g(Math) Handwriting recognition funding options wanted!

I created the post below about a week ago, but the API that does the Handwriting recognition costs money. I have currently been "bootstrapping" (I learned that in my reading about start-up funding :) g(Math) and I am closing in on a 4 digit deficit. Granted some of that are yearly sunk costs that are good for another 6 months, but I don't have the funds to support this API.
I have always wanted g(Math) to be free. As a teacher, I don't want to charge other teachers to use my app. We already bootstrap our classes enough.
However, I think this is the ideal feature for g(Math) and the game-changing tool that is needed for math in the Google Apps for Education ecosystem. (However, I am super pumped about the alternative of only inserting the handwriting entry which is free).

So I am reaching out to you guys, my PLN, for suggestions for funding. Any creative ideas to fund g(Math)?!


*****Handwriting Recognition Blog Post*********
g(Math) now has Handwriting recognition (beta version) as a way to enter math expressions!

So this weekend was awesome and showed me the power of a PLN. +Chris Webb sent me a Tweet about a way he was getting the TeX to enter into g(Math):

Using the GMath add on from @jmacattak you can use https://t.co/qb0p51xxMB to create the LaTex code required #gafechat #gafesummit
— Chris Webb (@Crippit) April 9, 2015

This triggered a flurry of tweets between +Chris Webb, +Emily Fitzpatrick, and @FabianRic from myScript with the end result being the addition of Handwriting recognition for math entry in g(Math) for Docs and g(Math) for Form Responses. It is still in Beta mode, but pretty much fully functioning. Have fun testing it out and please let me know what you think!  

g(Math) Form Responder with Handwriting Entry

g(Math) Form Responder with Handwriting Entry will now allow your Form Responders to sketch a Form Response. This is great news for math teachers who want students to show their work (makes me wish I had some touchscreen Chromebooks for my class)!

If you read my earlier post on how to deploy your Google Form so responders can use g(Math) to respond, you are up to speed. If not, click here and we will wait for you to come back...

OK! So you have deployed your Form and are awaiting your Handwritten entries. Make sure that you have set the Trigger on the Deployed Form to automatically render the =Image("link with math stuff") formula. This will help the response spreadsheet show you the Form responders image directly, not the formula.

The Form Responder can use the Handwriting Entry canvas and craft their response. They click the blue Insert button to generate the text they need to paste as the question response. Then they paste it in the Form and click Submit. DONE!

What happens on your end in the response spreadsheet is the image will be shown in the cell of their response. If you only see the formula, then either you did not set the trigger on the Deployed Form or the trigger is not working properly (a known issue that happens sporadically in Google Forms with Form Submit triggers) and you should contact me for help!

I hope you enjoy! If you are wondering what happened to the Handwriting to LaTeX for Form Responder, please see my next blog post to help come up with a solution!

Google Developers website history and Google Search History Analytics, pretty cool!!

tl;dr: You can find your Google Search account history at https://history.google.com/history/?hl=en

long version: I am on the Google Developers website for documentation so frequently, it is my home page. I also find that when I search for specific topics, Google search shows me I have visited certain pages multiple times. This can be frustrating in one sense because I know I have read the documentation before and still didn't know what to do. I saw this new icon on the top of the search bar and what it revealed was pretty cool!

Here is my account history, which is pretty nice for me to look at and I am excited what insight it brings in the future:

Clicking on the Manage History link also brings up some cool stuff! I love the analytics it gave for my account history, as you can see I am most active on Tuesdays at the 1pm hour. Pretty cool! I am also glad there are days that I am not dark blue for 76+ searches...I am trying to periodically go "offline" :)

So, just click on https://history.google.com/history/?hl=en to find out your Google Search History analytics.

g(Math) can now be used to respond to Forms!

The top feature request for g(Math) for Forms has been to allow Form responders to use g(Math) to craft their responses. I finally came up with a solution that works (but is far from ideal in my opinion, but that has to do with limitations to Google Forms)!

Here is a quick tutorial video explaining it and I am in the process of updating the gMath.guru documentation.

The new option is now live on the g(Math) for Forms Add-on for your use. Here is how.

Step 1: Create your Google Form as you normally would (hopefully using g(Math) to construct questions that need math).

Step 2: Before sending the Form out, click on the Deploy g(Math) for responses to this Form option in the g(Math) for Forms Add-on menu.

Step 3: In the Sidebar that pops up, click the Deploy button.

Step 4: Grab the Deployed URL link and send it out to your Form Responders. I would use Doctopus by +Andrew Stillman to send it out to my Class Roster.

(Optional but Recommended Step): Click on the button to set a Form Submit Trigger to turn the responses crafted in g(Math) into images in the Response Destination Sheet.

Step 5: Check their responses in the Destination Sheet and if you set the Trigger, you should see nice math images in their responses!

Step 6: Coming Soon!! (Grade the responses, Flubaroo-style)

I hope you find this feature a step in the right direction to having students create math digitally and revamp their math experience! Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions/comments/feature requests at google.com/+JohnMcGowan or on twitter: @jmacattak.

Coming soon... g(Math) to respond to Forms!

I have been working for the past few months on a solution to use g(Math) to respond to Forms and I am putting the finishing touches on it! I hope to release it in the next week and then have a few other dangling projects in their final stages to release as well.

Here is a sneak preview of what it should look like, the top requested feature of g(Math) by far!

The other projects that are more than 90% finished:

• Advanced Statistics Sidebar-- Helpful for those about to begin reviewing for the AP Stats exam
• Multiple Choice options for Forms that contain graphs.
• Custom axes labels for graphs

Projects that are more than 50% finished:

• Parametric plots
• 3D graphs
• Solving Equations
• Problem Sets in Sheets with Step-By-Step Solutions for specific topics
• Flubaroo-style grading for Quick Quiz in g(Math) for Sheets with mathematical correctness for unsimplified results (for example, if the answer is 1/2 it will highlight 4/8 as correct but not fully simplified).

Keep your eyes peeled for some great updates soon!