Mathematics is fun for some and a nightmare for others. For those who are on the side of mathematics being fun, At Right Angles is a perfect magazine to get to know their favourite subject better. Just when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced 2012 as the Year of Mathematics, the Azim Premji University (APU) and the Community Mathematics Centre, Rishi Valley School, Bangalore, have come together to bring out a comprehensive math magazine named At Right Angles, for both students and teachers.
The title is a phrase suggestive of mathematics but also connotes to thinking ‘out of the box’ and trying out bold, new ideas.
Shailesh Shirali, an ardent lover of mathematics, is the editor and the brain behind the magazine.
Shirali, after learning about APU’s contribution to education, decided to approach them with the idea of a math magazine. “When I approached them, I found an immediate interest. Two meetings later it was all settled that we would collaboratively bring out a school level math magazine, for teachers and students,” recalled Shirali. For APU, this is not a new concept. Apart from the Math magazine, they also publish ‘Learning Curve, a theme based magazine and ‘Language and Language Teaching.’ Shirali has had a long time interest in Math education, and has been writing articles and books since the mid-1990s. He has also been closely involved in the Math Olympiads since the late 1980s, and with the undergraduate science magazine ‘Resonance’ since the mid-90s.
It was decided that the magazine would feature not only math content, but also discussions related to math teaching, and reviews of resources such as books, software and math films..
The magazine has a strong editorial board with members from APU, Rishi Valley School, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (Mumbai), Lady Shri Ram College (Delhi University), Centre for Learning (Bangalore), Association of Math Teachers of India (Chennai), Vidya Bhavan Society (Udaipur), and a few other organisations.
With articles of interest to math teachers and students, and material for specific use in the classroom by math teachers, At Right Angles will be published thrice a year. The magazine is not meant to make money but is aimed at helping the math community, he added.
“This magazine will be freely available to whoever writes to us and asks for it, and a downloadable version will be available at APU Teacher Portal for anyone who registers on the portal,” said Shirali.
The magazine is now ready and interested people can download the magazine from APU’s website.