What about Technology?

Appropriate Roles:

® As a "virtual laboratory" encouraging exploration, making conjectures, and discovery.
® Provide rich context that enhances the mathematical content without diluting or distracting (real-world problems, bar charts, etc)
® Automate mathematically inessential aspects (e.g. record- keeping, or even scores if higher math is being explored) while students engage in game, exploration, project, etc.
® Provide more stimulating drill, when drill is appropriate, without encouraging passivity.

Options include...

(I) A good old-fashioned calculator

  • Verification of answers/properties
  • Supervised exploration of number properties
  • As an aid to solving higher-order problems
  • Individual and multi-player games

    (II) Software (bundled with text or separately available)

    (III) Web-based software (Java Applets, Java-Sketchpad, etc)



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