How to Write Equations and Symbols in the Online Classroom

By Martha Stillman
Mathematics Faculty Member, American Public University

Some subjects are easily moved from the traditional classroom to the online classroom. But, often students wonder how they can possibly write math online. There are actually several ways.

The most important thing to remember is that the only thing that counts is whether your math is clear. Can the reader understand the math calculations you are trying to do? Can there be any misunderstanding or alternative interpretation? As long as the reader can understand what you mean to do with no possibility of misinterpretation, then you have successfully written math online.

Here’s an example. How do you write the square root of 25 online? Well, if you think about it, I just wrote it successfully. “Square root of 25” is clear, unambiguous, and cannot be misinterpreted. If you want to shorten it up to type more quickly, “sqrt 25” will do the trick. If you want your presentation to look more polished, you can use the insert function in Word to write √25. (For those who want to try it, the insert function in Word is found at the top of a document, it is one of the tabs above the ribbon that goes across the top of the screen. Then choose “symbol” on the far right, and look for the square root sign.)

Using keyboard characters to write math is probably the fastest way to enter equations and symbols online. Using the insert function is somewhat slower due to the extra keystrokes, but does produce a more polished document. There are also numerous Word add-ons and features, such as Math Editor, that can be downloaded from Microsoft.com or activated within your Word settings. The same is true for other word processors. Your online classroom software at your school will be unique, but should include special text editors that allow you to write math characters online. For students at APU these special characters can be found in the “How to use Sakai” documentation within the classroom.

Meanwhile, here are some quick shortcuts to writing math online using only keyboard characters.

• addition is the + sign and subtraction is the — sign on the keyboard
• multiply is * or ()() so 5*4=20 or (5)(4)=20
• divide is the / symbol, so 5 divided by 4 is 5/4=1.25
•  powers are designated ^, so x squared is x^2
• you can use [] and {} brackets to make it visually easier to follow nested brackets, so for example you can write [5x^2 + 4(x+3)]/15

This short introduction to writing math online should demonstrate that  it is actually very easy to do math in the online environment.

About the Author:

Dr. Martha K. Stillman is an Associate Professor in Mathematics in the School of Science and Technology.  She has bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics and a PhD in religion. She had an extended career in the banking and marketing sectors and has been teaching mathematics and statistics at American Public University for the past five years.