LaTex | Mathematics, Learning and Technology

A consistently popular post on this blog is that on online whiteboards. If I want to communicate mathematics online to answer a student query for example I find it quicker to use a graphics tablet and an online whiteboard.

I do keep an eye on various LaTex generators, one that has come to my attention is MyScript. In this demonstration, handwriting is turned into LaTex (one line at a time). The handwriting recognition is impressive and I found it easy using my graphics tablet to enter expressions accurately; see the quadratic formula below for example.

So you scribble an expression and it get turned into LaTex for you – it works:

But I must confess I was just as excited to note that we immediately see a graph where appropriate, powered by my favourite Desmos graphing calculator.

An easy-to-use LaTeX editor is Overleaf. The free model works for simple personal use.

December 2014 – Note that MyScript (formerly Vision Objects) now has apps for iPad and Android tablets.

Reviewing popular posts and checking for correct links caused me to revisit my post on handwriting recognition and LaTeX. The original post has now been corrected (in case people have it bookmarked). I have also reproduced the post below.

Web Equation by Vision Objects

I do keep an eye on various LaTex generators, one that has come to my attention is Web Equation; from MyScript. What I like about this is that handwriting is turned into LaTex (only one line at a time). The handwriting recognition is impressive and I found it easy using my graphics tablet to enter expressions accurately; see the quadratic formula below for example.

Web Equation by MyScript

So you scribble an expression and it get turns into LaTex for you – it works:

$x^{2}+y^{2}=25$

$\dfrac {-b\pm \sqrt {b^{2}-4ac}} {2a}$

Note that if you want to copy / edit the Latex then just select the LaTex expression and you will have the opportunity to copy or edit it.

But I must confess I was just as excited to note that now you can immediately see a graph where appropriate, powered by my favourite Desmos graphing calculator (it appears the scales are fixed) and by the option to ‘Compute with WolframAlpha’! (see above image).

..and finally if you wish to be distracted by some more fun applications there are some other great demonstrations from VisionObjects. Try Web Shape or example and turn your sketches into vectorized shapes. This should work well on the interactive whiteboard.