Our Story

Math is beautiful and tremendously powerful in the hands of experts. On the other hand, to novices, math is frustrating and HARD....All those rules to memorize. All those steps to write and keep track of.

In a world where technology has advanced at astonishing rates, the technology of math notation hasn’t really changed in 400 years. The easiest way to write and solve an equation is still by hand, on paper.

For a few years, a group of us—math educators, psychologists, mathematicians, and computer scientists—have been imagining ways to reconstruct the idea of formal notation by using digital technology. We think it’s time to apply modern design approaches to build more intuitive and fluid interfaces for math. We want tools that scaffold experiences of algebraic structure, supports genuine inquiry about how math works, and gives people opportunities to think flexibility and reason about mathematics.

We call this the better paper project

Who We Are

David Landy

dhlandy@gmail.com

David Landy is a professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he researches the cognitive mechanisms behind mathematical thinking. David believes that mathematics is beautiful and is excited both about using GM in research to deepen our understanding of cognition and about using it as a “better paper” for mathematical work.

Erik Weitnauer

eweitnauer@gmail.com

Erik Weitnauer is a software developer, researcher, and founder of Graspable Inc. He develops Graspable Math because he believes in changing the world through education, and that by applying insights from modern interface design to mathematical notation, this powerful thinking tool can be made vastly more accessible.

Erin Ottmar

erin.ottmar@gmail.com

Erin Ottmar is a professor of learning sciences, technology, and psychology at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she researches educational psychology and math teaching and learning. She has been a teacher herself and is passionate about bringing Graspable Math into classrooms to research how children reason about mathematics and help teachers teach math in more efficient and graspable ways.