Master Algebra for Free Online

Algebra doesn't have to be a tough or cost you thousands of dollars in tuition and books. In fact, you can master algebra online for free and challenge the course and not have to take it at all in college. The benefits of testing out of algebra or placing high enough on mathematics assessments to avoid lower level classes is that you will save entire semesters of time and tuition, transportation and book costs.

Strong algebra skills are an important part of your education and will help you throughout your career allowing you to learn more advanced mathematics, physics, engineering and computer programming skills. Even if you are not a college student, reviewing algebra online will help prepare you for employment tests and could help you land a job.

First you need to assess what you know already and build on your skills. Make sure that you have a solid foundation in pre-algebra, fractions and basic math before moving into algebra. There are online interactive tests and programs that will help you find out what you know and what you still need to know to succeed in algebra.

XyAlgebra: http://www.xyalgebra.org/index.html

XyAlgebra offers a free downloadable program which is interactive, assesses what you need to know and teaches you specifically what you need to know to advance your Algebra skills. XyAlgebra will also catch you if you make a mistake on any stage of a problem and show you how to correct it! It's like having a tutor sitting with you as you do your problems.

Aleks: http://www.aleks.com

Aleks is another powerful tool for mastering mathematics from basic math to calculus. How it works is similar to XyAlgebra, Aleks finds out what you know and what you don't know and teaches you what you need to know to move forward. Aleks offers interactive and alternative explanations and tracks your progress over time and makes graphs showing your individual progress. Aleks costs about $20.00 per class and has an average learning rate of 90% and has been used by millions of students worldwide.

Math Tools: http://mathforum.org/mathtools/sitemap2/a/

Math Tools has activities, lectures and interactive tools available for each subject in algebra, which is useful if you need an alternative explanation for a concept. What I really like about Math Tools is that they have interactive problem solvers that let you visualize algebra concepts and run what-if scenarios.

The Monterey Institute Algebra 1A:

http://www.montereyinstitute.org/courses/Algebra%20IA/nroc%20prototype%20files/coursestartc.html

This course, is an ideal beginner algebra course that has multimedia lectures and lessons and covers all of the algebra topics one is likely to encounter in High School first semester algebra or the minimum mathematic requirements to get an Associate of Arts degree. The downside of this course is that you have to buy a textbook, which costs about $15.00 used on Amazon.com

Utah State University College Algebra:

http://ocw.usu.edu/mathematics-and-statisics/college-algebra/section1toc.html

Utah State University offers a free online College Algebra course. This course is engaging and presents algebra in the context of real world applications, do you know how big a trillion really is? The basics are covered and critical thinking is emphasized more than in some of the other online algebra classes.

MIT Open Courseware Algebra 1:

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Mathematics/18-701Fall-2007/CourseHome/index.htm

This is an undergraduate algebra course offered online by the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology for free. Although it's an undergraduate course, I would consider it to be fairly advanced because there is no review of the number system or a gentle introduction on how to solve simple equations.

Instead this course is much more of a college level algebra course and jumps into topics such as permutations in the first set of readings and problems. This is fine for people who are already strong in algebra and want to get prepared for more advanced applications of it and are ready for a college level treatment of algebra; not so good for people who need a review of the basic concepts.

In closing, success in algebra requires a bit of tenacity and productive practice that reinforces the right way to solve problems and apply concepts. By studying online you can go at your own pace and avoid becoming overwhelmed. Don't be afraid to take your time, there is a real biological process behind learning and remembering algebra and your understanding will grow over weeks of practice. Keep at it and you will understand it and be ready to excel in both college and on any test that stands in your way.