Originally posted by Willy Franzen on March 14, 2013. Updated through a sponsorship agreement.
Posted by Willy Franzen on March 14, 2013. Positions below updated every five minutes.
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Co-Director, Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers - (Part-Time) | Tucson, AZ |
| Software Engineer (calculator) | San Francisco, CA |
| Software Engineer (lesson development) | San Francisco, CA |
| Visual/UX Designer | San Francisco, CA |
| Exercise Science Faculty | Madison, SD |
I made it from seventh grade through college with a single TI-83, who wants to touch me? Maybe it’s because I went to a private school where people were careless with $80 devices (they’re about $95 on Amazon now), but I swear everybody I knew either lost, broke, or had theirs stolen at least twice. While the need for students to have a graphing calculator hasn’t changed, the need for a standalone device has. That’s why we’re going to celebrate Pi Day by looking at Desmos (on past Pi Days we’ve looked at Pi Media, The Mathematical Association of America, and Orbotix–one of my favorites). They’re a San Francisco, CA based startup that offers a free online graphing calculator for students, teachers, and anyone interested in math.
We’re all familiar with graphing calculators, so the best way to understand how Desmos differentiates itself is to go graph a few functions (or take a look at their Staff Picks to really see what Desmos is capable of). You’ll see that they put an added emphasis on beauty (they offer colors), which not only makes graphing on a calculator more interesting, but it also makes it more useful. Color is a great tool for adding depth to graphs that might otherwise be confusing. I have no idea what Desmos’ business model is, but they raised funding from Google Ventures. That means they at least have some time to figure things out while they perfect their product. They also have some money to hire people, which is why you’ll want to check out the Desmos Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Front End Engineer, UX / Design Lead, and System Engineer. They also had a Community Manager position showing up on Indeed until a few minutes ago. It just disappeared, so maybe they filled it. They invite people to apply for unlisted positions by e-mailing careers@desmos.com, and they also have a don’t come into work tired policy, so it’s worth reaching out even if you’re non-technical.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
Where is your TI-83?
