Software recommendation for FAST entry of equations

keyboardsoftware-recommendation

I'm looking for a package that does for algebra what word processing software did for writing:

When I learned to type, my writing improved greatly because my fingers were closer to keeping up with my mind.

Similarly I think that students will be more willing to enter intermediate steps in solving problems if they can type math faster than they write it.

The package should in addition have drawing ability to make simple diagrams, and have the text formatting/editing ability roughly equivalent to the common rich text JavaScript modules commonly seen on forums.

It should be possible to create equations either through mouse or keyboard.

I think I'm looking for something that is a subset of LaTeX.

Added bonus: The ability to do simple symbolic consistency checks: for example, in a solution requiring several steps is each line a valid restatement of the previous line.

I am willing to consider a Windows program or Linux program running in a virtual machine, but I would prefer a Mac or iOS application.

The key feature is speed. A user must be able to get the same sort of speed increase using this software as learning to type overcomes the slowness of handwriting.

Best Answer

On Windows, there is the Math-o-mir software. It should be able to provide all you asked for (rapid math typing, keyboard and mouse entry, basic CAS), but it requires some learning time to achieve speeds comparable to pencil-and-paper.

Related Solutions

IOS – What software is best for taking notes fast and keeping in sync between iOS and web

Simplenote has an iOS app and it syncs back to the Web, so can be accessed from the iOS device, and/or your Mac or PC.

http://simplenoteapp.com/

On your Mac, apps like Notational Velocity will also sync. There are apps for PCs well.

MacOS – Seeking OS X app recommendation: instant text entry

You can do this without any third party software. Just use Automator to create your own Service that appends the input string to any text file.

Open Automator and select to create a new Service that receives no input in any application.

From the Library, drag the Run AppleScript action to the area on the right, and use the following script code:

on run {input, parameters}
    return text returned of (display dialog "Enter some text:" default answer "")
end run

Then, add a Run Shell Script action that receives input to stdin, and replace the default script with the following:

cat >> /Users/danielbeck/notes.txt

Instead of /Users/danielbeck/notes.txt, specify any path.

Here's what it looks like in Automator:

Save as e.g. Add Note, and assign a keyboard shortcut in System Preferences » Keyboard » Keyboard Shortcuts » Services » General » Add Note

Here's the dialog box:

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You can press Cancel, Escape, or Cmd-Period to cancel.

You can even change how the notes appear in the text file through changes to the Run Shell Script action. For example, you can use the following instead, if you reconfigure the Run Shell Script action to receive input as arguments instead:

echo $( date +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S" ) "$@" >> /Users/danielbeck/notes.txt

It will look like this in the resulting file:

2012-01-30 12:38:56 foo
2012-01-30 12:38:58 bar

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