atlanta
By the numbers: More than 30,000 people from 63 different countries have downloaded apps.
What's its mission? To make learning a foreign language fun and enjoyable. The company wants people to see how the language is actually used and teach them phrases they might not normally learn in a classroom.
How is it different? It's interactive, focused on conversation, and serves as a practical tool for both learning and reference. TripLingo also teaches users how locals actually use the language, including idioms and slang. In addition, it combines language and cultural learning, rather than treating language as if it were in a vacuum.
Cost: $9.99 app available for purchase through the Apple App Store
What people are saying: "For my needs, it's great! I turned a friend onto the app for her to use as a guide in her third semester Spanish summer school course." — Drew Howard, a student at San Diego State University
